1. Streamline the Booking Process

Make it easy for customers to book appointments. Utilize user-friendly online scheduling tools that allow clients to choose times that work best for them. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, as many users will book appointments from their phones.

2. Send Reminders

Automated reminders can significantly reduce no-shows. Send email or SMS reminders 24 to 48 hours before the appointment. Include details like the date, time, and any specific preparations they should consider. A friendly reminder can prompt clients to adjust their schedules and reinforce the importance of the appointment.

3. Personalize the Experience

Personalization can create a stronger connection between your boutique and clients. Use the client’s name in communications and reference any previous interactions. Tailoring your messages can make clients feel valued, increasing the likelihood that they’ll show up.

4. Offer Flexible Rescheduling Options

Life happens, and sometimes clients need to change their plans. Make it easy for them to reschedule without hassle. Clearly communicate your rescheduling policy and offer alternative times that fit their schedule. A flexible approach shows you understand their needs and enhances customer loyalty.

5. Create a Welcoming Environment

A warm, inviting atmosphere encourages clients to attend appointments. Ensure your boutique is well-decorated and organized, with a welcoming staff ready to assist. If clients feel excited about visiting, they are less likely to skip their appointments.

6. Incentivize Attendance

Consider offering small incentives for keeping appointments. This could be a discount on their purchase, a complimentary accessory, or entry into a raffle. Rewards create positive reinforcement and can motivate clients to attend.

7. Educate Your Clients

Educate clients on the importance of their appointments. Share insights about how fittings work, the customization process, and the value of one-on-one consultations. When clients understand what to expect and how it benefits them, they may be more likely to attend.

8. Follow Up After No-Shows

If a client misses an appointment, reach out with a friendly follow-up. Ask if everything is okay and if they’d like to reschedule. This gesture shows you care about their experience and can help re-establish the connection.

9. Monitor and Adjust

Keep track of attendance rates and identify patterns in no-shows. Are certain days or times more problematic? Use this data to adjust your scheduling practices or staffing levels. Regularly assessing your strategies will help you continuously improve.

Conclusion

Improving appointment attendance in your bridal boutique is a multifaceted approach that involves personalization, communication, and a welcoming atmosphere. By implementing these strategies, you can enhance the overall client experience, foster loyalty, and ultimately boost your business’s success. Happy planning!

As a bridal boutique owner, you’re likely juggling numerous responsibilities, from sourcing beautiful gowns to providing exceptional customer service. One critical question you may face is whether your staff should clock in and clock out. This seemingly simple decision can significantly impact your operations, employee accountability, and overall business culture.

Using our new Work Schedule feature you can plan shifts in advance but still use clock in / clock out to record the hours actually worked. Alternatively you can just adjust your staff hours to reflect what they actually worked yourself after each shift taking the responsibility away from them.

Let’s have a look into the pros and cons of implementing a clock-in and clock-out system for your bridal boutique staff.

The Benefits of a Clock-In and Clock-Out System

1. Accountability and Time Management

Having staff clock in and out encourages accountability. It ensures that employees are present during scheduled hours and helps you monitor productivity. Asking staff to clock in / out will likely also reduce instances of tardiness creating a more reliable workforce.

2. Accurate Payroll

An accurate time-tracking system simplifies payroll management. By automatically recording hours worked, you minimise errors associated with manual timesheets. Time worked can be set to automatically round up or down to the nearest 15 or 30 minutes and this can be exported and used for payroll. Don't worry if someone forgets to clock in or out any admin can correct this on the work schedule!

3. Employee Empowerment

When employees know they are accountable for their time, it can empower them to manage their schedules more effectively. This can lead to increased productivity and a greater sense of ownership over their work.

The Downsides of a Clock-In and Clock-Out System

1. Reduced Flexibility

In the bridal industry, flexibility can be key, especially during peak seasons or special events. A strict clock-in and clock-out policy may limit your staff's ability to manage their time according to customer needs or personal obligations.

