How to choose your wedding venues recommended supplier list
Image by Becky Harley Photography
What is a recommended supplier list, and why is it important?
Should your wedding venue have a list of recommended suppliers for couples to choose from? This is entirely up to you; however, it can provide both a fantastic resource for your couples during the early stages of their wedding planning, and an element of peace of mind for you in terms of who has access to various parts of the property.
As well as providing the perfect backdrop for your couples wedding day, you also want to ensure that all suppliers coming onto your property and contributing to the wedding day are as of the highest quality, and that their way of working and values align with your own.
Creating your venue supplier list with your ideal customer in mind
There are a huge number of absolutely fantastic suppliers in the industry, however not all of them, even if they have a first-class product or service would be the right fit for your target audience. To keep messaging consistent we would recommend that when building your list of recommended suppliers, it is important that the selection process is in line with your goals for the venue, your target audience and your ideal client.
A great place to start here is to look back over previous weddings supplier information to start building an initial list which can be added to with suppliers who have not yet worked at the venue and then edit the whole list down into a well-rounded targeted list.
We would always recommend asking each couple why they chose each of their suppliers during your consultations and feeding this information into a document for future reference. See if key themes come up, such as efficient communication or warmth and connection.
You will likely be contacted by lots of suppliers looking to be on your list, however we would always recommend that you have seen every supplier on your list in action a minimum of one time. If you are a new venue, your initial list can be a small select group of suppliers that you have interacted with and seen in action perhaps during a photoshoot, or menu tasting. But, make sure they are aligned with your brand and goals.
Image by Becky Harley Photography
Commercial arrangements vs merit alone recommendations
Commission can have an ugly reputation within the wedding industry and raises questions around the validity of a list. We would never recommend recommending one supplier over another purely because they will pay commission.
If you chose to charge recommended suppliers commission it is important to be consistent with it and everyone on the list should be charged the same, whether it be a flat annual rate or a percentage of the booking.
From a supplier’s perspective paying to be on a list of a venue that serves your ideal client is simply a marketing exercise and payments will come out of a marketing budget, it does not guarantee you the conversion, but instead places you in front of your target audience.
If you do decide to charge commission to those on your list, a commercial arrangement should be drawn up and agreed between both parties. This should include not only the value of commissions to be paid and by when, but also how you will promote the supplier, and they you.
If you decide not to charge commission, it is still advisable to have a document detailing expectations for suppliers on your list, whether that’s cross promotion, contribution to open days or simply a respectful working relationship. This lets everyone know where they stand and is equally beneficial to both sides.
There is one exception to the rule of everyone paying the same, and that is if you choose to only charge your recommended caterers a fee to use the kitchen on site. If you aren’t charging commission across the board then I recommend that this is a flat fee per day for use of the facilities.
Creating an ongoing relationship with your suppliers
Ongoing successful venue supplier relationships are based on mutual trust and respect. I recommend an annual review with each supplier to see if the relationship is still beneficial to both parties, gather feedback on the venue from their perspective and look at the year ahead.
I believe that your suppliers, their networks, reach and social media following are a fantastic marketing asset to your venue. If you would like assistance reviewing your recommended supplier list, how you work with suppliers and building proactive supplier relationships book a 90 minute Supplier Relationship Strategy call with me for £150.