Challenges Faced in the Wedding Industry and How to Overcome Them? The market size of the wedding industry is expected to reach an astounding INR 45,000 crore by 2020 while experiencing an annual growth of 25-30 percent
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
The business of planning weddings is a serious one, therefore, it requires utmost dedication and expertise. Wedding planners have to upgrade their skills and know the latest trends and methods to create enviable packages for clients. While the theory sounds doable, there are plenty of practical aspects of executing a wedding that can be challenging. Let us have a look at the challenges faced by the wedding planners and the ways to overcome them.
- Fiercely Competitive Industry
Planning weddings is a competitive business. People end up spending close to 30% of their life's savings on weddings. Therefore negotiations are an integral part of this industry. Additionally, new vendors mushroom up almost overnight with highly competitive and attractive offers. These competitors often provide tempting packages to attract customers. While facing such competition, there is a likelihood of over-commitment with unrealistic costs. The biggest danger of over-commitment is the inability to deliver or deliver below the committed standards. This can seriously damage your reputation and reduce business. The best way to tackle competition is staying firm on your pricing structure and focusing wholeheartedly on delivering the best possible service.
- Ensuring the Privacy and Safety of Premium Clients
It takes a lot of hard work and commitment to get VIP clients. It also becomes a daunting task to ensure the privacy and safety of premium clients. VIP clients often demand the highest security and a complete ban of gate-crashers. The most assured way to fulfil these demands is to collaborate with the best in the business. Only top security agencies with an excellent track record of managing VIP safety should be hired.
- Managing Time while Delivering the Best
The reputation of a wedding planner depends on the D-Day execution. The tall talks and great promises are put to test when D-Day arrives. Managing the availability and decoration of the venue is a crucial aspect. Often venues have back to back weddings and the agency gets access to the venue much later than desired. At such times it is difficult to deliver everything that was promised. The safest way to deal with this problem is practice execution in as little time as possible. Preparing for a massive time-crunch and leaving some room for review and refurbishing is extremely important.
- Tightrope Walk of Last Minute Demands
A wedding is incomplete without surprises and not all can be pleasant. More often than not there will be last-minute demands from clients and their relatives about decor, catering, music and lighting arrangements. Be ready to face all such demands. Make a checklist of possible surprises and a quick method to resolve the same.
- Venue – Rules and Regulations
Venues are the most important feature of any wedding. The greatness of a wedding depends on the selection of the venue. Each venue and location comes with its specific rules and regulations. At times the clients are unaware of these finer details which can lead to some serious problems. Ensure that you have officially and explicitly made yourself aware of all the rules and also informed the clients well within time.
- Pleasing Them All
A good wedding planner takes orders while a truly great wedding planner listens to everything that everyone has to say. Sincerity can raise expectations and increase demands. It is always a great idea to differentiate a genuine demand from a mere whim. Talk to the clients about the practical aspects of fulfilling everyone's demands. Choose what is best for the client while avoiding any unpleasantness.
- Unpredictable Variables
Weddings are full of surprises even if you have done everything to plan it all. There are certain unpredictable factors like rain, storm, and technical glitches. Always have an alternative plan ready to deal with unpredictable situations. Keep your clients informed about the weather forecast and possible technical glitches. If required then draw up a list of variables beyond your control and draft a disclaimer.
We hope that this discussion about real-time challenges in the wedding-planning industry and the possible solutions is useful to your business. It is a good idea to draft an exhaustive wedding-plan and safeguard your business against losses due to unpredictable situations.