2. Potential for Micromanagement

Implementing a time-tracking system might lead to a culture of micromanagement. If employees feel they are being watched too closely, it could hinder creativity and negatively impact morale. It’s essential to strike a balance between accountability and trust.

3. Administrative Burden

While mybridal makes it easy for staff to clock in by going to their own staff profile, this still takes time at the start and end of a shift and there could be logistical issues if all staff members are sharing one device.

Conclusion

Deciding whether your bridal boutique staff should clock in and out depends on your preferences, business model, culture, and employee dynamics. Weighing the benefits of accountability and accurate payroll against the potential drawbacks of reduced flexibility and micromanagement is crucial. Whichever you choose, aim to foster a positive work environment that encourages productivity while supporting your staff’s well-being. By finding the right balance, you can create a thriving bridal boutique that not only meets customer needs but also nurtures a motivated and engaged team and mybridal offers the flexibility to support clock in / clock out or to plan a scheduled rota in advance and adjust the hours to what is actually worked.

Take a look at our Work Schedule help guide for any more information by clicking here.

If you want to watch we are announced at 06.20

What is TinySeed?

TinySeed is a year long remote accelerator programme for SAAS founders that provides mentorship, funding and community support. TinySeed was founded by Rob Walling and Einar Vollset who are experts in the field and have both exited on multiple startup businesses. They realised there was a demand for startup funding other than the traditional route of raising venture capital, so they created TinySeed. The TinySeed programme brings together a community of startup founders and industry experts to provide the perfect environment for a startup business to flourish!

Why now?

mybridal has always been completely self funded, born by creating a software system for family use. We quickly realised mybridal had massive untapped potential and combined with a gap in the market, this led to us having huge growth especially over the last year. We applied to TinySeed as their programme felt like a perfect match for our business compared to many other accelerators and their values align with our own. The investment we have received will help to fund the growth of mybridal and with the expertise available to us we can deliver even more value to our customers.

What does this mean for our customers?

Nothing will change day to day for our customers other than it means we will have an increased capacity for new features and system improvements. The mybridal team will be growing and you might receive communication more frequently as we aim to move to weekly updates.

We would like to take a moment to thank all of our existing customers as we could not have got to where we are now without your support. Many of you have been with us from the very start (who remembers the brid.al days!) and have been part of our whole journey. We appreciate every single one of you and still to date our best advert is your positive word of mouth! We are very excited to see where this new chapter leads us.

It's so difficult to find extra time while running your own business but in this situation making a rough schedule can make your trip so much more successful.

Writing a list of all the exhibitors you want to visit can be a good place to start and then try and book appointments with them evenly spaced apart across however long you have. Remember to be realistic about how long you are likely to want to spend with a supplier and try to add on some extra time if possible incase you over run or want to take a (champagne) break.

Write a list of questions for all the exhibitors you have booked in to see. Even if you are sure you know what you want to ask by the end of the day you might not be feeling so sharp so make it easy for yourself!

2. Work out your company

Are you a lone wolf that feels confident making decisions alone, do you prefer the support of a business partner or use it as an opportunity for a day out with your Mum. Everyone works differently so figure out the best company for you and invite them along. It can be a long (boring) day for little ones so you may find it easier to leave them behind or make sure to bring some entertainment if this is not possible.

3. Complete an analysis of your inventory and best sellers before attending

With so many beautiful gowns and accessories in every direction it is easy to get overwhelmed and trigger happy with the credit card. By completing an analysis of your inventory before you attend you can write a plan of exactly what stock you are looking to purchase so are less likely to get lead astray *see's beautiful sparkly veil and immediately purchases*

Mybridals Inventory Report feature makes this super easy. You can use this to calculate your existing total stock value and divide this down into categories such as Bridal Gowns, Veils, Bridesmaids etc to see which areas you already have enough stock in or where is lacking.

Using our Sales Analytics you can check your best performing styles, suppliers, colours or sizes for any give period of time, giving you a good idea of what to reinvest in or styles to avoid!

