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Why It's Getting Harder to Get Clients

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TL;DR: What worked to get clients and customers in 2014 is not working anymore, but even though the outlets and platforms have changed, connecting with other people will always give your business traction.

Why it's getting harder to get clients

With so much junk in our inboxes, articles being published on #allthechannels, and social media noise... I’m grateful for each and every opened email, blog comment, and social share. (I’m practically writing song lyrics for you clickers out there!)

Why has it gotten so hard to find traction in your business?

Communicating with your audience (or potential audience) has gotten much more difficult, like many things in business a la 2018.

Recently, I chatted with Valerie Gernhauser, whom some of you probably know from either her Sapphire Sessions or Sapphire Events (which is often featured in Martha), about things that no longer seem to be helpful for finding wedding clients.

Styled Shoots Aren't Working Anymore

It used to be good enough to do a few styled shoots, get published, and rake in the clients. But in 2018, the publishers have noticed how much more popular real weddings are, and that their audience can actually tell a difference between raw emotion and posed foreheads pressed together.

This isn't really a surprise to anyone who has spent time on social media. Authenticity is key, so why would newly engaged brides and grooms feel any differently? 

Just stop sending Vendor Gifts and Welcome Packets 

Sending gifts to vendors you wanted to work with used to work quite well to win their affection and get them sending their client work to you. For example, if you were a new wedding planner back in 2014, it was enough to send that shiny new venue in your area a snazzy box full of your best marketing materials that they’d eagerly add to their venue welcome packets and handed out to each of the hopeful brides that came their way.

Now, everyone is doing this. Established venues, planners and other creatives are literally overflowing with all the beautiful packets and curated gifts that no longer wow but overwhelm. It’s not enough to send some branded collateral and let it do the work for you.

So what is working?

What is working is what will always work—human connection. It’s the same reason that I send weekly emails to 4k+ of you every week and only a fraction of them chose to read to the end.

I want to connect with you. The Contract Shop® is a living, breathing company that listens to customer needs, suggestions and even the occasional complaint (<< these are super helpful!)

I will always make sure your voice is heard, in fact, it's a major reason why this website was re-built from the ground up.

We’ll always be here for you, putting out content that helps + educates you and supports you in your business as you’ve chosen to support The Contract Shop with yours. (PSST, if there's something you want to know more about, drop a comment, we would love to write about it!)

New ways to get traction and find clients

If you want to find that traction today, keep trying. Specifically, I recommend you engage in each one of these things, one at a time if possible:

  • Create your own PR campaign. Set a # of podcasts, blogs or other media you’d like to be featured on and go for it before June. (ex: “I want to be a guest on 5 podcasts.”)
  • Look at your most popular content and create articles (or better yet, videos!) that relate to it!
  • If you haven’t tried a platform, get on it. For example, if you only engage on Instagram, try out Pinterest. If you’re only on Pinterest, try Youtube.
  • If you haven’t tried out a type of content, do it! Commit to a medium that kinda scares you and do it for a week. Example: Facebook Live, Instagram Stories, Medium, etc.

Which one of these things are you committing to? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

Check out my guide to creating a client experience that leads to referrals.It's one of our most popular pieces and the #1 thing I recommend to anyone who wants to grow their client base.

Get the Ideal Customer Experience Checklist and create the perfect client experience today.

Getting clients feels harder than ever but there is a simple solution.

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