The number one goal for your website is to generate leads in your inbox. You can’t book couples who don’t inquire, even those who come on referral from past and current clients. Nearly everyone who ends up booking you makes a stop in your online storefront.
Most wedding pros want more inquiries. And you can do quite a bit to make that happen without changing much on your current site.
In general, we recommend you reduce the amount of space on your website devoted to price and also minimize the number of fields in the contact form. These are super effective ways to lower the friction site visitors feel before clicking “send” on their inquiry.
But what if you don’t want more inquiries? What if you want better inquiries? More qualified couples who love what you offer and are ready to pay top dollar for it?
Ahhhhh, the dream. More bookings. Less work.
But it’s not necessarily a fantasy. Yes, you can take practical steps to make it easier for not just any buyer but instead your best buyer to inquire directly from your website.
Here’s the surprise for you: none of them have to do with asking them about budget!
What does it meant to “qualify” clients?
Yes, vetting clients involves seeing if they can afford your services. But just because a couple can afford you doesn’t mean you want to work with them. Qualifying a couple also means knowing if their:
- Style and aesthetic aligns with your brand
- Personality gels with yours
- Event will build your portfolio with beautiful images
- Other vendors are a good fit for your brand
- Party might be published
Go through your favorite clients from the past year or two. We think you’ll quickly see how many people who said “yes” to your price would have said “no” to many of these questions.
Set up your website as a filter
Your online storefront is a powerful tool to repel and attract potential clients. Here are 6 ways to use your website to get more of the right kinds of couples:
- Layout the site for your ideal buyer
- Use a strong voice to connect with their communication style
- Know your buyer’s primary motivator – and message to it
- Mention “starting at” price on your Services page
- Use contact form fields strategically
- Include blog content on your buyers’ biggest concerns and desires
Layout the site for your ideal buyer
Over the past 15 years, we’ve identified four distinct buyer types in the wedding world. They are the Relater, Analyzer, Boss, and Dreamer. Each profile prefers different ways of communicating and is motivated by different desires.
For example, the Dreamer likes big-picture ideas and seeks status within his or her peer group. When browsing websites, then, a brand would do well to focus on design and décor, reduce overall copy length, write for skimming, push awards and distinctions to the top of the homepage, and make it easy to get the party started with a simple contact form.
However, an Analyzer would think a site designed and structured like this lacks the kind of depth to provide the value and reassurance s/he seeks, because the Analyzer needs to know your vast expertise and will read every single word on your site to find it.
If you want Dreamers, congratulations, because you energized them to inquire while you repelled Analyzers who aren’t yet convinced you’re the right one. And so on with the other buyer types.
Use a strong voice to connect with their communication style
It’s not just site design and structure that resonates with certain buyer types. Words matter too.
Spend time researching the words and phrases your best buyers use, and then mirror them back on your site. Scour reviews and correspondence to see how your favorite clients write. Record what you see and hear over and over again, then feed it into the copy, especially on your homepage.
Also, make sure your own voice is consistent throughout the site. Is your brand warm and friendly? Or maybe you’re direct and irreverent? Are you cheerful and helpful? Or matter-of-fact and hands-off?
Your voice and tone are an expression of your brand personality and point of view. Like your best friends, those who share these values will want more time with you. And those who don’t, won’t.
Know your buyer’s primary motivator – and message to it
The most important piece of your future success it to know exactly what motivates your favorite clients. We’re not talking about surface-level goals. No, we mean deep down psychological triggers that touch raw nerves. For example, our four buyer types are drive by connection (Relater), security (Analyzer), achievement (Boss), and status (Dreamer). These are the things that matter most, and they’ll pay top dollar if you can give it to them.
When you know what moves your best buyers to make decisions, then you can create messages that resonate throughout your website. Everything from the words you use to the images you select help communicate this thoroughly.
For example, if a Relater loves seeing photos showing the father-daughter dance, the Boss would be bored by it. Select images with this criteria dozens of times and you’ll start filtering clients who aren’t a good fit for your brand.
Mention “starting at” price on your Services page
We don’t recommend putting a full page about pricing on your website. And we think it’s best to leave off questions about budget from the contact form. But we recognize it’s important to mention price on your site to save you and your clients’ time if it’s not a good fit.
For most wedding pros, the best way to talk about what you charge is at the bottom of your Service page. After you share all the amazing things you do for your clients, list out a “starting at X” near the bottom.
Be careful, though, because even those who can afford it are often spooked when seeing fees for wedding services. So, put a testimonial below it to reassure them you’re a good value, if not inexpensive.
Note: We don’t recommend you create a full page or spend paragraphs of body copy or share package pricing on your site. The less time you spend talking about price the more time you can spend sharing what you do and how it helps them.
Use contact form fields strategically
In general, we suggest using as few fields as possible on your form, especially if you want more inquiries. But if you want better inquiries, you can add certain fields to raise the barrier to entry and collect the kind of insights you need to evaluate how important it is to get on a discovery call.
Five fields we think work well to prequalify leads better than asking about budget:
- Require a date – Unless you’re a venue or full-service planner, if they haven’t secured a date then they’re (very likely) not ready to put down a deposit for your services. This will sus out price shoppers.
- Require a venue – This one offers good insight into the caliber and style of event you’re likely to see. Plus, like picking a date, if they haven’t yet locked in a venue then they’re probably not yet ready to move forward with your services.
- Number of guests – When you know the venue and number of people it’s pretty simple to know what kind of budget you’re working with -and you’re not scaring the potential client away by asking for it. It also surfaces low-budget elopements and microweddings, which is helpful for production-based vendors like caterers, florists, stationers, rental companies, and others.
- Style – Use a drop-down to make it easy for people to articulate. Pay attention to the answer to see if their event will be a good fit. Many couples are so focused on price early in the decision-making process they forget your aesthetic is equally important.
- What are you most excited about when it comes to [insert what you do]? – Free-form fields are great because (generally) the more words they put in the box the more interested they are in your services. Also, it gives you insight into what’s most important to them, which may or may not align with what your favorite clients love about your work.
Include blog content on your buyers’ biggest concerns and desires
Many couples don’t yet know what they want from a vendor like you. It slows down the decision-making process, because people who don’t know what they need are rarely ready to buy.
One way to speed up that process is to let site visitors know what other couples are curious about when it comes to your services. When we see what other people do and care about, we feel comfortable doing the same thing. It’s called the “herd effect,” and it can help couples who are early in the buyer’s journey identify a criteria to move forward faster.
Every great website should have a content blog filled with topics that address the questions and doubts couples have about your services. You can develop these quickly by identifying frequent questions and common objections, then answering them in the form of a blog post. Voíla. Instant authority in areas that matter most to your favorite types of clients.
No one can prequalify perfectly. But if you create opportunities for your perfect buyers to grow more confident on your website, you’ll spend less time “weeding out” the ones a) you don’t want to work with or b) who can’t afford your services.
Want help with your buyer types and messaging hierarchy? Reach out for more information on how our comprehensive brand communication strategy can help connect you with your ideal clients.
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