Taking the lead
Wedding Trader welcomes on board retailer Abi Neill who is widely regarded as an industry influencer. With a vast number of awards under her belt, she has a clear vision of what is needed in today’s environment to build a better business
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hen I launched my little bridal shop way back in 2005, the UK bridal landscape looked and felt very different. So much has changed and those of us old enough to glance back a few bridal decades will conclude that not only has bridal evolved but the marketing efforts and activity we are now required to carry out as retailers in order to engage with our customers and drive brides into store is quite different. Once upon a time a speedy, wellconstructed website packed with enticing visuals and a few regular print ads was largely what it took. That, in addition to the acquisition of a well-advertised and sought-after bridal brand on your rails, plus a few Sunday wedding fairs at local venues was the icing on the cake for many of us bridal retailers. Lead generation, or enquiry building, is an entirely different game now. It involves a seamless blend of both traditional advertising and digital methods and it all starts with understanding your target bride and knowing her habits. Understanding things things like what she likes, where she shops, how she lives her life (virtually and literally) is important.
In marketingspeak this is often referred to as your ‘customer avatar’. Once you understand your customer avatar you can begin to develop your brand with consistent messaging and create appropriately-curated social media content that will appeal to her. The physicality of your store, your collections and products that you sell and your online style and social media content all need consideration and must be cohesive. Communicating the story behind your retail store and the ethos is important. Ask yourself – are you attracting the right customers? And does the design of your shop and online presence align itself with the style and personality of your target bride? Leading labels We all know who the enquirygenerating brands in bridal are these days and if you’re lucky enough to have dresses from a strong name on your rails you may have to work less on your digital, advertising and marketing strategy. Secure the right brands, back them up with a fantastic experience in-store with a savvy sales team and providing your sales approach is on point, the sales may come relatively easily.
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Website A well-constructed, visually pleasing, up-to-date,quick and impactful website is essential. There’s no point working hard to generate enquiries but then falling at the last hurdle with a poorly-performing or unprofessional website. Brides will want to learn more about your brand and your values and in addition to your social media they will visit your site and assess what you have to offer. Owning a well-designed website is a priority and ensuring it is mobilefriendly is a must! Don’t forget to sign up for a free listing on the Google business directory as this helps improve your organic search ranking. A properly-written and fullyoptimized Google My Business page can help your business to appear in local searches and research indicates that four out of five consumers perform a local search before committing to an appointment or a purchasing decision. You must ensure that you have an SEO (search engine optimisation) strategy in place for your website. Your aim should be to ensure that your site will rank well ‘organically’ when the relevant search terms are typed in the search bar such as
