Like it or not, regardless of how old you are or how long you've been in the business, you'll keep getting older and your couples will pretty much stay the same age. With this, your clients will continue to be more and more tech-savvy and your business needs to be able to keep up!
B.P.C. (Before PC)
We’re betting that some of you started in this industry before PC’s. You did business face to face, talked on the phone from your desk, faxed information, and sent contracts via snail mail. The good news is that if you're here reading this now, you survived dial-up and learned to do business with a website, send information and agreements via email, and do business on the road with a cell phone. Upgrading your technology made your life easier, helped you to grow your business, and made the planning process easier for your couples.
Then Came Text Messages
Text messages are a double-edged sword. But, if you understand it and control it, you can make it work for you. The first thing to understand is that you need to throw out anything you learned in grammar school about sentence structure. Text created a sound bite generation and anything as long as a paragraph causes the reader to lose interest, skip over information, and not answer some of your questions. One or two sentences, bullet points, and breaking out questions on your website and in emails will make life more productive for you. The good of text messages is that you can typically reach a client while they're at work and not able to talk. The bad is that it's hard to manage and consolidate information into a client file. By managing your client, driving them to email for more extended conversations, and shooting them a recap of any text conversations you have will make life easier and help get you answers now.
Pro Tip: As expert wedding pros, taking notes and keeping track of every little detail is a big part of our everyday workflow. Meeting notes, cake tasting notes, ceremony details and packing lists are just some of the things we document throughout the event planning or project management process. Being able to locate, reference, and share these gems of information ultimately contribute to the finely tuned strings we pull to weave the most memorable day for our clients. By keeping your notes in Aisle Planner, you’ll always know where to find them, and your staff and clients can easily access them to stay updated and add their own notes as you plan.
Organization & Consolidation
Technology like Aisle Planner can aid you in taking your business to the next level. From creating your own customizable branded landing page to the powerful CRM capabilities, technology is here to make your life easier. Aisle Planner takes it one step further with project checklists, timelines, and design tools to bring all the details of your event together to streamline your processes, not only with your clients, but with your fellow events pros, too! With powerful tools linked seamlessly together in one stylish, intuitive, and easy-to-use online environment, you stay connected to your team, your clients, your partners, and every detail of every project and event.
The Real End User
While it looks like most B2B technology you'll use in your business benefits you, it’s important to remember that the end user is really your customer. Today’s couples were born with a smart device in their hand, literally, and search engines give them answers to everything at their fingertips. From shopping online to picking seats in the movie theater, it all happens now. Any opportunity to engage technology in your business will not only simplify your life, but keep your clients engaged and up to date, and their tasks more manageable.
It’s All About the Money
Using technology efficiently can give you more hours in the day to book more business or help manage your work-life balance. But what about focusing on your use of technology as a sales tool and an opportunity to charge more money? Showcasing your knowledge and use of technology is a huge selling point for clients who might be in different time zones, traveling for work, or just have a crazy busy life on top of planning their wedding or event. Your use of simple, integrated platforms that keep everyone on the same page and allows for easy collaboration makes the client's life more comfortable. That's worth a premium! Keeping up with trends, technology, and your clients’ needs will catapult you to the front of the line and aid in keeping your sales funnel filled.
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