4. Set a budget and divide that between your designers or stock

Now you know what inventory you are looking to purchase you are able work out your budget and then divide this either between your designers or even take this a step further and work out what you want to spend per product category. £X on wedding dresses, £X on accessories etc. This will help you to stay on track at the event and not waste time pining after a beautiful A-line dress when you already have too many of this style and haven't allocated any funds to this.

You also may want to consider space in your boutique, you may be limited to a certain number of dresses due to your available space for samples not just due to budget.

5. Work out what to bring with you

We all know the stilettos look beautiful but unless you are practised and confident you can cover some serious mileage in them I would recommend either wearing some comfy shoes or at least bringing them in your bag so you have an option to swap into at lunch! A power bank can be another life saver as your phone will be sure to quickly drain battery when you are taking so many pictures of new stock or the beautiful aesthetic decorations for your socials.

If you have luggage or large coats then try stow them away, your hands will be full and stands can be busy so lugging a suitcase round all day is not the one!

6. Don't buy straight away

If you have the luxury of time then visit your suppliers, take lots of pictures and make lots of notes to reflect back on later. If you are attending for more than one day then go back on day 2 after you have had time to consider and see all of what everyone has to offer and do your purchasing then.

Don't be afraid to walk away if the price isn't right for you or the style just doesn't fit with your brand.

7. Have some fun

It doesn't have to be all work, enjoy some free champagne (although not too much until purchasing is complete!), grab some freebies, attend the catwalk shows, meet up with other boutique owners you have virtually met on social media or attend an evening event which lots of suppliers or even the expo itself may put on.

Mybridal will be attending Bridal Week Harrogate on stand M32 10-12th September 2023. Be sure to stop by to say hello or book an appointment here.

There are several reasons why it might be a good idea to charge for appointments.

• It reduced no shows. There is nothing worse that one of your Saturday prime time slots cancelling at the last minute or just not showing up at all. Having to make a financial commitment when booking an appointment will make anyone seriously consider if they will be attending before they book.
• It cuts out time wasters. Brides who have no date booked but plan to get married in 3-5 years time are much less likely to purchase than a bride who's wedding is booked in 18 months time. A bride is less likely to spend money on an appointment if she isn't ready to be serious about committing to a dress.
• It reduces those who book an appointment for a nice day out. I know of several towns where there are multiple boutiques and brides would book appointments at all of them and have a day out with their bride squad. Having a charge in place means the brides really have to think about the styles and designers they are actually interested in before booking.
• Some costs are covered if you do end up with a last minute cancellation. By charging for the appointment you can at least cover the costs of heating, rent and staff wages for the wasted appointment times.
• You can offer a unique service, attracting more brides to your store. You could offer a package in return for the appointment charge such as a VIP appointment, fizz & cakes or invite the full bridal squad! You may be surprised how much brides would be willing to pay to hire the boutique out exclusively.

Some of the common concerns around starting to charge for appointments that I tend to hear are:

'None of the other Bridal Boutiques in my local area are charging'

'It could put people off booking an appointment and some of those may have converted to sales'

'It could lead to higher expectations from the customer and possibly negative reviews'

'People might be angry that they have to pay to browse a shop'

Of course there is no right answer and it very much is a matter of personal preference and what you believe will work well for your business.

That being said, my personal opinion is that charging for an appointment is becoming the industry standard and it could be a really good move for your store. I have heard so many success cases where full Saturdays have previously been lost to no shows or time wasters and then as soon as an appointment fee has been introduced stores are getting days of 100% attendance and conversions.

In this day and age I would expect to pay a charge for appointments in other industries such as going to the Dentist or for a hair appointment. I would expect to lose some of that deposit in the event I cancelled last minute, in-fact this did happen last year. I paid a £50 deposit for a hair appointment I could not attend on the day due to unexpected illness. There is no reason why the bridal industry should be any different.

