The January 2009 Meeting at Heidi's Events & Catering was fabulous, from the amazing menu created by Heidi's staff, and the incredible Valentine's desserts from Honeymoon Sweets to our knowledgable speakers panel, the night was filled with gourmet ideas and great marketing education. 

 Shannon Underwood from The Bridal Fashion Debut started off the program by explaining that we need to use the lists we get from our booth drawings immediately after the show, and that we need to  use the list that the show gives us as soon as we get it. Have our literature pre-prepped and ready to send,and our email marketing ready to dump the list into and to get our name back into the brides hands as soon as possible.The leads list, while not prequalified, is a good way to expand your business. The trick is to send out information as soon as you get the list.

Kristina Munoz from Arizona Weddings Magazine had statistics from Conde Nast that showed that most brides pick up an average of 7 magazines during their engagement, and they carry it around with them as an invitation for people to talk to them about their weddings. During this phase of their engagement, they look through the magazines over and over. This reinforces the ads in the brides mind and causes a call to action to either pick up the phone or to login to your website. One of the other things that she said was that you need to advertise in more than one place so that everytime they see your ad, it reinforces your validity as a vendor. This is called branding.

Personally, one of the things I love about my ads is that they are are very similar, so that when someone sees them they know it is my company. When I ask a bride how she found us, and she answers, 'well I see your ads everywhere!'. Angie Van Daele says  that by saturating the market with as much advertising as you can afford, it will pay off.

Van Daele enforced this idea."Instead of only buying a two page spread in my newspaper, (the Wedding Chronicle) buy smaller ads in several publications so that people see you more often." 

Social Networking is a very successful marketing tool everyone should make time to utilize according to Kim McDowell from The Event Essentials. She also recommends always remembering to remind your friends and family what you do. "You would be surprised at how many people forget that their family members do the services that they need." she remarked. Thirdly, she thinks everyone should utilize free internet social networking sites such as blogs, e-zines, Twitter and Facebook top make a presence for yourself. Customers, especially brides are using these services themselves, and can find you on the internet.

 Internet Marketing is the Specialty of Jacob Lebo of Firedrum. He stated that Internet Marketing is no longer a luxury but a necessity. The three aspects Internet Marketing which encompass your Website, Search Engine Optimization(SEO), and Email Marketing, are intertwined and must all operate together to effectively market online. Lebo notes that your website must be w3 compliant and be built correctly so your SEO efforts will give you the presence you desire. Once you have a dynamic website that is easily found, then Email Marketing helps you capture information and instantly re-connect to your potential customer to instill yet another favorable impression of your company. Lebo  also added that Email Marketing is very effective as a follow-up to Networking Events and a great way to connect to existing clients

Kristina Munoz, Director of Marketing for Arizona Weddings (www.arizonaweddings.com) 
Angie VanDaele, Publisher of The Wedding Chronicle (www.wedaz.com)
Kimberly McDowell, Owner of The Event Essentials (www.theeventessentials.com)
Jacob Lebo, Sales Manager for Firedrum Marketing (www.firedrum.com)
Shannon Heggarty, National Sales Manager for the Bridal Fashion Debut (www.bridalfashiondebut.com)