One and Not Done: Email Sequences and Automation

Today, I’ll explain why you might need to rethink your approach to handling wedding enquiries and how to convert more of them into viewings and, ultimately, convert those viewings to bookings for your venue.

What is an enquiry anyway?

Understanding the nuances of what constitutes an enquiry is crucial. It’s not a one-size-fits-all concept, and we need to be aware that the quality of enquiries can vary significantly.

A direct enquiry via your website will generally mean that the enquirer has spent at least a few minutes looking at the pages of your website and has been compelled to get in touch with you. They may well be doing this with a small handful of other venues but the chances are they are spending time honing down their search into a valuable shortlist. However, remember that this lead from your website could have started on Google or a website referral via social media or a trusted third-party platform.

An enquiry coming directly from a third-party platform is very likely to mean that you’re one of several venues being considered at that point, the search is likely to be in earlier stages, and the enquirer is not digging so deeply yet in their research. Hence, the level of commitment at that point is less. This is where you need to step up, stand out, and shine.

It’s crucial to differentiate between direct and third-party platform enquiries and set different expectations for each. This clarity will help you tailor your approach, deepen relationships, build trust, and stand out in a crowded market.

It’s not One and Done

A single ‘enquiry response’ with your key information, packaging, and pricing might have sufficed in the past. Perhaps a follow-up email was all that was needed to secure enough viewings and bookings. However, in 2024, a more proactive and ongoing engagement strategy is necessary to ensure success.

In my opinion, several factors are at play. We have the perfect storm of the largest number of host venues available in the market, offering a smorgasbord of very high-quality choices to couples whilst, at the same time, an ever-diminishing audience as the number of couples marrying each year gradually decreases. This is also combined with the fact that the customer base is digitally overloaded and struggling to see the wood for the trees.

So what do you do to increase your bookings?

Focus on nurturing your relationship with couples.

So, what do I mean by this? Google research earlier this year suggests that a buyer needs 7 hours of interaction across 11 touch points in 4 separate locations before they make a purchase.

That’s a lot of exposure to your business or brand, and we certainly know in the wedding industry that compelling people to come in and visit in person via a viewing or showround is the hardest part. Sending one enquiry response email and a second follow-up saying ‘Would you like to come in and view’ isn’t touching the sides of what they expect. We need to reassure and encourage them to take the next steps to come to view. They may have seen your website once and perhaps your social media, but they need more touchpoints and interaction.

In that short window, from the enquiry in your inbox and up to three weeks after, you need to greet them and stand out with genuinely helpful information. This is about helping them get a feel for how you work and operate, what the team is like, and what their wedding experience will be like deepening their understanding of your venue and moving them along those touch points in an informative collaborative sense. Yes, that information might be on your website and in your socials already, but this is about using their enquiry request, which IS a sign of interest, over email to bring that info to them in bite-size chunks, not to make them dig and do the work for it!

Nurture Sequence and Email Marketing

This is the time that tech and targeted automation are your friends.

It’s time to not only reply with one response to that enquiry but build out a series of email communications that tell a story—your story. If you have the right software system, this should be easy to do and implement by pre-scheduling a campaign that allows you to send emails a fixed number of days after the enquiry arrives or to semi-automate with the capacity to ‘push’ a communication when a team member approves it.

What should your sequence look like?

The important thing here is to be yourself – what I love about the wedding industry and the venues in it is just how varied and genuinely unique they are – this should be reflected in what and how you say it, however as a guide, a typical sequence might look like the example below. My key tip here is for these emails to be short and punchy. Always remember that most couples are viewing on phones, time is short and bite-sized communications are where it’s at, so ideally, keep the length down and refer them back via links to your website, which is, after all, where you want them to spend more time.

Email One – Two days after the initial personalised enquiry response

Focus on how marriage ceremonies work at your venue. What are their options in terms of style of ceremony and locations at your venue? Refer them to a blog post or web page outlining this.

Ensure there is a ‘call to action’ to entice them to come and visit. For example, “We’d like to bring your ceremony options to life by showing you in person with a visit. You can book that here (link to online bookings calendar ideally).”

Email Two – Five days after the initial enquiry

Focus on how the catering and bar work at your venue. Is it in-house? Do they have a choice of caterers, and how does that work? What’s the range and breadth of their bar options? Again, this is the place to reference your website or, even better, informative, educational blog pages that help them with their overall wedding planning.

Also, ensure a ‘call to action’ reminding them that coming in to see you is the next step.

Email Three – Eight Days after the initial enquiry

Focus on your latest work, whether a fresh photo shoot just published or a link to your wedding galleries. It is even better if you can personalise this. So, for example, if you know this enquiry is for a winter wedding, you will want to send your inspiring winter galleries. With the support of the right software, this is all possible.

Again don’t forget the CTA that a showround/viewing is the best way to see for themselves.

More?

You might want to build further communications, but this is a starter. Of course, please always ensure you are GDPR compliant when sending email marketing. I also think it’s important not to “overdo” it—personally, having a sequence that goes on and on for weeks and months is too much for me, but this is something for you to consider in line with your brand and business and to keep an eye on the data and results that your software should easily generate for you.

What about overlap?

I’m asked this a lot by private clients; quite understandably, they are worried that if they automate too much, there will be an overlap in communications, which can look bad. So, for example, somebody has booked in for a viewing, but your series is still going out, asking them to book one. Again, with the right tech and software this can be within your control for each client where you can “pause” that campaign or adjust it at any point. If you’d like to know more about the different software options that I’ve tried and tested and have happy clients working with,  do drop me a line: kelly@kelly-chandler.com

What else do we need to consider to help convert more enquiries to wedding bookings?

The focus here has been on having a more compelling email marketing campaign, and I am seeing many of my clients increase their conversions in this area by investing here. But don’t forget there are other ways that potential customers get that interaction and those touch points; it isn’t all email marketing, and variety is the spice of life.

You can read here about why using your voice is a magic ingredient to securing bookings.