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Published on January 1, 2020
Whether you've been building your wedding planning business for years or are new to the industry, networking with industry partners is an excellent way to help advance your company to the next level. Connecting with other colleagues in the industry will help you gain credibility and may lead to referrals. Many vendors within the wedding planning industry keep lists of top service providers in each business category. Becoming mentioned on those lists can be invaluable for your wedding planning business.
Five Strategies for Networking
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Identify key opportunities
Investigate the go-to wedding planning businesses in your market. Begin to connect, seeking advice about the industry; suggest an in-person meeting or a call to exchange ideas about the latest trends and the unique desires of brides and grooms in your area. Determine if any wedding association events or conferences will be held in your area and plan to attend. Check into local Chamber of Commerce activities and opportunities to meet others in the wedding planning space.
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Connect on social media
Social media outlets such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat are powerful platforms for connecting with wedding planning professionals. Search for wedding event planners, event venues, photographers, florists, musicians and caterers, among other related wedding planning categories, and follow the accounts. Leave comments on posts, videos and images. Reach out to the top businesses that interest you and invite them to meet so you can learn about their offerings and vice versa. Facebook typically has local groups where wedding event planners can connect with other planners and industry professionals, as well.
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Cross-promote
Wedding event professionals can benefit from cross-promotion among other wedding event planners and wedding industry partners. Referring brides and grooms to vendors within your network can help increase your company's reach, in particular via social media platforms. Cross-promotion on social media can be as simple as tagging a vendor in a post or mentioning them in a comment. Making online referrals is simple and paves the way for shared audiences and a wider reach. If your followers see that you support other local businesses and that you have a number of resources to pull from, they're more likely to consider you in the future.
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Follow leading blogs
Research and follow blogs of any wedding event planners in your area and surrounding region. As you see consistent recommendations and rave reviews pop up, you can target those wedding partners for networking opportunities. Blogs from wedding event planners and industry leaders are full of the latest news, trends and information you need to know as a wedding event planner. Staying informed will position your among other wedding event professionals in your area, and will open doors for networking.
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Foster relationships
Professional connections require deliberate attention and care, much like personal relationships. The more you invest in the connections you make, the more likely businesses will be willing to work with you. Taking the time to meet personally with wedding event vendors in your area will go a long way to fostering excellent relationships. Follow-up with contacts that you make at association and industry events. The more you invest into your connections, the more confidence you will have when referring your clients to vendors.
Networking within the wedding industry is critical for your wedding planning business. When time seems more valuable than ever, building on these five strategies may be one of the best investments you can make in the future of your wedding planning career.
We hope these networking tips help you attract more clients to your business. After you gain your clients, make sure they are protected with event insurance.
Markel offers event liability insurance to hosts and honorees, protecting from incidents such as property damage to the venue or injury to a guest. Up to $2 million in event liability insurance can be purchased by your client from Markel any time at least 1 day before the event. Policies start as low as $75.
By offering event insurance, it will not only protect your clients, but it can also protect you by potentially decreasing your own business liability risk for accidents due to negligence of the event host or honoree. Markel Specialty's event insurance is an easy and affordable solution for your clients – a free event insurance quote takes only a few minutes online or on the phone – that will help protect your clients (and you).
Free client materials! We can provide you with free brochures to help raise your clients’ awareness of the benefits of event liability insurance.