Perfect Wedding Guide party

It may have come as a surprise to some members of the Las Vegas wedding community that the Perfect Wedding Guide has been in the market for about two decades.

When I moved to town, in 2003, a local franchisee had been forced to sell his area ownership. Since then, the Las Vegas Perfect Wedding Guide had wobbled rather unsteadily.

Last summer, national management of the Perfect Wedding Guide took over management of the Las Vegas market, clearly declaring that they were going to solidify and refresh the brand. This Thursday, the day after the conclusion of CaterSource, Perfect Wedding Guide – Las Vegas held a Re-Launch Party for advertisers, prospects, and other wedding industry leaders.

PWG Hosts: Karli Markowitz, Tammy Elliot, and Brandi Zrallack

The event was held at Tao, in the Venetian Hotel. Over 150 local wedding professionals turned out to enjoy the hors d’oeurves, cocktails, and assuring, positive words of Karli Markowitz, Brandi Zrallack and Tammy Elliot of the Perfect Wedding Guide.

In challenging economic times, when local businesses invest marketing dollars, it’s important to know that you have support from the local sales representative, all the way to the company president. Every attendee left, feeling assured that a marketing investment in Perfect Wedding Guide, Las Vegas, was money well spent.

What have you done, lately, to reassure your customers?

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Share on Facebook

Chatterberries exhibit at CaterSource

Still in its infancy, one of the first exhibitors I came upon, on the CaterSource tradeshow floor is Chatterberries.

Based in Manhattan, the Chatterberries website sports local directories throughout the entire United States. There is a 2010 Directory special for just $45/month, including your corporate logo, company name, contact information, website link and email link.

It asks vendors to Engage With Affluent And Sophisticated Brides.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Share on Facebook

Get Married Media—a national tri-media wedding lifestyle resource (on TV, online, in print)—conducted a survey of more than 1,500 brides to capture insights into brides’ styles and spending trends.

Get Married identified today’s average bride at age 28 (more than half 26+), with 77% employed and 92% personally paying for some portion of their wedding.  Even in the current soft economy, budget-conscious brides are planning their dream wedding.

Who is today’s bride-to-be? Following are some key results from the Get Married survey:

• 44% of brides said that establishing the wedding budget is the most surprising wedding planning stress,
• 70% of brides are either pleasantly surprised with their budget or feel like everything they want will fit into their budget
• Top items that brides are personally purchasing include jewelry (wedding bands), invitations and wedding favors

Visit their website for more detail from the survey.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Share on Facebook

Exceptional Customer Service Matters

Apple ranks 1st among PC manufacturers, in customer service. It ranks 3rd among ALL companies in a Business Week customer service poll.

This is not an easy accomplishment. Apple customers have high expectations; particularly longtime customers, such as myself (customer since 1984).

Today, I had yet another great customer service experience. I’d like to share it with you.

I went online, yesterday, to make an appointment at one of the local Apple retail stores (at Fashion Show, Las Vegas). Actually, I made two appointments:

• One with a Mac computer specialist, regarding a buggy disc drive.
• The second with an iPhone/iPod specialist, to buy a new battery, because the existing one didn’t seem to be holding its charge properly (it’s about 18 months old).

The Mac term for specialist is Genius. There is so much to know about their products, software, and service that Apple divides their knowledge into multiple categories.

My LapTop issue: Since I’m a heavy-use computer user, I always buy an extended warranty, which gives me three years of coverage, rather than the standard one year. The disc drive was no longer reading DVD’s and CD’s properly. In about five minutes, they took my laptop in for service, and will replace the drive, probably today. Cost for service…. $0.00 (covered by the warranty).

iPhone Battery: It appeared to me that the battery was draining too quickly. I was there to replace the battery (about $80). Before they would let me spend money, Mike (my iPhone Genius) took the phone into the back room service area, and ran a diagnostic on it. A few minutes later, he reappeared, and happily told me that I did not need a new battery.

He showed me how I could simply change a few settings on the phone, that were running programs in the background), and felt that would improve my battery efficiency. And added, “See how that works for you. If, after a few days, you still feel the battery is running down too quickly, just come back in and you can certainly replace it then.”

New iPhone case: While Mike was in the back of the house, I went over to the wall rack to look at iPhone cases. Someone was restocking that area, so I asked her for a recommendation, based on a few specific parameters. She demonstrated her preferred recommendation, and within two minutes, I had it, in hand, ready to pay for.

My takeaways…

• Less than a half-hour in the store; no excess waiting time (thanks to the advance appointment system).
• No charge for replacing the SuperDrive in my laptop. (thanks to extended warranty). Update – 1:30pm – received a call from the service rep, telling me my laptop was ready for pick-up! WOW!!
• No battery replacement needed (thanks to diligent double-checking on the part of Mike, the iPhone Genius)
• Bought a new iPhone case (with the help of a knowledgeable service rep)

The big picture, here, is the Apple store employees like working they are. They receive incredible thorough training. From my multiple experiences with both sales and service, they never make customers feel like a dummy. They have been trained not just in diagnosing or technical problem or recommending the proper product, but been coached in communication methods and terminology that are easily understood by prospects and customers.

