Preventing Cancelations in the Wake of COVID-19
Read the complete blog post on Pixellu’s website here.
You've done the hard yards, booked a wedding (or multiple weddings), taken a deposit or retainer fee, and then Coronavirus hit. Your clients are stressed — weddings are emotional events at the best of times, let alone trying to organize one in the middle of an international pandemic. They're trying to juggle multiple booked vendors, a venue, and lengthy guest lists, and they don't even know when it will be safe for them to have their wedding again.
Meanwhile, you've got multiple clients you're trying to manage, each has a different request. Some want to cancel, but many want to postpone their wedding — they still love the person they're engaged to, and they still want to get married. The main question is, when will it be possible to hold their wedding?
"We have to incentivize our clients to want to work with us. To reschedule. To rebook. Postponing and rescheduling is much much better for the industry than just flat out canceling." — Paige Hulse
Yes, your non-negotiable contract language might allow you to walk away and retain their deposit, but is that best for your business in this time of stress and uncertainty? Treat your clients the way you'd want to be treated in these uncertain times: treat them with kindness. When this ends, it is those clients who will be singing your praises.
On the other hand, sticking to the letter of your contract — probably written before Coronavirus even existed — will ruin relationships, causing issues later on. The decisions you make today aren't just about your income today, this week, or even this month. They'll impact your revenue and bookings for months, or years.
Every client has a different sticking point, and it's essential to work with each client on a case-by-case basis to navigate their needs. We all need to get a bit creative to make it through this. It's helpful to have several options up your sleeve to offer your clients — after all, a retained booking is better for your bottom line and the industry.
In an ideal world…
The best-case scenario would be for your clients to simply postpone their wedding until a future date that is currently free.
You may have some language in your contract that includes a rebooking or a postponement fee, but could you waive this? Are you out of pocket for costs that you cannot recoup if the wedding was on another day? If not, consider waiving your postponement fees. A testimonial from clients who were thrilled by how flexible and generous you were in a stressful situation will go a long way toward helping you book more clients in the future. And we all need to future-proof our businesses in these uncertain times.
To read more ideas on how to handle client rebooking amidst COVID-19, click the button below.
Special thank you to Pixellu for hosting such an informative discussion!
