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When we first met with our friends at this Minnesota wedding venue, they were completely overwhelmed. In the past, when they hosted 12 weddings a year, the venue’s manual operations sufficed. When we met them, however, they were hosting 30-50 weddings each year and still running their business 100% manually. They knew things needed to change and called on us for help.
At our first meeting at their beautiful location, they showed us the 16+ page spreadsheet taped to the wall that they used to keep track of tasks for each booking. When a task was complete, they would highlight it. In that moment, I looked over at Kevin and could see that he was already working on an automated system in his head while I began dreaming about a bottomless glass of chardonnay. Whew! We assured our new client that we could help and watched them, almost instantaneously, sink back into their chairs and breathe a huge sigh of relief.
Automation to the rescue!
The Challenge
On account of business growth, our client could no longer keep up with the communication demands at their wedding venue. Sending the right communication at the right time to the right couple was not feasible with their manual system. Add to that, collecting deposits at the appropriate time and continuing to provide an exemplary customer experience? It was all too much.
We Took Action
We got to work documenting this venue’s on-boarding process for new couples and we identified opportunities to enhance and streamline it. We also researched and identified technological solutions that would benefit their business operations.
Our Solutions
Ultimately, we were able to set our client up with a process for online contracts and payment collection and a system for assigning tasks and sending out reminders to the happy couples. We created an automated solution to allow brides and grooms to book a tour of the facility online 24/7 and developed an automated follow-up campaign for post-tour feedback.
Automations We Implemented
Wedding / Event Automation:
We automated their spreadsheet content including all of the tasks and timed communications that are required for 75-100 weddings across a 24-month timespan. We also automated tasks that are embedded into this process so venue staff members know when they need to be engaged. This automation ends with a “Happy 1st Anniversary!” message to the happy couple.
Sales and Tour Automation:
We automated a “schedule a tour” feature online so couples can choose a time that works for them based off of the venue’s availability since this feature integrates with their calendar. The calendar is configured with filters to only offer certain days of the week and hours of the day for tours. The system sends a text and email to both the couple and venue staff with tour reminders. It also automates custom next-steps:
- Closed deals lead to automated contracts (with e-signature) and payment processing.
- Follow-up sets a triggered reminder to venue staff on the day appropriate follow up should occur.
- Just Shopping outcomes trigger timed communications such as an opportunity to remind the couple what sets their venue apart from other area wedding venues.
- Integration to Quickbooks and automated triggers move the couple into the Wedding automation as applicable.
Tighter System Integration:
We have Contact Us, Schedule a Tour and Request Information forms that are embedded into the venue B&B and Weddings websites that tightly integrate multiple systems and allow for direct and automatic entry into the automated systems.
In the end, we helped our client save 20-30 hours per month in administrative tasks (a number that has since doubled!), which allows them to spend more time focusing on growing their business. Our follow-up campaign dramatically increased their conversion rates and on account of streamlined systems, the customer experience has vastly improved. Today, this Minnesota Wedding Venue is receiving more referrals than ever and they are back to doing what they love while automation does the heavy lifting!
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