The business of double-checking my battery was great proactivity, on my behalf. Even though I’m an above-average user, I think about other possibilities than replacing the battery. Mike did.

That’s why, recently, I have urged two friends of mine, who were considering switching from a Windows-based computer to a Mac, to visit an Apple store. Computers and cell phones have become an integral part of our lives. It is not just about the price of hardware. It’s about the hardware, software, programs, and service. These days, when we have a technical problem with a cell phone or computer, it rapidly can deteriorate into a major crisis. The person who spends the least money on a technical product, often regrets it later.

What can you do, in your business, to be proactive? To coach the client, with your superior level of knowledge… with being condescending?

It is this kind of customer service that really counts. One hears people, all the time, expound that they have ‘great customer service.’ That general statement is vague and meaningless. The examples I’ve shared are concrete and specific.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority & Apple FanBoy

Share on Facebook

Publications are coming to iPad

Apple’s iPad is due for release in late March. As one might expect, there has been a steady stream of news regarding iPad versions of books and magazines, by various publishers .

Conde Nast announced the first magazines for which it will create iPad versions: Wired, GQ, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Glamour.

GQ will have a tablet version of its April issue ready. Vanity Fair and Wired will follow with their June issues, and The New Yorker and Glamour will have iPad issues in the summer.

My marketing curiosity asks…

Which wedding magazines will jump on board with iPad editions.

Which will publish, first?

The Knot, Get Married, Brides, Martha Stewart Weddings…??? The list goes on…. I can hear the promo now.

The UPSCALE brides is reading OUR Magazine on her iPad.

I have no inside information on this. Just professional curiosity.

How about you? Are you curious?

Here’s a demo of Wired magazine on the iPad. THAT might fuel your curiosity.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Share on Facebook

NEWS ANALYSIS AND OPINON: By now you may have heard about the Boston Bridal Show scam. If you haven’t, here is the short version, and a news video clip, as well.

Many Boston area wedding vendors were taken in by an elaborate scheme. Having invested significant money in booth rental and exhibit preparation, at the eleventh hour, they discovered that the heavily promoted show would not happen. In fact, according to the venue, it didn’t ever exist. Brides, too (several thousand by news reports), had purchased advance admission passes to the show.

For the brides, it was just an annoyance. For vendors, it was misplaced effort and lost dollars, both in the hard costs of booth rental and show preparation, as well as a lost marketing opportunity for wedding business.

As I observe wedding business professionals, I see frequent mistakes when spending marketing dollars…. particularly on NEW bridal shows, publications or websites. The Boston situation is the most extreme example. But there is plenty to think about.

Here is a quick list of what I observe happening… all to often.

• When a new show, publication or website comes into your area, have healthy skepticism. There are no guarantees of success, but the track record of existing show producers is something you can check out with other industry professionals.
• If you are considering exhibiting with a first-time promoter in your market, and you can only afford an investment in one show, you are in dangerous territory. Trade Associations, such as BSPI (Bridal Show Producers International) do not even consider applications for membership, before a a show producer has a 3-year track record. The members understand that it takes some time to establish a credible track record.
• You are always better to be a spectator, at a show, before spending hard dollars on being part of it. On a new show, let other people take the risk, unless you have money to burn.
• Ask fellow vendors about their past show successes and challenges. Any answers you get, immediately after a show, should be discounted. A thoughtful wedding professional knows that the show is the trigger for appointments, followed by sales. As well, you should observe their trade show presentation, and see if it’s up-to-snuff, in your eyes.
• Don’t believe the hype! Many promoters (wedding show producers, nightclub promoters, concert promoters) are highly positive people. Some are very energetic, and can whip you into a frenzy. Slow down. Gather your facts, and don’t get caught up in the hype. The final result rarely lives up to the hype.
• The Numbers: An ethical show promoter should provider clear numbers,  in terms of: registered brides, grooms, other attendees. Typically, the number of brides attending a show will run 40-50% of the total attendance. Recently, I observed a show promoter being asked by a wedding professional, “So how many brides did you have at your last show?” The Promoter responded, “We over 1600 people registered for the show.” It was an accurate answer, but a misleading. The question was “How many brides?”, not “How many people (total)?”  - The real answer would likely by 500-800, or thereabouts. The same promoter slapped Bride stickers on other people in the wedding party to make it appear that there were more brides in attendance than reality would show. Exhibitors were not fooled for long, and were incredibly annoyed by the failed deception.
• Filter the feedback from exhibitors: It’s always good to talk with wedding professionals who are not in your category, and therefore don’t have a direct stake in your success or failure. Even then, a wedding professional, almost unknowingly, tries to justify their big marketing investment by talking positively about it. They are unwittingly hyping themselves. Get comfortable asking probing questions of willing wedding professionals in a different environment to try and get to the reality the matter.

So there is history, hype, and an actual result. It is good to remember the old adage.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Don’t believe the hype!

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Share on Facebook