How to get the most out of wedding shows!
Are you getting the most out of wedding shows, or are you leaving business on the table? Do you have a follow-up system ready before the show, or do you scramble afterward and lose momentum? Are you prepared not just on the day, but for what happens before and after? In this episode I share why follow-up is the real secret to wedding show success, how to engage couples with the right messaging and landing pages, and why bringing the right team matters more than just a pretty booth.
Listen to this new 12-minute episode for practical tips to improve your wedding show ROI and make sure your follow-up stands out.
If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at [email protected] or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com
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View the full transcript on Alan’s site: https://alanberg.com/blog/
How to get the most out of wedding shows. Listen to this episode, find out.
Hey, it’s Allen Berg. Welcome back to another episode of the Wedding Business Solutions Podcast. I think it’s right about the time of the year to revisit this topic because it does pop up every once in a while. And I know that in most areas, wedding shows are seasonal. I know that a lot of you listening don’t do them. I also know that some of you used to do them and don’t do them anymore.
I also know that some of you have never done one and are wondering, what should I do? Here’s what I’ve found over the years. The key to success from any type of trade show—whether it’s a wedding show, a corporate trade show, a fundraising trade show, a mitzvah trade show, a car show, it doesn’t matter what it is—is not just what happens on the day. It’s what happens before, what happens there, and what happens afterwards.
I’ve done presentations on this called “6 Steps to Wedding Show Success.” I wrote about it in my book, Wit, Wisdom, and the Business of Weddings. There’s a chapter about it there. So let me talk about this.
I’m going to say this right up front. For those of you who don’t listen to the end of a podcast, the key is follow-up.
Most people who do a wedding show, an open house, or any event where they meet engaged couples—or corporate clients, mitzvah clients, or any other audience—don’t follow up at all. Of the ones who do, very few follow up more than once or twice. Many of you think you’ve checked the box because you sent one email, but that’s not going to get you the best results.
So let me try to keep this within the 10 minutes I aim for and tell you how this works.
The first thing: I’m not going to tell you how to set up your booth. Figure that out yourself. Just be prepared for the things that could go wrong. Have extra materials, tape, zip ties, duplicates of important items, extra power banks, and whatever you need to take information, process credit cards, or sign contracts.
As far as what goes in your booth, make it crystal clear what you do when someone walks up. Have good signage, and have it up high. If your booth fills with people—which is a good thing—you still want everyone else to know what you do. I’ve seen too many booths where you walk up and have no idea what service they offer.
The next most important thing, which very few people do, is prepare your follow-up before the show.
This is why so many people never follow up. They leave the show with a list, maybe provided by the promoter, and then they wonder what to do with it. Since they weren’t prepared, life gets in the way. They get busy, and they never get around to it.
If you’re going to send emails, have them written, created, and ready to go before the show. The only thing missing should be the recipient names.
Whatever email system you use—Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Zoho, or anything else—your follow-up should already be prepared.
When I do a show, my follow-ups are ready. All I need are the names.
Remember that people will open these emails on their phones. Send them to yourself first and look at them on a phone. Better yet, have someone else review them. They can spot typos and formatting issues you might miss.
Sometimes copied text looks fine where you’re editing it but appears with different font sizes on the recipient’s device. Test everything.
Avoid attachments. Just like when responding to inquiries, attachments can trigger spam filters or make people hesitant to open your email. Instead, send a short message with a link to a landing page you created specifically for that event.
If you do multiple shows during the year, create a reusable landing page for wedding shows. Don’t send people to your homepage—especially if you also do corporate events, mitzvahs, schools, quinceañeras, or other markets. If someone met you at a wedding show, send them to a page focused entirely on weddings.
Better yet, create a page specifically for that event.
Use the same imagery from your booth and your email so everything feels connected.
Keep the page short. Tell them what’s in it for them. Explain why they should care and what action you want them to take.
Every page should include four things:
Images that show the results of working with you.
Text that talks about the results clients receive—not just the services you provide.
Social proof with short testimonials describing those results.
A clear call to action.
Include a simple contact form, phone number, email address, texting option—whatever makes it easy for them to reach you.
I like headlines like, “Why do couples like you choose us for your…” followed by the service you provide.
Then answer that question with three or four one-sentence testimonials focused on outcomes.
Finish with a clear call to action: “If these are the results you want, call us, email us, text us, or fill out this form.”
Also, don’t stop with one email.
Have multiple follow-up emails scheduled. Send one immediately, another in two or three days, another the following week, another two weeks later, and keep going.
Not everyone is ready today.
You should end every show with four lists.
The first list is your sales.
