What Do Bride’s Want?
Answer: CONFIDENCE IN YOUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE HER THE ENTERTAINMENT SHE HAS ALWAYS DREAMED OF.
That’s what most brides are looking for. Do you have the ability to perform to a level that provides the bride with the reception that she has always dreamed about? Think about it. This is supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime event (at least most brides approach the wedding with that idea in mind!). This bride may be spending $6,000 to $30,000 on her wedding. Over the years, we have adjusted our marketing approach to give the bride CONFIDENCE in our service that we will provide her with four basic things:
1. PLANNING - Our sales pitch to every bride includes the fact that we will plan every detail of her reception (that pertains to our service). You would be amazed at the number of brides that seem genuinely relieved when we explain to them that we provide this service to them. For this reason, every marketing packet that we send a bride includes our Wedding Reception Planner. This demonstrates that we will plan her reception so that she can relax and enjoy the wedding day. We cover everything from entertaining children that may be present at the reception, to even coordinating with other vendors to ensure a smooth reception)
2. Tricks - While some brides just assume we have a good variety of magic, other brides (and parents!) are concerned that we have the type of effects they want. Nothing like showing up dressed like Silly Billy to an all-adult wedding reception! This is why we print up our sample “Magic Effects” listing, that is categorized by type of magic as they believe it would appeal to their guests. Since weddings are the bulk of what I do, the tricks listed are geared to weddings and a romantic theme.
3. Emcee Service – We all take this for granted – but keep in mind that the bride has probably been to several weddings in recent years. More importantly, she has probably seen several bands.Who will keep the guests entertained while the band is on break? Most brides want an Emcee that is a professional, who is dressed professionally, and who can Emcee the reception in a professional manner. Most importantly, she doesn’t want an Emcee who will embarrass her in front of her friends and relatives. This means she doesn’t want someone who makes a fool of him or her self on the microphone. Give her confidence that you can fulfill her entertainment needs. She shouldn’t be thinking about little details- instead she should be trusting you to handle them all!
4. Performance/Interactivity – Since I do about 175 weddings annually, I speak with a wide variety of brides. Some brides tell me that the last wedding they attended, if there was a magician present, that the magician did ONLY card tricks, and did little (if anything) to motivate the guests and provide a high energy level. This bride clearly wants a FUN magician. Other brides we speak with have seen the other extreme – they attended a wedding where the magician was standing on chairs as a stage, being what we call “the show-off” magician- loud and obnoxious. It’s up to you to find out what each and every bride wants in the way of personality/interactivity for each wedding. If you explain to the bride that you can offer either the “low key” approach, or the “Fun magician” approach (in a tasteful manner), you will give her the confidence in your service that you will provide her with the type of personality she is looking for.
All of these things combined are an important factor to most brides. Sure, you will find those brides who are looking for the cheapest magician, and quality isn’t important to them, but I think they are in the minority. I believe that brides come in three categories:
- The Cheap Brides – looking for the cheapest magician, quality not important.
- The Average Bride – Looking for a magician who has a reasonable price AND provides a good quality service. IMPORTANT!!! This bride may present herself as the “Cheap Bride” over the phone, because the first question she’ll ask is “how much”? However, if you take the time to talk with her about the wedding, you will find that she is genuinely concerned about the performance of the magician and the quality.
- The Quality Bride – Looking for a magician who provides outstanding performance and services. Price doesn’t matter.
Obviously, we prefer bride #3, but most often deal with bride #2. It is my belief that there are many more “Average Brides” than “Cheap Brides”. It is your job to focus on the Average Bride, and educate this bride, so that she is willing to pay more than she expected to for the entertainment (assuming that your prices are higher than the bottom feeders in your area). This is why it is important to have good marketing materials and a refined sales pitch over the phone.
We adjusted our entire sales pitch many years ago, to focus on giving the client the perception that we provide a high quality service, both before the wedding with our detailed planning services and the day of the wedding with our quality performances and attention to details. For us, this has been the most effective method of closing the sale at a price that is higher than the average rate for magicians in our market area. If you leave a bride with the perception that you provide a high quality service that is different from your competitors, do you believe that this bride will book a magician that is $100 cheaper than you? More often than not, I believe that the bride will pay the additional cost for quality. If you haven’t seen this success, closely examine every aspect of your services (in the categories listed above) for deficiencies. Are you up to snuff? If not, improve your services, marketing materials and phone sales techniques. I am certain you will reap the benefits through increased bookings at higher prices if you do.
Thanks again for reading! See you all soon!!
Kobi
Kobi performing for guests at a bridal show.
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