This week we spoke with Julian from professional chauffeur wedding service Sydney Eleanor Hire, about the importance of online content and how to act like you’re big even if you’re still growing.
Tell us a bit about your business and your experience in the wedding industry
We have 3 x Original Shelby GT500 Eleanor’s and have been operating on a premium listing with Easy Weddings for 6 years. We’ve found that at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what car or product you have, because couples need to know about you to enquire. There is an old saying that there’s no point in having a Ferrari parked in the desert. So we take hundreds of photos and videos and never stop promoting our business and cars online. Our online presence and reviews is the key to our success.
What do you do to make your business stand out?
Our focus is productivity and our aim is to be posting more photos and videos than anyone else. Which we believe is not a difficult task to achieve because most wedding companies do very little compared to what they could be doing. We’re very process driven in how we deal with our clients and we never work on verbal agreements or cash sales. We do accept cash but everyone will receive a tax invoice so the customer can feel at ease in dealing with us.
Another method we find effective is to invite prospective clients to come and meet us in person. If they agree to this we increase our chance of taking a booking. But while most wedding companies are small businesses due to most weddings taking place on weekends, it’s important to make sure that you still appear professional. The theory is even if you’re small act like you’re big. Find a nice neutral place to meet. Even if the couples suggests it, it’s very unprofessional to meet somewhere like a McDonald’s!
How do current couples differ from couples a few years back?
We’ve found that couples are more educated that they were a few years ago. And with everything on the internet now it’s important to build your presence online. We are always working on getting reviews, so when a customer thanks us this is the perfect time to ask. We always send them a link and follow up. Setting yourself targets is important to achieving results.
What are some current trends you are noticing in the wedding industry?
Weddings are getting bigger which means that couples are even tighter on their budgets. It’s important to keep it simple and not over-complicate your offering.
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned recently that’s helped your business?
The most recent thing we’ve been working on is our reviews on Google My Business and TripAdvisor because it offers great SEO to our business.
If you could give one piece of advice to a brand new wedding professional what would it be?
Take as many photos and videos as you can. Never stop trying to think of new ideas. Be as productive as you can and spend as much time as you can in your spare time building your online presence. Remember your grass will never cut itself.
What are your predictions for the wedding industry in 2019? What do you think will be the next big thing?
While current trends seem to be on big weddings with extravagant wedding receptions, we think this will change because couples are having to make sacrifices on their cars and honeymoon. Why would you want to go to the Gold Coast when you could go to the Maldives instead. Cutting the number of guests going to the wedding reception is the logical decision for the couple getting more for their money.
Wedding Venues
Wedding Dresses
