So, you feel like you’ve been doing everything you can in your wedding business, but you’re seeing a plateau in sales. There aren’t many leads coming in, and you just aren’t happy with where your business is currently. Having your own business is never easy, and it can especially feel very competitive in the wedding industry.

However, there are numerous reasons why your wedding business may not be growing, which is what we’re going to break down for you today in actionable steps so that you can finally start seeing some results.

You Aren’t Talking About It Enough

There never comes a point in your business when it’s okay to stop talking about it. You have to continuously promote it or else people are likely to forget! Keep yourself top-of-mind by always reminding everyone that you own a business that can solve their problems. According to the Rule of Seven, people need to hear your marketing message at least seven times before they finally buy.

Think about how many ads you pass just simply scrolling through Facebook. People are bombarded with marketing every single day, so it can take some time for them to pay attention to your messaging. They could also simply just not need your product or services yet, or you haven’t built know/like/trust with that person.

However, think of an audience that you have built know/like/trust with. The answer should be obvious: your friends and family! It can be scary and sometimes even embarrassing to think about advertising your business to your personal friends and family, but this can actually bring you some great results since they already know, like, and trust you. Don’t be afraid to remind your personal Facebook friends, for example, that you own a business and would appreciate either their business or referrals.

You Don’t Post on Social Media

It’s important that you post consistently on social media. Think of this way: If you were visiting a business’ social media accounts and saw that their last post was in 2018, what would your first thought be? You would probably wonder if they were still in business, and at that point, you’d lose interest. It’s rare that anyone will dig to find out if a business is still up and running; they’ll simply move on to the next option.

That’s why you should keep all of your social media accounts up to date to let visitors know that you are still active and able to do business with them. If you’re on Facebook and Instagram, you can connect your accounts to crosspost to each. There are also different scheduling apps that allow you to crosspost to a multitude of different platforms. Though, if you are posting consistently and aren’t seeing any leads come in, it could be because…

You Aren’t Nurturing Your Audience

A popular rule to follow in your marketing is the 80/20 rule: 80% of your posts should aim to nurture your audience, and only 20% should sell. Basically, if you post a total of 20 times per month, only 4 of those posts should be promotional, while the other 16 aim to provide value.

There are tons of ways to create valuable content for your audience, like how-tos, tips and advice, motivational quotes, inspirational photos or stories, behind-the-scenes of your business or personal life, etc. Posts like these enable your audience to get to know and like you more, and showing how knowledgeable you are about your industry shows that you’re an expert who can be trusted.

Remember that people rarely open a social media app expecting to buy something. They scroll for entertainment, to learn something new, or simply because they’re bored. That’s why it’s important to cater to those expectations with the content you post, otherwise it’s unlikely that you’ll see your accounts (and business) grow if all you do is post promotional content.

You Aren’t Networking

While you’re on a mission to connect with potential customers and clients, don’t forget that you should also aim to connect with other wedding pros! You can make some awesome friendships by connecting with other industry professionals, and it’s a great way to get your name out there and collaborate with other vendors. Not to mention that, if the time arises, you can both help each other out in emergency situations and through referrals.

It’s worth it to find the time to attend networking events and conferences for wedding professionals, even if they’re virtual. You can also find Facebook groups specifically for wedding pros to connect and support each other. In fact, we have a Facebook group called Wedding Pros Guide to Abundance, and we’d love to have you! You can join right here.

You Aren’t Setting Achievable Goals

You should always have achievable goals for your business. Goals come in all sizes– you can have small daily or weekly goals, monthly goals, and large end-of-year goals– and it’s important that you’re making them realistic. Also remember that goals are fluid; you can change them at any time. In fact, we encourage you to always tweak your goals so that they align with the state your business is currently in.

Break your goals down into actionable steps. For example, if your goal for the end of the month is to have 3 new clients, what needs to be done for you to reach that goal? That could possibly mean you need to post more on social media, run paid advertisements, submit your work to a bridal magazine, register for an account on The Knot, etc. Then, those smaller goals break down into even smaller actionable steps that you can easily lay out in your calendar so they don’t feel overwhelming.

Once you start setting reachable goals and make the effort to achieve them, you’ll be blown away by the difference it can make in your business!

You Don’t Have a Business Plan in Place

Having a business plan is the key to running a sustainable and prosperous business. It determines your mission, vision, marketing strategies, projections, and is what drives your goals. It guides, directs, and drives your activities. With a plan, you know why you’re doing what you’re doing, so you aren’t constantly hesitating or questioning your activities. You feel confident making the investments you’ve planned (in advertising or in a CRM system, for example) because they are decisions you’ve already made as part of your plan.

You can wake up each day confidently knowing how and where you should be investing your valuable time and money. As part of your plan, you’ll also have the metrics or milestones– think of them like mile markers on a highway– that can tell you if your strategy is working or if it needs reassessing. Metrics aren’t emotional; they don’t change based upon our mood that day or our hopes, etc. They, along with our plan, can give us a clear picture of what’s truly going on within our business. Therefore, we can make clear decisions as we move ahead.

Without a plan, we often invest our time and money in a haphazard spur-of-the-moment manner; therefore, we get the results you’d expect from using such an approach. Take time when writing your business plan. Put a lot of thought and effort into every aspect of it and think of how it will lead your business to success.

Growth is Possible

Although it may seem like, at this moment, your business will never grow, know that it’s always possible. Also understand that your business growth is determined by the work you put into it. You have to give water and sunlight to a plant for it to flourish. If it seems you are putting the work into it and still aren’t growing, you may just need to go back and try new strategies or tweak the ones you’re currently implementing. You’ve got this!