• about this blog

    The postings on this blog are a compilation of over 25 years of stationery and wedding industry experience of veteran wedding and stationery business owner, Brian Lawrence.

    Here you will find industry trends, marketing advice, new service offerings and musings. We invite you to add comments and learn from others who have businesses similar to yours.

No closure for me with Encore closing

By Brian | Published: September 21, 2011

On Monday morning, September 19th, I received an email from an Encore dealer telling me that Encore was closed during regular business hours and asked if I knew what was going on? I tried calling and also went to their website, www.weddinginvitations.com, and saw it was taken down. This confirmed in my mind that something was drastically wrong. I tried calling one of the owners and emailing him.

Finally, late yesterday, an owner called me and verified the company was closed. He told me they were shipping all orders they could through the end of the business day Tuesday. Our conversation was brief and there was such sadness, it almost brought me to tears. He said that a formal announcement will be made, however the announcement may take some time.

If you are an Encore Dealer, you know that I had been the voice of the company for many years prior to leaving in 2010 to more fully focus on the growth of Local Traffic Builder. During my 14 years I came to know you and I understand how a delay of this information can impact you with your customers.

You need to pull the albums and put them in storage, remove display samples unless they can be exactly replicated and remove any images or text about Encore from your website. If we can help you with those site changes and help research other images from other brands, please let us know.

If you have an Encore order in house or one that you were planning to place, some custom brands may be able to replicate certain items or come close, so you may try that route before informing your customer that they have to make an entirely different selection.

I also want to say that owners of other brands also contacted me with concern and they were gracious and very saddened by the news. Encore was a great company and both owners are gems of human beings. This must be devastating for them, so please be understanding. I am sure you will hear from them in their own words. I just wanted you to know to protect the interest of your business.

Posted in invitation industry | Tagged , , | 35 Comments

Want to talk to everyone that visits your website?

By Brian | Published: August 5, 2011

Well you can’t. So you need to make sure that your website does the best possible job of speaking for you.

Here are some action steps:

  1. Start with a Home Page that is visually appealing and resonates with your audience. Having striking imagery and carefully chosen words makes the best introductory impression. Also clearly showing your contact information and the areas you service if you are a local professional is very important.
  2. Have an About Us Page that reveals who you are. Why not take the opportunity to create a virtual rapport with the potential client? Include a photo of yourself, even better, include a photo of yourself inside your studio or shop working with a client. In the text, discuss the high quality service you provide and a little history about yourself and your company.
  3. Consider using a video or audio piece that can be heard or seen (as an option rather than automatically played) to further the connection.
  4. Share your ideas and insights on your blog that turn on the light bulb in your readers’ minds.
  5. Turn your Contact Us page into an appointment generator by giving visitors the option to make an appointment online 24/7. (Isn’t that what you would want to do if you were speaking to them?)
Posted in local business, marketing, website design | Tagged | 3 Comments

Anti-Social Media

By Brian | Published: July 26, 2011

With all my “friends” on Facebook and my “connections” on Linked-In, I am starting to question how open a person I really am. Why didn’t I share on Facebook what a wonderful experience I had at the resort Chabil Mar in Belize when I got home Thursday? That Belize for me was a luxurious experience surrounded by a landscape of realistic local culture. That I highly recommend it for a destination wedding. I’ll tell you why.

Because I wanted to call my mother. I wanted to unpack and get myself organized. I wanted to get back into my twice a day treadmill routine. My daughter came home from camp for a few days and I wanted to talk to her and do her laundry. My son is in Israel and he wanted to catch up with me. We needed food and litter for the cats. I want adequate sleep. And even though I was totally current with emails from abroad, I have clients to service, proposals to follow up on, bills to pay.

I have always aspired to be on top of whatever I do in business. At the same time, I have always taken care of myself and put my most important job, parenting first. But now, no matter how much I do, there is this void about not blogging enough, not posting on Facebook, not answering questions on Linked-In. And in my attempt to do it, I have less energy for socializing with live people and my eyes get tired from so much time on the computer.

So am I a social person? Yes. Do I love marketing and media? Yes. However I have to admit, I feel a little anti-social media.

I love it when it has a purpose. For example, I like how a well-designed Facebook Welcome Page can help a business win customers by being a “Like generator” or how a Linked-In profile that shows endorsements can build credibility. But I don’t have the patience to sift through the insignificant and overwhelming data. And I can’t help still taking the word “friend” literally.

So “friends” what do you think?

Posted in marketing, social networking | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Implementing one idea is better than collecting one hundred

By Brian | Published: April 24, 2011

During my initial conversation with almost every client that I speak to (whether they do business with me or not), I share at least one implementable idea they can immediately incorporate to improve their business. I wrote 2 books filled with them, that I offer for free to prove my expertise. Alan Berg wrote a book filled with jewels of implementable ideas, Andy Ebon shares ideas on his marketing blog every day. I am wondering how many of the 300 + attendees at the 21st century bride conference implemented one of the ideas that were delivered in the shortened to-the-point presentations.

Yet I see so many wedding businesses that are overwhelmed by the choices or are intimidated by the learning curve to take action. My advice is to use the same logic that you expect your customers to use when hiring you. Hire a wedding industry marketing professional. The price you pay for not hiring a professional is far more costly than the money you need to invest. You are risking additional investments of time and frustration with an end result that rarely matches up to what someone with expertise and talent can do for you to bring you far more business than the financial outlay.

However, most importantly implement one idea. Now…

Posted in Event Planning Industry, events, invitation industry, local business, marketing, sales, website design, wedding industry | Tagged | 1 Comment

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