Growing business on social media

Wedding venture

Not a website, not a store, it is a Facebook community. Not only does one buy and sell here, one can also interact with industry professionals involved in weddings.

WedWise, is dedicated to connecting brides and grooms with vendors for wedding planning solutions, but it is the concept of the business model that Metrolife found interesting and spoke with the founder, Ginny Kohli.

With a mere Facebook group, she has found investors within five months of the launch, who are funding WedWise to grow and reach out to overseas customers.

Kohli is 29, with an engineering and marketing background. She launched this platform in May 2015 and has 24,000 members today. Kohli speaks to Metrolife about her business plan.

Excerpts:

How do people buy through a Facebook community?

We have added professional photographers, designers, wedding planners and other interested ones in the ‘closed’ Facebook group. When someone posts something, others start responding helping people through user reviews. We have successfully managed to create a platform for entrepreneurs who operate from home such as floral jewellery experts, bakers, trousseau packers, freelance makeup artists and small boutique owners, allowing them to showcase their work and easily reach out to their target audience.

Why this model?

Websites are not engaging and don’t allow interaction with the wedding vendor instantly, so the list of over 10 vendors in the same category confuses the to-be-weds more. We have made a community-driven wedding start-up. It is an effort to help prospective brides and grooms to get ideas, discover new trends and book authentic and credible wedding vendors through real-time recommendations instantly.

How can one become a member of the closed group?

Through word of mouth, someone who has used our facility and is a member tells a friend or relative. We send invitation from our side and they can accept it. We also have Non-Resident Indians on our group, who have been recommended this platform by their Indian mates.

Who does it help?

 Wedding professionals from well-known ones to new comers and they can showcase their work, share tips and discuss their expertise in the field and help other members plan their wedding effectively. Professionals also get benefited by interacting with each other. It is not only a B to B (Business to Business) but a B to C (Business to Consumer) model.

How are you calculating the growth of your business?

We get a query every hour and they get answers instantly. I think being a Facebook group, with each query raised and resolved, WedWise reaches a step closer to their ambition of easy wedding planning in India.

What do you offer to brides and grooms?

In our country wedding is considered a closed home affair. Most preparations are done based on word of mouth. Here we have the same model, but in form of a community. You can talk to many designers or one regarding your query and others will help you to get connected with the right one.