Are you prepared to make sales? If you don’t have contracts, can’t take deposits, or aren’t ready to close business, you won’t make sales because you weren’t prepared.
I remember a show producer in Texas who wanted to prove vendors could make sales at the show. He offered to pay exhibitors up to $250—10% of the deposit amount—if they brought him a signed contract and deposit from the show. Every event, he gave away that money because vendors who were prepared made sales.
Some couples attend a wedding show intending to plan their wedding that very day.
The second list is appointments you’ve booked.
If they’re not ready to buy, schedule an appointment while you’re talking with them.
The third list is people you spoke with who aren’t ready to schedule yet but shared useful information. Since you know something about them, you can follow up personally.
The fourth list is everyone who attended the show, assuming the promoter provides that list.
Each of those four groups should receive a different type of follow-up.
During the show, don’t sit in your booth.
Don’t eat in your booth.
Bring people who are actually qualified to speak with attendees.
Don’t just bring your niece because she’s cute. Bring someone who understands your business and can qualify prospects. If your niece isn’t a salesperson, she can schedule appointments while you continue talking with other people.
The same goes for cousins, parents, or anyone else helping. They don’t all belong on the front line unless they can explain your business well.
Another thing I used to do was arrive early, set up my booth, and then walk around helping other exhibitors set up theirs.
If someone later asks them for a referral, they’re more likely to recommend the person who helped them.
Why not let that person be you?
Stay until the very end of the show.
Don’t pack up early.
If couples are still there, you want to be available to talk with them.
I’ve done this at industry trade shows for years. Sometimes exhibitors start packing up while there are still hundreds or even thousands of people finishing a session.
I’ve literally moved my table into the hallway so I’d still be visible when everyone came out.
Again, it’s all about follow-up.
Show promoters will tell you that only 5–10% of exhibitors follow up at all.
Be one of the people who follows up.
Better yet, follow up better.
Better still, follow up more.
Keep following up until someone unsubscribes, says yes, or says no.
Show season is coming up—or if you’re listening later, it will come around again. This advice is evergreen. It applies no matter what kind of trade show you attend or where you are in the world.
If you’re considering doing a show, and you think they never work, there are often reasons why they don’t—and it’s not necessarily because of the attendees.
When you talk to a show promoter, don’t ask only, “How much is a booth?”
That’s the same mistake clients make when they ask you, “How much is a DJ?” or “How much is photography?” without asking anything else.
Instead, ask whether the audience is geographically where you want to work, demographically the type of people you want, and psychographically aligned with the kinds of clients who value what you do.
You’re not for everybody, and you shouldn’t be.
Before asking the price, make sure it’s the right audience.
When I was selling advertising, I always told my sales reps they weren’t selling ads—they were selling access to our audience.
A wedding expo brings together a unique audience that will never exist in exactly the same way again.
Do you want access to those people?
Even if attendance is down, that isn’t always bad.
Sometimes a quieter show gives you more meaningful conversations with serious buyers.
I recently attended a trade show I’ve worked for years. Attendance was lower than usual, yet we had one of our best years because the people who showed up were serious buyers. We had quality conversations and made sales.
I hope this gives you something to think about.
There’s more detail in Wit, Wisdom, and the Business of Weddings, and I also recorded another podcast on this topic a couple of years ago. I thought it was time to revisit it.
I’m not going to tell you which specific show you should do.
Talk to the promoter.
Ask whether they’ve done it before.
Ask for realistic attendance numbers.
Talk to exhibitors who have participated year after year.
Get referrals to repeat exhibitors so you hear from people with long-term experience.
Just because someone says a show didn’t work for them doesn’t mean it won’t work for you.
It’s like someone saying they didn’t like a restaurant that you end up loving.
There are many factors involved.
Often, people simply weren’t prepared.
You’ve seen it. People sit in their booths staring at their phones instead of engaging with attendees.
Then afterwards, they don’t follow up.
They’re leaving money on the table every single time.
If people came to the show and you don’t follow up, you’re essentially saying what my postcards say:
“If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.”
That’s exactly what’s happening.
If you don’t follow up, the answer is no.
If you do follow up, they just might do business with you.
I hope this gave you something to think about.
If you’ve never done wedding shows, maybe now you can approach them a little differently.
If you’ve done them before without success, maybe there’s something you can improve—or maybe you can use automation or AI to help with your follow-up.
There are some great tools available now.
Thanks for listening.
I’m Alan Berg. Thanks for listening. If you have any questions about this or if you’d like to suggest other topics for “The Wedding Business Solutions Podcast” please let me know. My email is [email protected] or you can text, use the short form on this page, or call +1.732.422.6362, international 001 732 422 6362. I look forward to seeing you on the next episode. Thanks.
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