We all know weddings can be very expensive and while I would love to work with a big budget bride many potential clients are trying to work with much smaller budgets (more often than not with no budget in mind at all... just as cheap as they can make it but with all the bling) and I would like to find a middle road with these brides. I am a planner/coordinator and while researching the market found no other advertised planners within a hour drive from me and many much further. I have yet to research silk floral designers. That is another branch in my business. I also make custom wedding gowns and so alterations. My example of what I'm dealing with is a bride who wanted silk bouquets for her, her bridesmaid, and boutonnieres for the groom and best man. I worked out the cost and gave her the estimate and she responded... I can do it myself cheaper at Walmart … I get this often. She then wanted a custom gown for less than $150 and preferably under $100... no I can't do that. Her next correspondence is "can you fix this?" and sent me this photo... and "oh can you do it for around $25?". I make it a point to try my best to work within the bride's budget if at all possible. Any assistance finding the middle ground and a more suitable target client would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Mary,
First there are a few things I'd like you to consider when it comes to running your business and pricing yourself. When you have time... take a look at these two FB LIVE videos I did on pricing for QC Event Planning School. It touches on your market, personal costs, business expenses and your target client.
https://www.passionasaverb.com/verbs/event-wedding-planning/qc-event-school-webinar-live-with-athena-devonne-how-to-start-a-successful-event-planning-business
https://www.passionasaverb.com/verbs/event-wedding-planning/how-to-start-a-successful-business-in-event-planning-all-about-pricing
If the market is saturated with 'champagne / beer" brides and you're wanting to service higher end brides, then you will need to restructure your business foundation. Either you are going to be absolutely ok with not go back and forth with these brides and having a smaller amount of clientele but at the price you are targeting. Or, you are going to restructure your services and pricing to make what the saturated market is. So instead of full custom gowns, consider sticking to alterations which in itself is a bigger market and you can reach more brides. Save the full gown options for your target clientele.
For the brides who are stating things like "I can do this cheaper at walmart" then that means your VALUE is not being recognized. Either your visual marketing, surroundings, branding or even mission isn't representing correctly for your target audience or you are marketing in the wrong areas. When value is recognized you attract more of who you are targeting have deal less with the haggle. This is where we can create a plan for you. Let's focus on your brand, brand awareness, brand value and your overall service offerings.
Take a look at the videos, then let me know if the plan I'm mentioning sounds like a good option for you. We can set up a 3 month one-on-one session where I can walk you through how to build a stronger brand and brand presence for yourself.