Bridal Boutiques are not like other retail businesses, customers rarely walk in off the street and it is likely your brides will have 1:1 attention from yourself or your staff for the full time they are in the boutique. In many cases they may have exclusive use of the boutique, and refreshments are normally provided for the full party. This is a high level of service and it is not unreasonable to expect someone to pay for this service even if no purchase is made.

Your brides will not stop booking appointments if you charge, they will still want to attend due to the fantastic service you offer and brands you stock. If you are nervous about introducing a fee you could start by charging for Saturday appointments only. You could also soften the blow by offering to deduct the cost of the appointment fee off any dress they purchase or you could gather the customers card details at the time of booking but only actually apply the charge if they don't attend, so no money has physically been paid if they do attend.

Mybridal offers you the flexibility to charge for whatever appointments you would like using our integration with Stripe. This means you can select what appointment types you want to charge for and choose to charge different amounts for each one. You can choose if you want the charge to actually be taken at the time of booking or if you just want a hold to be taken on a customers card to them be applied later in the event of no show or short notice cancellation.

Click here to read more about how to set up charging for appointments.

Roughly £20-30 seems to be the average amount to charge for a Bridal Appointment. Why not give it a try and see what happens, it is a simple as clicking a button to turn charges back off again if you are not happy.

Finding your dream dress is such a special experience and many brides would be happy to pay a fee to make it as memorable as possible. You could offer exclusive use of the boutique so they feel like a true VIP! They could bring more loved ones with them, include a package such as bubbly and sweet treats or you could offer appointments outside of normal working hours to cater for those with limited availability. Your diary will be filling up in no time!

2. Offer different themed rooms

If you have more than one bridal suite, a great option could be to decorate them in completely different styles and make this a selling point. Your brides are bound to love having a choice of different themes when booking their appointments and you may appeal to a wider audience by diversifying. Think neutral and timeless, ooze glamour in gold or dare to be bold with a brightly coloured or dark and moody option. Everyone is different!

3. Take lots of pictures

Create an area of the boutique perfect for taking selfies! Not only will your brides and their guests take photos and share them to social media, but it creates a fun interactive activity for everyone involved! Creating a space with mirrors covering all angles is great for your brides to truly see what a dress look like from any direction and it allows you to take lots of pictures of the different angles so they don't forget how fab they looked! You can share any pictures you take of your brides directly through mybridal by uploading the photos to their customers profile and then sharing them to the customer portal. Your brides can then login and access the images on their own devices once they get home so the experience lives on.

4. Keep your accessories close to your changing room

Keeping your accessories close by when you have a bride in their dress can be a great decision. Your bride might clock some finishing touches if they are displayed in a way she can see them while she is in her dress or it gives you the option to easily grab some sleeves or a jacket to transform a look. The moment that veil touches their head and mum starts to tear up they will know it's the dress for them!

5. Use an enquiry form

Using an enquiry form can completely transform your customers experience. Mybridal allows you to create completely custom enquiry forms so you can ask and record any questions you would like. You can choose to build the brides excitement by sending the enquiry form out to them prior to their appointment or your can create an intimate and personal feel by choosing to sit down with the bride for 10 minutes when she first arrives. Either way the it ensures the bride will feel like she has been listened too and it will help to build trust and rapport, making you more likely to convert a sale.

Hopefully this has helped your to feel inspired and maybe there was a tip that will help your business!

Click here to sign up for a 30 day free trial of mybridal.

I am so grateful I got the opportunity to meet so many of you, and that everyone was so lovely. I had the pleasure of meeting several of our existing customers in person, along with talking to many new faces about how mybridal could help them and their boutiques.

It was an extremely busy three days, and that continued into the rest of the week. I went straight into feature planning to work out how best to implement your ideas, along with supporting all those who have started their free trials.

Sorry if there was anyone at the show who I missed or didn't get chance to speak to - feel free to drop me an email and get in touch.

A special thank you again to our partners British Bridal Wholesale for having me on your stand and being the best company!

