Finding your USP before engagement season

While many are starting to wind down for Christmas, wedding venues (and The Venue Experts team!) are gearing up for the busiest time of year. There are going to be hundreds of couples starting the search for their dream wedding venue in January, however with so many fantastic wedding venues around, you may feel like your venue can get a little lost. But don’t worry – there’s enough weddings to go around! You just need to make sure your venue stands out to your ideal couple. Finding your USP (unique selling point) as a venue is important whatever time of year, but during engagement season it’s crucial. No idea where to start? My top tips have got you covered…

1. Identify your differentiators

Think about it. What makes your wedding venue stand out from the competition? Do you plant a tree for every wedding? Do you give a gift to couples upon booking? Do you have a one-of-a-kind ceremony space? Do you offer bespoke food options? Are you a sustainable venue? All these things make your venue unique or special and will stand out to the right couples searching for their perfect venue. Hold a team meeting and get everyone to share what they believe makes your venue really different from the rest. It’s the perfect starting point for focusing in on that USP.

2. Tailor your message

Once you’ve really thought about what makes your venue unique and different you need to hone in on that. Niche your USP into a specific and easily digestible message that you can use across all platforms. Pick something (or things) that make your venue special, then put them in your messaging. Be sure to cut through the fluff though –?whatever it is that makes you special needs to be quickly and easily understood by couples who are likely looking at many different venues at a time. Don’t overcomplicate things –?keep it simple for best results.

3. Shout about it

So, now you’ve worked out your USP and found a way to make it instantly understandable for couples you need to make sure the world knows about it. Reinforce your USP, whatever that may be, across all your marketing materials and communications to ensure it remains top-of-mind for couples. Work it into your social media strategy, make sure it’s prominent on your website and remind your venue team (that’s everyone from sales and marketing to ops) to keep it forefront in their minds as they talk to prospective customers. Be consistent and focused.

4. All about content

To really push your USP it’s essential to have great content to share across your socials and on your website. Amazing images and video content makes all the difference in a couple’s search for their dream venue, so don’t let yourself down with unprofessional pictures. Think about it – do you have great, high-quality content of your USP? If it’s a space, ensure you have plenty of knockout images of it. If it’s a service (like the tree planting), get behind-the-scenes content of the trees being planted to share on your website and social media so people can actually see it in action. If you don’t already have this content, get it sorted now before engagement season hits. It’s not too late!

Are you ready for it?

Every wedding venue needs a USP to help prospective couples align with your venue vibe or values. Now you know how to identity one and make the most of what makes you unique, you’re ready for all those enquiry emails to come flooding in. The engagement season rush is REAL, and many venues are caught out when the inbox is full and enquiries are going unanswered due to lack of time or resources. If you want this engagement season to be the best ever for your venue, it’s time to call in the experts –?The Venue Experts! We can help with everything from outsourced sales to planning a January wedding showcase, so you can keep on top of enquiries and keep that momentum going. Want to find out more? Drop me an email at [email protected] or click here to get in touch.