Being successful in event planning can largely depend on if you focus your marketing on a unique segment of the market. Try not to make the common mistake that event and wedding planners make in trying to serve every client.
This does not mean that you will not provide your service to clients who are outside of this focus area, but rather that you will be able to refine your marketing message and aim for clients most suitable for your business.
Come up with a Detailed Wishlist
The following questions should be explored when trying to identify your niche; make an elaborate wish list of what you would like in a client.
- Who are your ideal clients? Try to be as specific as you can.
- What is their demographics? Identify the geographic range and the types of businesses or customers you wish to service.
Essentially, if you do not know who you would like to do business with, you will find it difficult to find these potential customers. For example, are you looking to work with high-budget luxury brides only?
Focus Your Passion
Next, you will need to identify what you would like to sell and/or what services you will be providing. Keep in mind that your niche might not necessarily be the same as the field in which you currently work. To give you an example, an event planning business is not a niche but rather a field. Your niche will and should emerge naturally from your interests, skills, and experience.
Let’s say you would like to work as a wedding planner but you are really good at strategies for diversity and inclusion, then maybe your niche market could be culturally based or focused events and weddings.
Discover Your Clientele’s Needs
Once you know what you would like to focus on in terms of your passion and who you would like to work with, you will next need to identify what your ideal clients are looking for and how you can address their needs. Try to look at purchasing decisions from the perspective of your potential client.
The best way to do this is to research your market, ask these customers directly or find pain points (areas lacking services) within your niche and fill the gap.
Evaluate Your Niche
Finally, you will need to evaluate your niche to determine if this is a viable service/product. You will, therefore, need to explore questions such as is it financially feasible? Will it contribute to your long-term goals? If the answer to these questions is yes then it is time to test it on the market. How can you do this? If you are a wedding planner, try offering a free wedding consultation meeting to assess if clients are interested in your niche service.
Listen to their questions and feedback and if they are interested in your service/product your idea can be considered proven and ready to launch.
