*Please Note:  This advice is not meant to be legal advice as the legalities will differ based on your location and because we aren't a law office but a service provider for the Event Services Industry.*

In case you somehow haven't heard, there's a virus spreading in the world that is causing many countries to close their borders, cancel events, and change the way business and education is done.  This is going to drastically affect your business.  However, it can actually greatly improve your business IF several things are done in a timely manner:

1. Make your workdays done completely remotely.  Except for the actual event preparation itself (which may not even be going on now anyways since many places have a strict limit on the number of people at events), it's very easy to have your staff work from home.  It's almost 100% sure that your staff has Internet and some sort of a computer at home.  Video calls (or just regular telephone calls) and teleconferences can be as effective as face-to-face meetings.  In order to stop the spread of the virus, it's highly suggested that you implement remote working ASAP in your business.  Whether it's a large team or a small team, it's important to secure their (and your) well being.  If you don't already use a project management software, there are plenty to choose from, even with great pricing for teams.  One I personally highly recommend is Freedcamp, but you'll be sure to find one that works well.  If your email is through Google's G Suite, they have offered the Business version of their Google Hangouts Meet for those who use their cheapest plan, and it allows more people to be on the meeting (this is done for the next while to encourage teams to start working remotely).  Loom (a great video tool) has increased the number of videos you can record on their free plan and has changed the price of their paid version from $10 to $5 per month per user.  There are plenty of others who have made their options more affordable to help businesses navigate this timeframe.  You may even decide to remain a remote team in the future, saving you office rent and utilities (directly giving you more money into your business), but for now it's essential to go this route, for your team especially.
2. Start working on your Marketing.  If you don't already have a plan for your Marketing, now's the exact time to start.  Marketing takes a lot of time to implement, as it is a long-term strategy, not a short-term strategy, to grow your business.  We offer 4 packages for the Event Services industry, and it's time for you to look into what strategies you can use to grow your business now, while you will have the time.
3. Keep in touch with your clients.  For events that are scheduled, assure your clients that you are still wanting to help them, but encourage them to delay the event, if they are looking to you for advice.  If they cancel your services, be sure to be strict about your own cancellation policies, even during this hard time (unless your business can afford to stay in business if you lose several clients at once).  Encourage them to just postpone the event and take the leadership on this, assuring them that there can be a delay on the event and it be OK.  Make sure to protect your staff if the event isn't cancelled or delayed.  Also, if you're the main contact with the venue, try to keep up to date with your contact person at the venue to find out any changes that will be made for their events (and relay that information ASAP to whoever you have under you).  Also, be on top of the laws and guidelines that are in place in the location where you are.  As a business owner, you have a lot of people looking to you for your leadership, and your efforts may well pay off in a client's review of your company, as people will for sure remember the event for years to come since it's during a pandemic, and their reviews will be even more important since they will tell others how your business handles itself during a trying time.  Give them an event that went well despite the pandemic, and they will want to promote your business even more.
4. Keep your employees motivated.  They are certainly even more concerned than you.  They have to think whether they should stay at home (at the risk of their job) or risk going to work and are perhaps even wondering if your business will be staying in business or if they'll have to find another job during this time.  Make sure to keep them up to date on your decisions as soon as you can.  Only use necessary staff (or the promised staff) during the events and consider increasing the amount of money (or giving a bonus) for your staff on the ground during the actual events (whatever is done at the venue and during the event itself).  Be sure that they have the necessary tools to protect themselves (masks if needed, plenty of hand sanitizer, etc).
5. Make sure to not get too stressed.  Yes, it's a hard time right now, but think about the fact that, in other times in history, people have gone through even harder times (and survived)!  Take time away from the business, take time for God (reading the Bible and prayer), and keeping up with friends (even if it's just through the phone).

Are you implementing any of these tips?  If so, please tell us about your company in the comments and how you're navigating your business during this time.

These two quick ideas are related, and perhaps you do them already.  However, if you're looking for an easy way to stay top-of-mind in previous clients, you must do these two things.

The first quick way to get wedding referrals is to write Christmas cards to the couples whose wedding you helped plan that year.  They know you have nothing to directly gain from it, so it's not being pushy, and you will remain on their mind a little longer as well.  This is good because they probably know some people getting married (and could be starting to do wedding preparations), and this could help them remember to refer you to the couples getting married.  You may even book weddings from that within a few weeks after the New Year, since the Summer would be getting close at that point.

Another similar quick way would be by writing a one-year anniversary card (and even every year if you want) to those couples who got married.  Yes, unfortunately, you may run across couples whose marriages didn't last, so there can be a downside to continuing the process every year, but hopefully they're all still together and will continue to refer you years down the road (but don't just do this to get referrals - do this as a continuous thank you for them having been a client of yours).  Also, for your own records, do try to keep track of the couples who are referred to you by couples whose weddings you planned, just so you can see how well your referral efforts are.

These are two quick ways.  If you have any quick ways to get wedding clients, please leave a comment with those methods below, so others can benefit by quick methods that you have found, and if you enjoyed this tip, please give it a like or share below.

Perhaps you're getting your clients through referrals.  That's great!  But, is it scaleable?  What happens when your business referrals dry up?  What happens when you're hit with a lot of bad reviews online?  Relying on referrals as a main source of income is great when referrals keep coming, but how many times do you have no business?  If you have gaps between clients, it's time to look into marketing your business.

​Let's look at several ways to get a steady stream of clients without relying on referrals:

1.  Advertise on Facebook in your local area.  Local Facebook ads are one of the easiest ways to see ROI from Marketing, if the ad is done well.  Also, if your events are public (such as not a wedding), you can even promote the events on Facebook ads as well and see a higher client satisfaction.

2.  Become great at Social Media Marketing.  Start by posting twice a week, at least.  And the great part about it is you don't actually have to write the content.  Find a well written article from your industry (perhaps something about best practices for events) and share it on your social media profiles.  Also, build your following through Facebook ads that reach as many people as possible.

3.  Get partnerships with other event services.  For instance, if you're a wedding planner, get in touch with local Churches and local venues to see if they need a dedicated wedding planner to help the couples who are getting married.  This can ensure that you are getting the visibility necessary to book more weddings.

4.  Website - We can't emphasize this enough.  You need a great looking website that performs well on the search engines.  Web design isn't enough - you also need SEO services.  Depending on your role in the Event Service industry, there's a possibility that most of your business is done in the Summer.  If that's the case, you don't want to close the business up during the rest of the year - you want to be found year-round.  This is why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential for you to be found online, even if you live in a smaller city.  You want to be the one people find on Google, not your competitor, right?

5.  Keep your reputation up with Reputation Management.  This is very important, as bad reviews online keep people from choosing you over your competitors.  Also, a lack of reviews means that either you're new or people didn't love or hate your service - or, just that you need to start asking for reviews and testimonials (hopefully it's that one if you don't have any reviews).

For more help on Marketing, visit our Marketing Services page to get help with your Event Services Marketing.  We help Wedding Planners, Event Planners, Christian Speakers, and Venues find clients or locations to speak.  We can't wait to hear from you and see how we can help you grow your business.