Wedding Market Planning Developing a Market Plan

Wedding Market Planning Developing a market plan and strategy for weddings is a challenging endeavor, primarily because it is a highly-differentiated industry that interestingly requires the planner to establish linkages to different kinds of industries. While it is highly specialized as a business, the business owner or planner must be savvy enough to know other businesses as well to remain competitive in the wedding planning business.

Market planning and strategy in the wedding industry requires the individual to have an almost innate talent and skill for identifying the specifics and details required to plan and realize a wedding.

Thus, for the business owner / entrepreneur / wedding planner, s/he must be both a generalist and a specialist: generalist, because s/he must be able to envision and visualize the overall result of the wedding plan, and specialist, because s/he must be a master of details and linking these details together to create and implement an almost flawless wedding plan. However, these qualities of an effective wedding planner are just a few of the basic requirements if one wants to succeed in the wedding industry.

Almost all businesses related to the wedding industry rely on strong and feasible planning. In developing a market planning strategy for the wedding industry, two phases are recommended: first, the situational analysis of the wedding industry itself, and second, the penetration strategy of the business, which includes identifying the particular geographic area in which the business will operate, branding, and market positioning in this target area. In the texts that follow, these two phases will be discussed in detail.

Situational Analysis Since business operations will focus on the United States market, the situational analysis generated will center on market statistics for the country. Market research conducted by the Association for Wedding Professionals International, or AFWPI, determined that in the past five (5) years, the months of June and July remain the strong months for the wedding industry. However, peak months is a gradual increase of weddings held from May to October, which indicates that for six (6) months, the wedding industry has the potential to increase its profitability.

The remaining six months (off-peak months) would either be a downtime period for the business, or alternatively, develop a marketing plan that would still be profitable despite the off-peak season in the U.S. market (this strategy will be discussed thoroughly in the following section) (AFWPI, 2012). In the past five years as well, the wedding industry in the U.S. market was at its most profitable in Las Vegas, Nevada, which is both a tourist destination and a city known for its "quick-and-easy" marriages.

Among other cities cited where weddings are popularly held were Gatlinburg, Tennessee and New Orleans, Louisiana. Further, according to the AFWPI, the average number of guests for a typical wedding is 145, based on a survey of brides who have registered their weddings online. Weddings, most of the time, require the following linkages and services from enterprises in the following areas (apart from wedding consultancy/planning): catering, dresses, beauty services, jewelry, photographers, wedding favors, music, entertainment, videography, gifts, cakes, and honeymoon planning (destinations) (Terrell, 2004).

Penetration Strategy The business' penetration strategy must be aligned with the owner/wedding planner's target market and geographic coverage. Most wedding planners operate locally, and primarily begin their business through friends and other social contacts and networks. However, as with other businesses, the goal is to eventually expand one's business and make it more competitive and profitable.

While it would be more effective and convenient to establish a niche within a small geographic area or coverage, the wedding planning business must also look beyond this limitation, and utilize the online platform to expand its penetration, target market, and operations. The key to successful wedding planning is to know many suppliers of services, and determine the level and cost of the services they provide. This way, wedding planning would be customized based on the client's requirements and budget.

Furthermore, since most weddings are held in hotels, it is also critical to create, develop, and maintain long-term business relationships with.