Supply vs Demand
As the US and other countries re-open on the tail end of the pandemic, the industry has been getting hit with yet another obstacle - Supply vs Demand. For states and countries who have not re-opened or are in the process of re-opening, this content will be extremely useful.
Pre-pandemic you rarely heard of issues relating to having suffice supply or staff to execute an event, or a project. Now the conversation for those re-opening more and more has been about not having enough time, supplies, staff, and so on. In addition, you will hear and experience the high demand and request for weddings and events, and businesses being fully booked for months or even through the end of year.
When have you ever encounter multiple bakeries being completely booked? When have you ever encountered “seasonal” flowers costing three times as much as usual? When have you ever encountered having an extremely hard time securing a team to produce an event?
I know I have not encountered this issue in my 22 years in the industry. Maybe something close, but not like this. And it’s not just in our industry but all throughout other industries as well. For many of us, it seems like the re-opening was like a blink of an eye. The industry went from being on pause to slowly re-opening to now you are fully open, in a blink of an eye without notice.
Things to keep in mind:
Focus: If you took the pandemic pause time to regroup and review your business, stay focus. What we have seen the fast re-opening do, is shake the event professionals focus and cause in imbalance in their process.
Maintain your focus. If you do not have the bandwidth to execute your business with your new goals, you will need to take a step back and say no. No I am not available, no I cannot supply your request, and so on. The last thing you need to is feel like a train wreck, and have all of the energy and focus you have been working on during the pandemic taken away.
Community: Now is the time to really reach in to your community pocket, and connect or reconnect with the likeminded colleagues for support. If you need the extra hands to complete a project, look no further. Connect with people you know will have your back.
Quality: Ensure that you have what you need to execute your events with the quality of service you are used to providing. Ask yourself whether the additional prospective event, will tip you over to providing less quality because you don’t have enough bandwidth.
Experience: For wedding professionals new to the industry, you may be getting more leads than usual. Maybe a bit more than you can handle. Keep in mind, it’s not how many events you do that creates a successful business. It’s about the experience and level of service you provide your client. With that said, do not over book yourself or push the boundaries. Carefully monitor your progress and what seems good to move ahead with. When in doubt, reach out to season professionals you have connected with for advice.
WBW Team