This is the Transcript of the #WeddingMarket Chat on May 24, 2017 with Heidi Thompson. The answers were made on Twitter so responses will appear different.

Heidi Thompson is the author of Clone Your Best Clients and the founder of Evolve Your Wedding Business where she specializes in business and marketing strategy for wedding professionals. She helps wedding professionals grow their businesses and reach their goals without going crazy in the process. Her business & marketing expertise has been featured on several wedding and business outlets including The Huffington Post, Social Media Examiner, Wedding Business Magazine, Sprouting Photographer, Photo Biz Xposed, Honeybook, WeddingWire World & she’s an advisory board member for the UK Academy Of Wedding & Event Planning.

Q1: Why is it so important to have a blueprint or plan in place for your wedding business?

Answer

Heidi Thompson: Having an ideal client helps you have a target to aim at with your marketing & makes you more focused. It also helps you stand out as the go-to person for your ideal client which sets you apart from your competitors. It tells you not just where to market your business, but how to market to connect with this person. In short, having an ideal client makes your life easier!

Q2: Why don’t wedding pros have a plan for attracting their ideal client?

Answer

Heidi Thompson: Most wedding pros aren’t specific enough with their ideal client so they can’t develop a plan to attract them. When you think of your ideal client as one person instead of a group, it helps you see how to effectively market to them. The marketing that will work for you depends on who your ideal client is as a whole human being (not just a bride). Most wedding pros haven’t dug deep enough with their best clients to really understand them on that level. I promise you though, it’s easier than you’d think. And I get it, it’s counterintuitive. If you know where the target is, you’re a lot more likely to hit it.

Q3: How do wedding pros determine who their ideal client is?

Answer

Heidi Thompson: Who are your best clients that you wish you could clone and work with over and over again? Write down their names and think about who they are as people. What did you talk about? What are they like as people? What do they do in their spare time? How would you describe this person to a friend if you were meeting up for a drink?

Q4: Why selecting an ideal client won’t limit your business?

Answer

Heidi Thompson: You can’t appeal to everyone, not even Apple can do that. Trying to waters down your marketing so it doesn’t work. If you focus on your ideal client you stand out to them among your competitors and become the clear choice. Being that go-to person means that you can command higher prices as well!

Q5: Why you shouldn’t try to market to every bride?

Answer

Heidi Thompson: There isn’t a single brand in the world that everybody likes, so not everyone will like yours either. That’s okay! It’s actually a good thing to repel those that aren’t right for you. Magnets have to both attract and repel. When you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one and you sabotage your marketing efforts. You’ll attract people who are your perfect ideal client as well as related people so you’ll still have variety. Who do you want to be the go-to person for?

Q6: How do you know if your description of your ideal client is too broad or not?

Answer

Heidi Thompson: Are you describing them as an individual person with likes/dislikes/preferences or an amorphous blob group with no face? Do you understand their motivations, values, fears, and preferences? If not, it’s too broad.

Q7: What questions do you need to ask your past clients?

Answer

Heidi Thompson: I lay out several in Clone Your Best Clients but here are a few good ones… Why did you decide to work with me instead of another <insert what you do>? Why did you choose <package/product/service they bought> instead of another? What brands do you love? (look at how these brands communicate and market!) Where did you look for your wedding vendors? How would your partner describe you?

Q8: Why these questions need to be centered on something more personal than income level?
Answer

Heidi Thompson: There are a lot of different personalities within a given income bracket and we’re marketing to people, not demographics. Not everyone with money talks & acts like they’re in a perfume commercial. Look at Richard Branson! Not everyone with money talks & acts like they’re in a perfume commercial.  Just because someone has more money doesn’t mean they’ll spend it with you. That depends on values.

Q9: How can reviews be helpful?  

Answer

Heidi Thompson: Look at your reviews to see how your clients describe working with you and what they loved. Chances are they appreciate things about you that you didn’t even know mattered to them. Play up these things in your marketing!

Q10: Why is it important to understand your client’s problems?  

Answer

Heidi Thompson: Your service has to solve their problem or they won’t buy from you. If you don’t understand their problems, you can’t align your service with those problems. The problem may not be what you assume. Many planners assume it’s no time but that may not be true. If the problem you’re solving doesn’t line up with what they want, they won’t buy so this is super important.

Q11: What’s the best way to investigate and keep data on your previous clients?

Answer

Heidi Thompson: I collect testimonials this way. I send questions and form their answers into a testimonial then ask to use it. Interview your best clients and listen to their answers to your questions. You’ll learn SO much! They will literally tell you how to attract more people just like them if you do this right.  Clone Your Best Clients shows you how to conduct interviews step-by-step. I recommend doing these interviews on a regular basis to make sure you’re still on target. I make my clients do this and I do this myself and it’s amazing how much clarity it provides.

Q12: Once you have your client’s data how do you use it to gain more sales? 

Answer

Heidi Thompson: What assumptions were you making in how you were marketing that you need to change? Use their actual words to describe the problem you’re solving and your services. Your copy should reflect what your ideal client is looking for/thinking. Where are you spending time that doesn’t really matter for reaching your ideal client?

Q13: How do you determine where to market to attract your ideal client?

Answer

Heidi Thompson: Where have they told you that they found you and their other vendors? Focus there. Where do they definitely not look? Ditch or spend less time on these.  I’d ask who they are and work on those vendor relationships more since they’re working!

Q14: How do you give your Website the “So What” test?

Answer

Heidi Thompson: Go through how you’re describing your packages and services and ask “so what”? 8 hours of coverage….. “So what?” What does that mean for the person buying? Suddenly this becomes “So we don’t miss that moment when your dad busts out his 70s dance moves at the reception”.  That is far more digestible than something abstract like “8 hours of coverage”. That means nothing to your client.

Q15: Where can they purchase your book ”Clone Your Best Clients”? 

Answer

Heidi Thompson: You can get Clone Your Best Clients (Kindle or paperback) at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NQR62L?tag=evolveyourwed-20

Q16: What would you like everyone to take away from this #WeddingMarket Chat?

Answer

Heidi Thompson: Bride is not an identity. Get to know your best clients as people if you want to attract more of them. You don’t have to make up what you do to attract more of your best clients. They will tell you.