alright, i am scheduled to be in 2 bridal shows in the upcoming months. both of which are 1.5- 2 hours away from my home. (i am a home based business in a really small town)
typically i have been driving up to 2 hours to go meet with my clients at either a coffee shop or their house. mainly because i didn't have a room in my house setup to meet people in, and because i wasn't sure if people would really travel that distance to come see me.
so i have been throwing around a bunch of ideas.. i am going to be converting a spot in my house for consultations. so i will now have a place to meet with people.but.. i am still not totally convienced that people with travel to come see me... so as an insentive i was going to offer peopl $50 off the cost of thier cake if they can to me... (not sure how to put that in words exactly) or they have the option for me to see them for a small cost.
what do you think???? i really need some good advice here.
thanks
I would try it first before I began giving anything away....... I too am in a small town, and the girls have to travel one to two hours just to look at bridal gowns etc........They WILL travel to get what they want..... You may have to do some advetising, but I wouldn't "give" anything away just yet. Do you have a website ?
That sounds like a good idea, everyone wants a deal! I have the same situation, I do bridal shows that are an hour from my house. What I do is have a cake tasting once a month at a hotel conference room in the city where the shows are. That way I only have to make cake samples once a month, I can stay there all day, and the brides don't have to travel. I usually work the leads list and email or send postcards to the brides letting them know my dates.
Good Luck!
I wouldn't give anything away. If they want your cake they shouldn't have a problem going to meet you. People don't call the florist or bridal shop and expect them to go to them they have to travel to that location. I would do the opposite. If they go to you that's fine you don't have to charge (some people charge for tastings and some don't). If they want you to travel to them, time is money. I would charge a mileage fee + an hourly fee including the round trip. If you are gone for a total of 4 hours for a consult you can't be making a cake during that time. That time is lost and there is no guarantee that they will book with you. If you ask any trade to come give you a consult at your home they do the same thing. Why would you be any different, don't underpay yourself
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all of what you say is very valid. i have a fear of not getting very many booking from these shows. they are alot of money to enter to begin with you know. i have a website and i think i can offer alot. but... there are going to be up to 6 other cakes decorators at these shows who are more local for these brides. all have different styles... whychoose me... ya know??? i think i need an insentive.
When I first started doing bridal shows, I was driving to meet with every bride as well-sometimes up to 1 hour + in each direction. Eventually I decided it was taking too much time so I started having brides come to my house. No one has ever complained. Some have driven over 1+ hour each way to meet with me and not batted an eyelash about it. It definitely makes it more convenient for me and I am better able to schedule my time. One thing I did do after my first two shows when I was competing with more experienced cake decorators was to send a personalized letter out to all the brides that attended the show. I put a coupon at the bottom for $20 off any cake over $200 if they booked (with a deposit) before XYZ date. Another thing you could do is send a followup letter or postcard reminding them to book at this year's prices by Dec. 31st or whatever date you pick before your prices increase for next year.
Because of my ad on the knot, i deal with a lot of out of state brides. Trust me, I'm not driving to Texas to meet a bride! 
They plan their appts on when they will be in the area. I've had brides drive down from Chicago, up from Kentucky, and a few moms from Ohio.
It never ever crossed my mind for me to drive to meet THEM somewhere. Above post is right ... the florist and other vendors dont' do it, nor do brides expect them to.
If you are talking about a large town that is 2 hours away, I can tell you that I would never drive two hours away. My cake decorator for my wedding in June '07 was 30 minutes away and I grumbled about having to drive to the other side of town. People that live out in the country wouldn't mind visiting you but those like me that live near town will not drive that much. You might should just feel each bride out. Something like, "Can you meet me at my house in xxxx anytime in the next two weeks?" and just see what she says.
does the big city 2 hours away have a lot of good decorators already? if thats the case, i honestly don't know if you'll get many people coming to you when they live 15-20 mins away from a good decorator with good cake. i live in cincinnati, and there are several excellent wedding cake businesses here. i can't imagine a bride driving 2 hours away to middle of nowhere kentucky to do a cake tasting when they can get a great cake right here. make sense? indydebi your situation is different, because your brides are choosing you for convenience. their reception is close to you, their decorator which is more convenient that getting a cake in texas and flying it to indiana. im assuming that in the OP's situation the brides will be having receptions in the bigger city, not in your small town, and will again choose to go with the convenience of a cake decorator near by. if this is the case, you may want to offer the discount to off set the convenience factor. but that being said, i would try it without first. if you don't get brides coming out to you, then add it later. good luck!
becca,very good points! Something I learned recently from a fellow caterer is the diff between large city and small town brides. We were talking about a new reception site that we'd all just heard about, but this other caterer thought it would be too far out of the way for (big city) brides to go. I said, "I have brides from (this town) hold their receptions in Indy all the time, so why wouldn't (big city) brides go there?"
She said: "Brides from a small town will travel to a large city for their wedding/reception, but brides from a large city will rarely travel to a small town facility."
She's been doing this for years and is a very credible lady. I found that to be a very interesting observation. Whether it applies everywhere, I don't know, but she's noticed it in our area.
Indydebi wrote:
She said: "Brides from a small town will travel to a large city for their wedding/reception, but brides from a large city will rarely travel to a small town facility."
I think that is a very true observation. I live in a small town and travel to the city to work every day. I've found that when I get together with my city friends, they prefer that I come to the city. They don't especially like driving 45-50 miles out to the country to my house.
Back to the brides: Small town/country living brides are used to going to the city for work, dining, shopping, doctor, hospital, etc and think nothing of the 30 minute-1 hour drive (one way). The city brides are used to having everything close by. They small town/country living brides have more than one errand/things to do when they go to the city whereas the city bride can't also shop for her dress, flowers, invites, etc while she is in the country.
HammIam: I think I would wait about offering the incentive. Try it without at first and see how it goes. I don't really think that I would give a $50 certificate though unless they place a really, really large order.
Is there a really cool/unique restaurant or antique/speciality shop in your town/area? If so, be sure to tell them about that too. That way, they can feel like they are doing more than one thing when they come. (I hope I explained that well).
well, i've been thinking about this ALOT. and i know from going to these shows as an "observer" i like to do my research. I found that even the local cake companies would offer a 15% off discount... so i think i have to offer something more. this i think will be either a hit or miss for me. and i can't afford for it to be a miss.ya know??? i will adjust accordingly so that i don't loose money.
thanks for the imput!
I offered a $10 off coupon to every bride at the shows. It went into their goody bags. I very rarely had any of them claim it when they placed an order.
I would try to get them to come to you or at least meet halfway. I live in a rural area and the brides are more than willing to drive. I guess it depends on where you and your clients live. I would try to get them to come to you and if they don't want to make the drive, ... then offer the discount to encourage them. I like the idea of telling them about the other places to shop in your area! That's a great idea.
Are you charging delivery on these long distance weddings?
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