There are some businesses that can get away with having a lacklustre website, but for those in the wedding and events industry this is not a long term option.
Whether your work is business to business (corporate events) or business to customer (weddings and parties), more often than not your clients will want to see some ‘proof’ of your expertise before booking you and assurance that you will deliver on the service you are offering.
Yes, social media is an excellent way to showcase your talents, but it still doesn’t replace a well designed website that can demonstrate the value of your service, alongside well worded explanations about how your work and testimonials from previous clients.
Here are a handful of reasons why your wedding or events business needs a (good) website.
Credibility
Having a slick website gives further credibility to your business.
This is particularly valuable for businesses in the wedding industry, where your potential clients are likely to never have booked a service like yours before and probably feel a little unsure about the process.
Being able to learn more about your business through a professionally designed website is a great way to boost their confidence in your services and make them want to work with you.
Highlight your best work
I say this as someone who also works in the industry – not all weddings and events are created equal.
You have probably worked on some weddings or events that you want to show off to everyone, and perhaps others that you don’t want to highlight as much.
This is where your website comes in! Unlike your social media which is often a long stream of lots of work, your website can be used to showcase the best of the best.
A great way to do this is by using a professionally shot film of your past work or big bold photos on the homepage so that visitors to your website will immediately think – yes, this is exactly what I want!
Demonstrate the depth of your expertise and experience
There is way more opportunity to go into detail on your website, and the point of detail is to demonstrate to potential clients that you know exactly what you are doing.
On my own live music agency website I have a list of notable venues our musicians have performed at.
On a recent event planning website we included a long list of tasks covered, the things that a client may not think about but by highlighting them on the website we are highlighting the value of the event planning service in more detail.
On a videography website we included details about the equipment used and the venues worked at, again to show expertise and experience.
Works while you are asleep (sort of)
The dream! Ok, its not quite working for you while you sleep, but close enough.
Once your website is live, it can tell potential clients about your business, your services offered, your experience, what past clients have said and even prices (if you want) – without any further input from you.
You can include information like FAQ’s and ‘How It Works’, which answer the most common questions clients are likely to have before they even ask them.
Even better, you can include some automation on your website.
For example:
On my live music agency website I have the customer relationship management form linked to the contact form, this means all the client information is automatically generated and in one place. The initial questions about their music preferences, the booking contract, the invoice, their contact details – all of it is just done!
On another website we created an automation for the brochure, before then my client had been physically sending the brochure every time someone requested one. We changed it so that it automatically sent the brochure and recorded their contact details (with permission!) for future use.
Depending on your service, you can also set up automated booking and payment, so people can book to work with you via your website without any action from you!
There are so many automation options.
Email capture
Building up an email list of potential customers is always a solid marketing strategy.
Your website is a great place to ask people for their email – it can be in return for a brochure, a guide or just so they can hear about your latest news and offers.
Keeping in touch with potential clients via an email list can be a brilliant bridge between them going from browser to buyer.
This is especially useful for weddings or events that can take a long time to plan and people often take a bit of ‘thinking time’ before committing to a supplier.
Are you ready to plan your new website? Brilliant!
Get in touch to find out more about working with us and boosting your online presence!
