Just a day or so, ago, I posted an item about an effort by businesses in Naples, Florida that have experienced a drop on business inquiries due to misconceptions about beach conditions, related to the BP oil spill.

Coincidently, USA today ran a front page article on the same issue, today. The article describes the greater geographical issue affecting businesses for general travel, destination weddings, and the like.

Thank you to the Naples Chapter of the National Association of Wedding Professionals for inviting to present a seminar and meeting talk, yesterday. It was a treat to meet so many new people and enjoy this most beautiful area in Southwest Florida.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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As I sit on the balcony, gazing into the sunset, the rhythmic sound of waves, crashing softly on the beach, provides the soundtrack. Kids, laughing and playing, pierce the air with joy. Couples stroll, hand-in-hand, into the heavy air that coats the evening breeze.

I am at the Naples Beach Hotel in Naples, Florida. Life is beautiful.

There is just one thing…. For local businesses, the inquiries have slowed. The phones ring less frequently.

You see Naples is on the West Coast of Florida…. the Gulf Coast of Florida. You’ve heard about the BP Oil Spill, haven’t you?

Newsflash: THERE IS NO OIL HERE!! And it is projected at a 1% chance that this area will see any oil.

Yet people listen and watch cable news with one ear and one eye, if that much. It’s maddening enough that businesses is the center of the actual tragedy have to suffer. But why should this area, and others, suffer, too.

Not wanting to wait for the public relations cavalry, some area businesses started a blog: The Coast Is Clear Naples. It just has a few posts and pictures, so far, but it’s a beginning. It brings voice to this beautiful region of Florida and explains to the world that Naples is Open-For-Business.

Tomorrow, I will teach a seminar on social media and give a presentation for a membership drive, to members and guests of the National Association of Wedding Professionals – Naples Chapter. It may seem unlikely to some that a band of mostly small business owners can make sufficient noise to bring business to their community.

I, for one, don’t doubt it for a second. After all, they’ve taken the first step, in the right direction. Hear the rippling waves roar.

Visit Naples!

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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Josh Ozersky is a James Beard Award–winning food writer wrote an item on Time.com, titled: Great Wedding Food: Tips from a Newly Married Critic. His sweeping generalizations placed the entire industry of off-premise wedding caterers under-the-bus.

The item has created quite a controversy and generated massive response from the industry, since its original posting on June 15th. For some reason, TIme.com has blocked further comments on the article.

Here is the incendiary conclusion, quoted directly from the article.

“So here’s my advice to anyone who is starting to plan a wedding: Forget the caterer! Plug directly into the source of your hometown’s culinary delights, and happiness, enduring and radiant, will immediately follow. I’m still glowing, and my only regret is not getting to take any of the cake or lasagna home.”

– Josh Ozersky

Mike Roman, CaterSource, sent a stinging email in response to the article. He frames the key issues, and incredibly off-base approach to Ozersky’s article with surgical precision.

Opinion: There is nothing worse than overplaying a point, using sweeping generalizations in the process. To have such comment coming from a food industry professional is lame at best, perhaps crossing the line to unethical. The article is a new low in wedding marketing misinformation.

I encourage you to read the original Time.com piece, the comments, and Mike Roman’s response.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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On Wednesday, I had the privilege of speaking to a packed room of members and guests of Convention Services Association – Las Vegas, on a topic, titled “Situational Ethics: What Would You Do?.” I wasn’t so much a speaker, as moderator, or instigator.

What was interesting was the caution, with which people chose to answer to the scenarios I challenged them with. Rock the boat? Only when pressed. Perhaps it was a fear of YouTube or secret audio recordings.

Sometimes, the answers came quickly. But when challenged with the possible outcomes, some folks went into retreat.

One of the classic scenarios involved an obstinate catering manager directing the disc jockey to cut the cake, NOW!

In this scenario, NOW!, would have been about 90 minutes earlier than the bride had detailed, with the DJ. About two and half hours before the end of the event.

It’s an out of town bride, in contract, directly with the DJ, having discussed and planned the schedule of events with them. The catering manager had her own plans, preferring to cut staff expenses, with a shorter shift, despite having charged the client a cake cutting fee.

In simple terms, the bride is the DJ’s client. In more complex terms, the DJ is being ‘ordered’ by the catering manager to ‘Do what I say, or you won’t work here, again.”

So, what would you do? Who the client is, officially, is one thing. How you proceed can be quite another thing.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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Today, MGM Mirage became MGM Resorts International. Seems like a minor adjustment, but it is important. Mirage, as a part of the name, was derived from the purchase of hotel/casinos from hotel developer Steve Wynn.

Now that it is some years down the road, the identity update simplifies the name, and further clarifies it. Adding the word, Resorts, denotes a style of property, above and beyond hotel. International signifies the worldwide presence of MGM.

Over time, what your business does, and where it does business may evolve. A photography company may add video. A DJ service may add lighting and props. A floral company may add balloon art and other decor.

