Question 2

Question 2

I need wedding planning service/facilities because:

·         Stress-free, relaxing and enjoyable process

·         All my own design

·         Need the best financial deals

·         Invest in new talent

·         Artistic direction

·         I have an important underlying theme/ issue to be conveyed

·         I’m lazy

·         I want professional standards

·         Package deal/ theme

·         Less planning

·         Better industrial links than myself

·         I need direction

Interviews with local businesses

Hello, my name is Amy Ranahan and I’m a third year student at the University of the West of England.

I am currently doing my dissertation on business partnerships and was wondering if I could ask you a question as part of my research.

I am basically asking local Bristol based businesses whether they would decide to collaborate with a Bristol directory specialising in the "creative enterprises" field to get their service status a boost publicly.

If you were sourced by such a directory would you choose to partner with them to boost awareness of your services?

Many thanks

Yours sincerely,

Amy

Customers

*finance

*Sourcing artisanal products/ services

*theme help

*business sourcing

1. 1955

I made the cake

Decorated

Made dress

Friend made dress too

Friend bought flowers

Reception, top of black boy hill the glen (local restaurant/hotel)

Coach for everyone from church to reception

Budget and contingency plan !

Transport (finding business)

Now midnight and Sunday

Food if not included?

How to transport catering?

2. finance and budget

• low key
• not many guests

• no expensive reception etc

3. budget and finance
4. theme
5. celebrity influence
6. business sourcing and co-ordinating
7. finance and budgeting
8. HER mum chose as she was paying for it! So budget and businesses. She had input into dresses and bridesmaids!
9. parents funded it, parents chose to use their own contacts, traditional values very unique
10. New ideas and themes
11. help sourcing original businesses
12. budget
13. businesses and services
14. business
15. business
16. business
17. budget
18. budget
19. budget
20. theme
21. theme

all students  

• Need work

Why we are a solution for demands (maslow)

	Customers	Employees
Self actualisation:	Creativity, broadness of contacts, affordable, customer relations, moral	No prejudice, open to students, accepting of all trades, creative, moral,  challenging
Esteem:	Confidence, lacking stress, easier and more enjoyable planning process, flexibility	Acceptance, encouragement, respect, equality, achievement, work/ life balance, personal development
Love/ belonging:	Intimacy, romance, fun, enjoyment, fulfilment, family	Time for leisure, family values, internal benefit
Safety:	Reliability, experience, paperwork (can be contacted), one-to-one approach	No prejudice, training, morality, research
Physiological:	Food provided on meetings or snacks or biscuits etc, restrooms, comfort, consider the space	Consider the working environment, provided coffee break supplies, restrooms, general comfort

Customer Segments

Main groups:

1.      Brides and couples

Key features

·         Aged around 30

·         Parents are buying

·         Input into themes and wider details

·         Finalise details

·         Fairly stable financially

·         Living with parents?

Story, needs, wants

·         Inspiration

·         To see what they want

·         Budget help

·         Well organised contact

·         Business links

·         Personal care

2.      Local businesses and students

·         Small

·         Not very well known

·         Provide good services that could need some practice

·         Aren’t bringing in lots of income

·         Need research for them to keep them in on the loop

·         Looking for income

·         Need to boost status

·         Boosting Bristol

·         Boast their products and services (through our PR)

·         Need advertising

3.      Wedding planner/ other bridal industry businesses

• Already well established
• May employ researchers (us?)
• Seasonal changes?
• Inspiration from current events
• Have many links
• May just be looking for inspiration
• Won’t pay loads
• May subscribe to our “see it first” inspiring shoots or best loved packages

The results of the survey were very successful in regards to my choices within this project and gave a good amount of evidence that has leaded me to confidently further this idea. Below are some key statistics; the full survey can be found within the appendix (*7):

·         75% of consumers buy wedding magazines for their inspirational value

·         24% of consumers are also looking for a niche or theme for their wedding

·         The most popular content within wedding magazines is:

§  Research conducted into different wedding fields i.e. venues, cakes, etc,

§  Fashion and dress inspiration and also technical DIY pieces

§  Research directory, opportunities and discounts

·         67% would prefer more written articles with readily researched issues.

·         A glossy, full sized, balanced format of traditional/ contemporary styles were preferred

·         In regards to the most requested style/ layout of the magazine 65% of consumers said they would prefer a new, inspirational imagery magazine that would offer more inspiration.

·         67% answered they would like the aesthetics of the magazine to be creative and interesting

·         Budget plans and price comparison selections were chosen over self directed research.

·         Most popular magazine statistics:

o    Pay as you go

o    Monthly issues

o    Communication of events and fairs made available

o    Ecological community awareness is an issue

·         The next answers are the most popular answers covering the background of the survey consumers and potential target market of my enterprise:

o    Equally male and female recipients

o    Aged mid-20’s

o    Fashion, shopping and socialising and relaxing were the key hobbies

o    Fashion, travel and music were the key interests

o    General dislikes were feeling under the weather and also “annoying” public figures/ celebrities

o    Reasonable salary, comfortable, some disposable income, renting home

o    Family values were the highest value recorded

o    Europe was voted the favourite destination with others voting popular countries such as Australia and the US.

o    Majority answered as non-religious

Key relationships with customers

• Providing mood pages
• Inspiring
• Contact our partners
• Exclusivity

Management

• Emails
• Hand written letters
• Samples
• Event invites
• Hand packaged
• Beautiful details on business stationary
• One to one

Best service

• Quick loading internet
• Well formatted and laid out web pages
• Quick responses
• Constant updates (i.e. blogs and written articles)