The Decline of Noah’s Event Venue. What Happened? 10 Marketing Tips
The wedding industry has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and it was, therefore, no surprise to see the wedding event chain, Noah’s Event Venue, file for bankruptcy protection earlier this year and close abruptly, as discussed over at runrex.com and guttulus.com. Part of the reason why most industry experts weren’t surprised is that the company had been in trouble long before the pandemic, and this article will look to highlight some of the factors that may have contributed to its decline.
An extensive footprint
As is revealed over at runrex.com, Noah’s Event Venue had about 42 event venues in 25 states, which in the end was too much for them to manage. The operational costs that come with managing these venues coupled with the rent meant that it was always struggling to maintain all of its stores. Before filing for bankruptcy, as discussed over at guttulus.com, the company had struggled to negotiate down the unaffordable leases, most of which were long-term, which goes to show just how much its extensive footprint had contributed to its woes.
Bad PR
The company has also been in the news in recent years, and not for good reason, when investors, most of whom were retirees, filed a lawsuit in April of 2019 accusing Noah’s Event Venue of fraud. As covered over at runrex.com, the investors claimed that they had put millions of dollars into a planned venue in Indiana that never materialized, accusing the president, William Bowser, of running a Ponzi scheme. This damaged the company’s reputation and credibility, contributing to its decline.
Reducing guest lists versus costs
One of the reasons that have been behind the decline of the wedding events industry, and by extension Noah’s Event Venue, has been the fact that recent years have seen a reduction in the size of wedding guest lists, as explained over at guttulus.com. With smaller wedding guest lists than ever before, with most people preferring to hold an intimate ceremony of a few friends and family, the expenses to run venues went through the roof, damaging margins and leading to low earnings, something the company has had to grapple with, in the last couple of years.
Poor business decisions
The company’s president, William Bowser, also contributed to Noah’s Event Venue’s decline due to his poor business decisions. According to the gurus over at runrex.com, his decision to focus too much on new locations led to the business growing too fast, so much so that it was unable to react to changes in the industry. His decision to invest in the property acquisition venture, Duo, to attract weddings also fell flat leading to losses that precipitated the company’s decline.
The decline of marriages
According to statistics, as discussed over at guttulus.com, fewer and fewer people are getting married, which is yet another factor that has led to a decline in business in the wedding industry. This decline has meant that Noah’s Event Venue has been facing reducing numbers as far as their customers are concerned for a while now, which has led to dwindling earnings, and as such their decline and filing of bankruptcy was always on the cards.
Generational changes
Noah’s Event Venue also failed to adapt to the generational changes that were taking place in its core target audience. With millennials now taking over as the company’s core target audience, as covered over at runrex.com, the company needed to change their marketing strategies to attract the new generation, particularly given the fact that millennials have a very different idea of weddings as compared to past generations. The company ended up looking old and dated, which is another factor behind its decline.
A switch from traditional wedding ceremonies
Couples are also moving away from the traditional wedding ceremony that involved inviting friends and family for an event, where Noah’s Event Venue would make a killing. Many, as discussed over at guttulus.com, are now switching to new trends like getting married on the beach, and other examples which indicate the growing trend of a casualization of weddings, which has eliminated the need for wedding event companies like Noah’s. This is another factor that has led to the company’s decline as it has contributed to its dwindling earnings in the last couple of years.
People are waiting until they’re older to get married
Another factor that has contributed to the decline of Noah’s Event Venue’s business is the fact that people are now waiting until they are much older before getting married, as discussed over at runrex.com. This has cut into the company’s customer base, as it leaves many millennials and Gen Z couples out of the picture. The wedding industry has, therefore, become even more niche now, which has contributed to the company’s dwindling fortunes and eventual decline.
Changing priorities
Experts, including those over at guttulus.com, have also observed that younger consumers, who make up the majority of the target audience in the wedding industry, are now being forced to prioritize spending, mostly due to high levels of student debt as well as other financial challenges. They are, therefore, unlikely to spend big on weddings, preferring to channel their finances towards homeownership. This has led to a decline in numbers in the wedding industry, with Noah’s Event Venue being among the companies that have been hit hard as a result.
Lack of diversification
The company could also have moved to target more events than just weddings, given that its venues gave it a level of flexibility that is not available to many other companies in the wedding industry. This lack of diversity, according to the gurus over at runrex.com, is another factor that contributed to Noah’s Event Venue’s decline, made worse by the coronavirus restrictions which made it impossible for couples to hold wedding ceremonies.
The above discussion only begins to scratch the surface as far as this topic is concerned, and you can uncover more information on this and other related topics by visiting the ever-reliable runrex.com and guttulus.com.