How to nurture couples browsing for their wedding

The customer journey for destination couples is changing and if you haven’t caught up with it, you’ll be left behind.

I could end the post here, because really, it should have become obvious to all wedding planners that this is the case. The last 15 months have turned everything upside down, and the world of weddings is just one of those things affected beyond comprehension. Seriously, I’m struggling to get my head around it. But one thing I’m sure of is what I’ve written in the opening line. And if you need examples to prove it, here they are:

✨ COUPLE 1:
last summer I got a message from a couple telling me they have been following me for ages (I had no idea, they’d never engaged with my content) and that they were heading to Italy to check out some venues. All they wanted to know was if I had some recommendations for things to do while in Italy. Responded, we chatted, I offered my help with the wedding after ADDING VALUE to their journey, and then there was silence.

Fast forward to a week ago (so 1 year later since that first message): said couple texts me back to say during that trip they’d booked the venue and now they’re ready to get planning for next year. And can we talk?

✨ COUPLE 2:
Couple texts me a few weeks ago to say they’ve been following me for ages (deja vu?!) and they feel excited every time I post and really want to have a chat with me. We schedule a call. They are the perfect couple. We almost book them, but then they decide to move the wedding to 2023.

✨ COUPLE 3:
Similar to couple 2; except they already knew they wanted to get married in 2023. They thought they’d start planning a bit sooner but then decided to wait…

LESSONS:

The journey from getting engaged to booking a planner has gone from 3-6 weeks to MONTHS. There was barely any time to nurture couples for us planners. There wasn’t any need for a lead magnet, a useful downloadable, a funnel… There just was no time to take them through a journey with you.

Things have changed. The pandemic has made them unsure about booking a wedding within 12 months.

So they get engaged, start browsing, and continue watching you from the sidelines.

Before they get in touch it can be MONTHS. And between them getting a proposal from you and actually booking you it can be many more months. So if you’re wondering how to retain couples browsing for their wedding, the real questions you need to ask yourself are the following:

?‍? What are you doing to retain their attention from the moment they’ve started following you?

?‍? What value are you adding to their journey?

?‍? How do you stay relevant and at the top of their mind?

I never believed in free downloadable resources and building a funnel for couples, but for the first time ever, I do feel it’s the one route you want to start considering to nurture that lead. You offer them tangible value – a guide, a list of must-dos, resources, anything that can help them in this initial browsing phase. They provide their email address to download your free downloadable, and you now have the ability to look after their needs via well curated, insightful and useful emails. You continue giving them value, while at the same time positioning yourself as the expert that you are. Guess who they’ll be thinking of when it’s time to finally crack on with the planning?

You’ve got the time to nurture those destination couples. Use it wisely.