The primary questions you should ask yourself are these:

• Does your business provide more services than the current business name reflects?
• Does your business name/logo employ a subtitle, as a clarifier, to state its range of services?
• Is the logo outdated from either a text or graphic standpoint?

Updating a logo or modifying a business name is an important step. It is a challenging process, as one needs to roll out the changes throughout print, web, and all other visual elements.

However, it is also a public relations opportunity to restate what your business does, and stands for, in the present tense.

We often think that customers and professional peers know everything that our business does. Typically, that is not correct. They tend to know, only what they hire us for. Doing a brand update is your opportunity to freshen your identity and reeducate your client base.

How do you answer those few questions?

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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This morning, the lyrics from a 1960′s song popped into my head.

“Slow down, you move too fast. You got to make each morning last. Just kickin’ down the cobble-stones, lookin’ for fun and feelin’ groovy.”

At the end of a 10-day speaking trip, that took me from Las Vegas to Sioux Falls, SD, to Madison, Wi, to Milwaukee, WI, to Anchorage, AK, and back to Las Vegas…. I should be spent. Tired? A little. But at the same time refreshed.

Hospitality was in abundance, everywhere, starting with Kari Black (Black Events) in Sioux Falls. We enjoyed a dinner with most of her staff, and her husband. And, she turned out an audience of 120 for my presentations.

Anchorage was the topper. Through my involvement with NACE (National Association of Catering Executives), my personal relationships with some chapter members goes back more than 15 years. Some of the most memorable moments from NACE conferences come from two leadership meetings, here, in Anchorage.

Phyllis Rice was there to greet me at the airport. A very friendly face after an 11-hour flying marathon. She drove an exhausted-Andy to the Historic Anchorage Hotel, ably managed by Terri Russi, another Anchorage NACE member. I stumbled up to my room, only to be greeted by a huge gift basket and stunning floral arrangement. Both accompanied by personal, handwritten notes.

My meeting contact, Cindy Marshall, touched based with me on multiple occasions to make certain I had everything I needed.

The seminar and chapter meeting went beautifully. The Audio-Visual work was ready well in advance, and all my guidelines were followed to a ‘T’.

The crowning day was yesterday. Phyllis took a day off from work, and personally escorted me on a trip to Whittier, where we departed on a 26-glacier cruise. Alaska is vast, beautiful, natural, and stunning. And we enjoyed the day, and the vistas, without the accompaniment of a cell phone signal.

We made the most of the time seeing the sights, chatting about a whole range of things, and enjoying the peace of it all. My iPhone camera managed to capture some amazing photos and the images are also burned in my brain.

I sit here, this morning, ready to be picked up for a getaway breakfast with some of the NACE chapter board members. Then, off to the airport.

The hospitality and personal care of my Anchorage hosts has been second to none. It is wonderful to make presentations, wherever I go. But when you are treated as an old friend, and a visiting dignitary, it is something truly special.

Be an evangelist and good host for your city. The ripple effect can travel a long way.

With warm appreciation,

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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There are more than a dozen categories for the current version of NACE Awards (National Association of Catering Executives). In many categories there is more than one opportunity. Industry awards are separated into budget categories. Chapter awards are divided by chapter size: Fewer than 100 members; 100 members are ore more.

There are also volunteer service awards. That’s a lot of opportunity for recognition.

NACE Chapter Leaders: I’m calling you out!!

There is one category that every chapter should have an entry for. That category is Program of the Year.

Fundraisers aside, because they are in a separate category, every chapter has about 10 regular programs during the year. It has always struck me the every chapter should have at least one program that they believe is of superior, award-worthy, value.

The task of entering is no longer that daunting. Just seeing your chapter’s name on the presentation screens, at NACE Experience! Educational Conference will feel great. Should your chapter win, it is an emotional payday for all the volunteers who carried out that program, and for the chapter, in general.

The deadline for entry is May 14th. No excuses accepted!

One may feel that last year’s fundraiser wasn’t great enough, that community service was below par, or that overall successes don’t really make your chapter a credible candidate for Chapter of the Year.

Individuals tend to enter the Industry Awards categories. Chapters often submit their best citizens for NACE service awards.

Am I trying to guilt you into submitting for NACE Chapter Program of the Year. YOU BET I AM!

There are NO legitimate excuses. Get with the Program!

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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The Velvet Rope Effect

As someone who was born into nightclubs and baseball, it is ironic that I am incredibly adverse to waiting in lines. However, inversely, I admire businesses that can create that situation.

In the disco era, the height of the Velvet Rope Effect was Studio 54 in New York City. Not only were you forced to wait in line, but greeters would cherry pick who would, or would not be, admitted to the club. If you were not chic enough, or beautiful enough, you were left standing in the street. This continues today at ultra lounges in Las Vegas and hotspots around the globe.

