We had the chance to showcase a booth at the wonderful Bridal Fantasy the other week - it was such a great time! I always love doing these events, they are A LOT of work - but are always worth it at the end of the day. The preparation and anticipation can be quite draining, but there is nothing like spending a whole day talking to Brides about their special days. It is always such a gratifying feeling, knowing that all your hard work and preparation has paid off, and seeing how excited Brides get about what you do.
We were even lucky enough to have won a prize! Our booth was featured as one of the best and we were chosen as the Best New Vendor of 2015! It was so exciting, and I couldn't have been more proud of my wonderful team who helped pull it all together. We are so excited to put our prize to good use - radio spots on Virgin Radio... eeeek :). Keep your ears peeled leading up to this coming Valentine's Day!
I wanted to leave you guys with a couple tips of what has worked really well in getting the most out of these shows, since they are quite the investment for small businesses!
1) Go Paperless, Be Environmentally Friendly!
Having done shows over the last two years, there is one common thing I have heard - it's that Brides are often bogged down by how much reading material they have to lug around all day. Not only that, but when they get home, they often throw out a good portion of the material they get anyways.
This year we went completely paperless in terms of promotional materials. We collected email address with our iPads, through a program that links with MailChimp called 'Chimpadeedoo' and we had our 'Wedding Candy Brochure' online and sent it out to the brides a couple days after the show (so they could have some breathing room after the overwhelming show!).
2) Prizing - Don't forget about their Posse!
We all know that at these Bridal shows, the Brides want to enter some sort of giveaway at every booth. This year, in addition to giving away a candy buffet to one lucky bride, we also capitalized on making a second giveaway something that their posse could enter as well (their bridesmaids, their mom's.. whoever was with them supporting them that day), by giving away a Candy Club Subscription.
We recieved good feedback from attendees that this was nice that they felt involved too - plus, these people will likely either be Brides themselves one day, or will have a good hand in influencing some of the decisions that the Bride makes, so it is good to collect their information as well.
3) Get Involved and Get Social!
Usually prior to the Bridal show, there are many opportunities for you to get involved with the show and get your name out there even more - a lot of vendors don't realize this.
With Bridal Fantasy they offered vendors a featured post on their blog, gave you the opportunity to customize your directory listing on their website, and even featured some vendors in their annual Bridal Magazine.
As always, getting interactive on social media helps as well - help to promote the show, engage with other vendors, and follow the shows major hashtags. Often you'll get a chance to interact with attendees via social even before the day of the show. This will keep your business top of mind so that attendees make sure to hit up your booth the day of!
{Our Feature in the Bridal Fantasy 2015 Magazine}
I hope this helps give you some ideas for the next show! I would love to hear what you guys do to prepare for the show - if you have any winning nuggets to share with the rest of us, please comment below!
Hope to see you all at the next one :)