IGtv recap: The Pros and Cons of In-house Coordinators
Happy 2021 everyone 🥂 We made it even though it was the toughest year for event professionals, and STILL is. I just hope that you are all doing well. I have really noticed in the last year that people in events have come together as a community and that's exactly what we need right now 💖 Anywho, I just had to start off the 1st blog post for the New Year with that little positive snippet. Onto Part 2 of the Pros and Cons series: Having an In-house Coordinator.
Before I start listing them off, I want to make a public announcement for all venues - Please make sure that your contract doesn't say that you offer Day of Coordination if it's really only venue operations and not something like I do, or any other Day of Coordinator / Planner offers. A lot of brides come to us last minute stating that they thought their venue offered it all along based on the verbiage and then find out they actually don't. If you need help knowing how to word it, please feel free to reach out. I'm more than happy to help 😊
Pros -
1) Just like my last episode, it's a selling point - People want convenience AND trust so if they know that you offer planning or day of coordinating services in-house, they're more likely to book. It's just knowing that someone is a coordinator who is at that space all the time and knowing that THEY KNOW the space like the back of their hand creates more trust.
2) Again, just like my last episode, it's extra income - Every business should have an add-on service to bring in extra money. This can be one of them.
3) Even if you don't have someone that's fully experienced, you can make this type of package how you want - Someone last year once told me this, "It's your business, you can do what you want". So with that being said, again, if you don't have someone super experienced maybe offer 'setup and teardown only' or maybe just timeline management. Something simple that accommodates your coordinator.
Cons -
1) Is your in-house coordinator experienced enough? - This can really hurt you if you just hire someone on just to offer the service. You need to make sure that they have experience so they are able to handle any situation that comes up. As event professionals, we all know that something is going to go wrong the day of and needs to be handled appropriately.
2) Finding someone that's the right fit - Do they have the same values as you do? Do they match your brand? If you haven't read my Branding Tips For Venues blog post, you should because this is one of the many things I talk about.
3) Overhead - If you are going the route of having the coordinator/planner be an actual employee instead of a contractor like myself, this will be a big overhead item.
4) Only allowing your coordinator to be the clients coordinator can go against you - Some people may already have a coordinator or have someone in mind. One thing I didn't mention in the video is that maybe they don't get along with your coordinator personality-wise or style-wise. That can cost you a sale. I would highly suggest that you do not have it required that they can only use your service starting out.
Overall, I would think long and hard if this is something you want to take on and manage before acting on it 😉
To watch the episode, view it here
Till next time,
-Melissa
Photo credits: Photographer- McKeehen Photography, Floral- our in-house florist Lara Cornell, Decor- Style Society, Venue- Keystone Weddings & Events