A more benign version is seen when there is a sporting event with high ticket demand, combined with an expectation for a sellout. I lived in San Francisco, when the Giants built a new baseball park, about 10 years ago. The combination of a competitive team, several marquee players (notably Barry Bonds), the excitement about the new venue, and superb marketing, led to an anticipation of tickets being sold out for the entire season.

This, in fact, became a self-fulling prophecy. The Giants released waives of tickets, on a priority basis, to preferred seat license holders, previous season ticket holders, previous multi-game package buyers, and, finally, the masses. I fell into the ‘previous multi-game package group’, which afforded me the opportunity to scoop up single-game tickets, before the masses.

Yesterday, marked the official introduction of the Apple iPad. I noted several significant interesting marketing outcomes, both incredibly positive and annoying, too.

• News Reporting: iPad received a boatload of coverage, both leading up to the release, and this weekend, in particular. General news coverage was everywhere, but often off-point and cliche in their reporting. The upside is in overall brand and product recognition, and synergy showing the excitement of being one-of-the-first to buy/own the product. In large part, that effect mirrors the initial release of the iPhone.
• Tech Industry News/Blogs: More than general media, the industry coverage was far too concerned with predictions. Success or failure, based on a couple of hours of using the product. Comparing the iPad with netbooks (which is the ultimate cliche of comparing Apples and Oranges). An analysis of how the iPad is deficient (what it lacks, particularly from the needs of the tester, not necessarily the masses).
• Apple Store appointments: Wise buyers made online appointments at Apple Retail stores to efficiently make their purchases.
• Buying in the Blind: The amazing reality that several hundred thousand people bought this new product, essentially, without the kind of kicking-the-tires that usually goes on. The iPad is not another computer. It’s an entirely new category of device. Can you say anything close to this, unequivocally, about YOUR business?

All of these scenarios are examples of Velvet Rope Marketing. When one creates a scarcity, an exceptional demand (for various reasons), or some other compelling reason to attend, purchase, or hire, then sales and profits ensue.

One also creates a buyer/client mindset where price is way down the list of important factors. Availability becomes the most important factor. When people believe that buying your product or service is an exceptional choice, what you offer becomes more desirable, as perceived by the buyer. This can be true, both in one-time purchases (brides) and in ongoing relationships (referrals or agency).

Ask yourself these questions?

• Do buyers/referrers/agencies perceive by business/brand/product service with urgency and high measure of desirability?
• When prospective business comes my way, is the buyer qualified and truly interested in MY business? Or just shopping around?
• Is my business frequently losing bookings because of price?
• Is my company perceived as a local industry leader, in my business category?
• Fill in more self-evaluation questions, here?

Your answers, to these questions, in part should tell you how your business, and its image, is perceived in the marketplace.

The next step is to ask what you can do to enhance…. even radically enhance its reputation and image?

To the degree that you can differentiate your business from others, and created a huge gap in desirability, your company will lead to the front of the pack, in real terms: Demand, sales, and profitability.

Seems like a good idea. What are you going to do to make this happen?

Your comments and feedback are welcome.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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Refer, and link to, those you use and trust

One of the most important element of Search Engine Optimization is reciprocal linking. Those are inbound links, from other people’s websites, to your website.

A significant number of inbound links results in a positive bump on your search engine ranking. Your site is viewed as a valuable resource.

Website links are more anonymous than a personal referral, but you shouldn’t treat them that way. The ethic is simple: Don’t accept a link from a person or company you would not refer.

The tough part about this is that you may actually have to tell the truth to another business owner. But it’s hardly ethical accept referrals or links from a business that you wouldn’t refer.

So reciprocal linking and SEO, aside, tightening your referral and website linking. Get to know more about the businesses you refer. There is a diminishing return with more.

Only refer (and exchange links with )businesses you use and trust.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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Perfect Wedding Guide party

It may have come as a surprise to some members of the Las Vegas wedding community that the Perfect Wedding Guide has been in the market for about two decades.

When I moved to town, in 2003, a local franchisee had been forced to sell his area ownership. Since then, the Las Vegas Perfect Wedding Guide had wobbled rather unsteadily.

Last summer, national management of the Perfect Wedding Guide took over management of the Las Vegas market, clearly declaring that they were going to solidify and refresh the brand. This Thursday, the day after the conclusion of CaterSource, Perfect Wedding Guide – Las Vegas held a Re-Launch Party for advertisers, prospects, and other wedding industry leaders.

PWG Hosts: Karli Markowitz, Tammy Elliot, and Brandi Zrallack

The event was held at Tao, in the Venetian Hotel. Over 150 local wedding professionals turned out to enjoy the hors d’oeurves, cocktails, and assuring, positive words of Karli Markowitz, Brandi Zrallack and Tammy Elliot of the Perfect Wedding Guide.

In challenging economic times, when local businesses invest marketing dollars, it’s important to know that you have support from the local sales representative, all the way to the company president. Every attendee left, feeling assured that a marketing investment in Perfect Wedding Guide, Las Vegas, was money well spent.

What have you done, lately, to reassure your customers?

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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