Remember to take advantage of our show offer:

Sign up for a free 30 day trial on our website, and if you choose to become a paying customer before November you will get your first 3 months for the price of 1 (67% discount).

This was the first time either the mybridal or British Bridal team have attended the National Bridal Market, so off we went with all we could get on a plane (200kg worth of wedding dresses, tech gadgets, and United Kingdom paraphernalia).

The Market took place in the historic Merchandise Mart on the riverfront, an impressive building the size of 2 city blocks!

The bridal exhibition spanned the full 7th floor. We played on our British roots by decorating the stand with a UK theme, and it seemed to do the trick and attracted plenty of attention. We had an amazing 3 days meeting so many bridal store owners, not only from the US but Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico just to name a few.

While we may have worked hard, we also played hard. We attended the Chicago Bridal Ball, an event put on for both exhibitors and attendees. Let's just say some of us were more recognised for their dance moves than others...

We were also lucky enough to spend a few days following the show enjoying the sites Chicago has to offer, completing the riverwalk, architectural boat tour, and learning all about the cities history with a crime and gangster tour.

Before we knew it it was time to come home and prepare for the upcoming Harrogate Bridal Week, but Chicago you have been fantastic and we will be back!

We have plans to suit every business. Take a look at our pricing guide to work out which plan is best for you! This guide is based on GBP - please visit our home page for international pricing information.

We have created a handy guide to help you decide what your best pricing option is:

Decide if you need the advanced plan

How many boutiques do you own? If you are a one store business then our starter or growth plans are likely to suit you. If you have two or more stores then advanced is your best bet.

Decide between starter or growth

Decide if you would like any of the following features:

- Unlimited new customers: This means how many new sales are added a month. For example if a bride buys a dress and then a few months later the same bride buys a veil, they are only classed as a new customer in the month their first sale goes through. The starter plan includes upto 15 new customers each month, and growth is unlimited.

- Unlimited users: You can create different users who can access different elements of the mybridal. For example the store owner will likely have 'owner' access so they can view analytics and details about the business, but may want sales staff to not be able to view details like profit margins or turn over. The starter plan allows for one user and growth is unlimited.

- Access to the customer portal: The customer portal allows you to send a login link to your brides and they can access their own mini area of the system. This allows for contactless digital signatures, sharing of images, and allows them to see details of their sale and payment plans. This comes included on the growth plan, but not the starter.

The above listed three features can all be added to the starter plan as a bolt on for an extra £20/month. For example you may need unlimited customers every month but don't wish to use the customer portal and only need one user therefore it is cheaper to add the bolt on to the starter plan than it would be to sign up to growth.

If you would like to have access to two or more of the above features then the growth plan will be most suited to you, however if you only wish to use one of the above features then you will find subscribing to the starter plan and adding a £20/month bolt on your best value for money.

Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions around pricing and we will be more than happy to help you.

We have divided our analytics into three main sections being totals, sales and appointments to make it easier to keep track of the different areas of your business.

You can then further filter down each area to suit your stores needs. We have added many filters including dividing the sales data per store, per dress type, per size, and you can even work out your conversion rates per staff member, or by appointment type.

You can view the analytics over any time frame. There are default tabs within the analytics section for today, yesterday, this week and last week, and failing that you can set any date rate you wish using 'custom'.

Lastly, we have added the ability to export any of the data from the analytics section into a CSV file, allowing you to store and analyse this independently of mybridal.

We hope you find these improvements useful, and as always if you have any questions or need any support please just get in touch.

It's now time for me to go away and put into action all of your fab ideas for new features. I have a meeting scheduled with the development team tomorrow and we will be working out the timelines for new feature development so I will be in touch with those who have requests.

I hope everyone is getting on well with their free trials and if anyone has any questions or needs support please feel free to drop me a message.

Thank you to our partners British Bridal Wholesale for sharing your stand... if you haven't already then you need to check them out!

Now it's time to recover from all the excitement and prepare for Harrogate in September... hopefully see more of you then!