Marketing For Bridal Retailers

In most places, the level of commercial competition within the bridal retail market is considerable. Given that the bridal market in Australia is estimated to be worth upwards of 350 million Australian dollars annually, it is understandable why so many bridal businesses want a share of that considerable financial pie.

To do so, each bridal business must market and promote itself effectively; there is no shortage of ways to do that. However, underpinning any digital marketing campaign, there must be a solid foundation: the company’s branding. Without clear and effective branding, a business has no identity, and if it has no identity, few potential clients are going to consider it as a business that offers the products that they are looking for.

Multiply that problem by the thousands of brides-to-be who enter the bridal market each year in your local target area, and it becomes obvious that poor branding could cost you tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. The solution is to ensure your branding appeals to consumers and sets you apart and above your local competition. How do you achieve this for your bridal business? Well, there is no one way, but several ways, as you are about to discover.

Learn All You Can About Your Target Audience

You should be aware that there is little point in creating a brand that does not speak to the audience you are trying to capture. You must research what your target market (e.g. brides) likes and trusts. Look at social media, forums, and review sites related to weddings to see what that audience is saying and then use that insight to define your brand.

Be Original

The last thing you want for your bridal business is for it to be lost in the crowd. If it is, you have little chance of breaking free of your competition and grabbing a larger share of your local market. This is why your branding and each element should be original, so avoid cliches and try to find an angle that sets you apart.

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Every business, including those in the bridal retail sector, desires positive reviews. The boost a business gets when one of their customers or clients posts a much sought-after 5-star review along with a glowing testimonial about how great their experience was is worth more than many a sale. Conversely, get too many 1-star or 2-star reviews, and the panic sets in.

So, why are reviews so important and why do bridal businesses crave them? The reason is the change in the way that people shop for goods today via the Internet. The scenario of 30 or so years ago, when shoppers would go to streets full of retail stores or a retail mall and walk from store to store, is long gone for many people.

Today, consumers prefer to use their laptops or mobile phones to look for what they want to buy, and they start by doing research. That research lets them see not only what is available and at what price but they can also read reviews and testimonials about products and the businesses selling them. This is also known as ‘social proof’.

Google And Social Proof Via Google Reviews

One of the biggest exponents of social proof is Google, and given that they are the largest search engine online, it is also why Google reviews influence online consumer behaviour. What this means for those who own or run a bridal business is that they must seek Google reviews and, better still, positive Google reviews.

Let us compare two bridal businesses. One actively seeks reviews and testimonials; the other does not. Both sell more or less the same bridal products of the same quality and at a similar price. Which of the two do you think will have more online customer enquiries and, ultimately, more sales?

The answer is the one that has the reviews. Why? The reason is that those researching online for bridal products will look beyond prices and product ranges if they are similar and focus instead on how highly a bridal business is rated by others who have bought from them. A business with many positive Google reviews will gain the vast majority of website visits versus one with few or no reviews.

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Any bridal business, whether an online eCommerce store or a retail store in a town or city, must promote itself via a marketing strategy. Unlike businesses that have repeat customers, the fact that a wedding is usually a one-off event means that a bride is not going to return next month for another new wedding dress. She may refer other customers to you, but there is never any guarantee, so you must seek other ways to market your bridal business.

Thankfully, the internet means that the ways and means by which businesses can market themselves are almost limitless. They are limitless because you could never conceivably use them all. Even the largest corporations worldwide with unlimited marketing budgets do not do that.

Instead, what your marketing plan should include is a few marketing methods that, firstly, are proven to work, and second, you can focus on and thus benefit to the maximum extent from traffic to your bridal website or new customers coming through the doors of your bridal store.

So, in examining ways you can market your bridal business, we are not going to list twenty or even ten options. Instead, we are going to highlight just five marketing strategies. Believe us, master any one of them, and you can expect to see awesome results that will boost your bridal business’s brand and increase how many prospective bridal customers enquire about your bridal products and services.

#1 – Social Media

Any business, including a bridal business that ignores social media is severely hampering its marketing opportunities. Most people who go online have a profile on at least one social media platform, and many use multiple social media accounts.

We suggest you use those that provide the best opportunities for visual posts, such as images or videos, so Facebook, Tik Tok and Instagram are ideal candidates. Also, ensure you engage with followers on your social media pages.

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