Our brides are ever-evolving and their expectations when it comes to their experience with a brand is constantly shifting. That’s why it’s super important to continually evaluate your own customer experience journey. It doesn’t always require major changes, just those subtle shifts can make all the difference and keep you relevant in the eyes of your brides.

Something I find really useful is checking out what the big players do. The likes of Walt Disney or Virgin, where their customers are truly emersed in experiences as they interact with their brands. As Mr Branson said himself,

‘The key is to set realistic customer expectations and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them – preferably in unexpected and helpful ways’

Here’s some of the key customer experience trends that will help you create a checklist and action plan for your bridal business.

What is it that your brides actually want?

Have you asked your brides, what it is they actually want from their bridal experience? How do we know how to satisfy them if we don’t actually know? This is something that is often overlooked in business but it’s one of the fundamental parts of creating a customer experience strategy that is relevant. Start having conversations with them. Create a survey, ask questions in your DMs, on socials or at wedding fairs. Whenever you can, take that opportunity and start to evaluate the common themes. 

Reduce the unknown

Brides want to know exactly what they are going to get when they come to visit you. But even before that they want to prepare themselves with as much knowledge as they can before they start this often daunting journey. So, how can you satisfy that? If you specialise in a particular niche, for example curvy gowns, what can you share with them that they wouldn’t already know? From the construction of the gowns, to the secret tricks you use in store to make them feel comfortable and give them the perfect look. Or how do you keep your brides informed during the purchase process? Do you offer flexible payment options? Do you share a timeline of what to expect once they have found their dress? Can they check the status of their order online without contacting you?

Utilise technology

We live in a digital world and as much as it can get frustrating, it’s here to stay and is becoming even more emersed in how brides will shop with us.
Now this doesn’t mean you have to start having robots in your store, it just means adapting your digital presence so you can stay ahead!
Is your website user friendly? What are your load times like? Brides are more impatient than ever! Long load times, elements that don’t load properly or if brides have to make more than 3 clicks to find what they want, are all major turn-offs when it comes to interacting with a brand online.
If your store is closed, how can a bride still interact with you? Have you thought about an automated Chatbot, on your website? These can be super helpful for easy to answer questions. Being able to book online is really a must for this new digital age too. I’ve also seen some boutiques add AI into their site, so brides can virtually try on dresses. Whilst I think this will gradually become more of a thing, getting the basics right first, without losing too much of the human touch is super important. 

Know your stuff

Being a bridal boutique owner, or a stylist means our heads should be full of so much knowledge about our designers, our dresses, the fabrics, what styles look good on what bodies etc.  It’s important we constantly update this knowledge and build it into our sales techniques. Put some time aside every month to ensure you have all the current information about what you have instore. If you have a team, have a training session once a month where you share all of this information. This is the kind of stuff brides don’t know. So it’s your job to educate them.
As well as knowing your product, we should be educating ourselves on emotional intelligence and the changing buying behaviours of consumers today. It all affects the success of our sales technique as we know, the market is not what it used to be! What support can you get for you and your team on this if it’s an area you feel needs developing?

Get personal

Bridal has always been known for it’s personalised experiences, but brides want a bit more than just a one-to-one appointment, or a celebration selfie at the end. How can you make their journey personalised from the moment they interact with you? From simple things like segmenting your email list into interests or bridal timeline, then sending emails on personalised styling tips or recommendations that match their profiles. To creating a style quiz online, which help brides identify their style preferences but also gives you information to personalise their appointment.  

I feel like I’ve only just touched the surface with this topic! Customer Experience is what I love and we as bridal boutique owners should love it too as it really is what sets us apart.

Get in touch

If you need any support in refining your customer experience strategy, or something else in your business is keeping you up at night, then Diana is offering her 1:1 60min power sessions at just £49 throughout August. You can get in touch to book your session with Diana at hello@badassmama.co.uk,  @__badassmama or head straight to calendly.com/badassmama/marketing-power-sessions-clone