Just my thoughts on networking in the wedding business
I had a good experience at the Aladdin Shrine Bridal Expo in Columbus on Sunday. I found a few wedding vendors to network with and very friendly and loved talking with them about their business.
I also ran into some vendors at the show saying "we don't network with anyone". I was kind of surprised because I figure that the more people that recommend your business the more booked you will become. You will receive more income for the business itself by doing so. The business is obviously not fully booked for next year because they were at the show.
For a business owner you should look at networking as word of mouth. It is free and you have more people recommending you, talking about you, and creating a buzz about your business. It only takes a little bit of effort to say "if you are looking for a florist you should call..." or if I am booked that date I would recommend a photographer. I do recommend other photographers all the time. Once I get some information from my contact form on my website and I am booked. I recommend one of ten Columbus based photographers. I also don't just e-mail them the client, I call them up sell that photographer I am recommending. It takes about three minutes of my time and I might get that photographer to recommend me in the future. The more they get booked the more dates they can recommend to me in the future.
Just my thoughts on networking in the wedding business.
Brian Kellogg