Creating a marketing plan for your wedding business doesn't have to be complicated.
Here are some common questions about planning.
  Q.
What will a marketing plan do for me?   A.
A properly constructed marketing plan helps you design your service so that it's more attractive and visible to potential buyers.
It can also help you be more profitable.
  Q.
What should a good plan include?   A.
First off writing marketing plan is an opportunity for you to take an objective look at your business.
It forces you to look at facts instead of blindly preceding on guesswork.
You need to look at the needs of your customers, trends in the market as well as your competition is.
You need to figure out exactly who your customers are.
Is your target market the affluent, older bride or is it the younger, middle-class bride? Knowing your ideal client will help you decide how to reach her.
  Q.
When should you decide on how much to charge?   A.
The planning process is your opportunity to decide on your pricing strategy.
You also need to take a careful look at your brand's personality and your positioning statement.
  Q.
What's a positioning statement?   A.
Positioning is nothing more than how you were potential customer perceives your business.
Are you the friendly and approachable planner? Are you a cost-cutting wedding planner? Are you the exotic destination-wedding planner? Carefully consider how you wish to be perceived in your market.
  Q.
Is a marketing plan only good for new businesses? Can it help me get repeat customers?   A.
Absolutely.
 A solid marketing plan is not just about attracting new customers it also includes how you will deliver the outstanding service that's required to generate word-of-mouth referrals.
  Q.
How many pages should my marketing plan be?   A.
There is no hard and fast rule on how many pages of marketing plan should be.
The size of the document is not as important as the thinking that goes behind it.
You want and make sure that your marketing plan is actionable in other words you can take this document and use it as your road-map to achieving your goals.
  Q.
Should I hire someone to write it?   A.
You should never abdicate planning your business to anybody else.
A marketing plan is not a document or impressing bankers.
The only thing that really impresses bankers is consistently generating profits.
The decisions you make in a marketing plan affect what you were going to be doing next week next month or next year.
 You have to be intimately involved in creating a marketing plan that resonates with you your values and your objectives.
  Q.
What mistakes do wedding planners make when they create a marketing plan?   A.
They fail to use the plan as a road-map to guide every business decision.
They seem to forget about the plan and wing it instead.
Simply typing up a marketing plan putting it in a three ring binder and leaving it there is not going to help you grow your business.
I'd rather see you write a marketing plan on the back of a napkin that actionable than having a 70 page typeset dead document.
  Q.
Any other advice?   A.
 There's lots to learn about marketing.
 Don't get overwhelmed.
There are plenty of resources out there to help you grow your business intelligently.