Choosing your target market

There are basically four target markets available to a marquee hire company. Most will specialise in one but actually cover several.

i) Private parties.
- The most common and easiest place to start as a small selection of marquees is sufficient.
- Customers are generally more flexible about erection/dismantling timings and equipment offered (accepting what is on offer rather than demanding certain things that aren’t)
- Standards can be lower than weddings (though not too low!)
- Not as lucrative as other options as people are often cost cutting by not having lining/lighting/flooring.
ii) Corporate hospitality/entertainment.
- Difficult market to establish yourself in though it can  be very lucrative if you get there
- Contacts contacts contacts: As well as building up good relationships with local party planners and targeting in-house event organisers, when people come up with suggestions you need to know where to look and who to speak to. Getting to know some good theming companies is essential.
- You need to have variety and flexibility in your marquee range. You will be on the receiving end of all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas– you need to have the marquees (and imagination) to cope.
- There’s no need to hold large stocks of accessories: Linings, lighting, flooring & furniture will probably all have to be hired in for each occasion. Buying equipment is pointless until you know what is in use regularly.
- You will generally be called in to a meeting as the marquee specialist. You need to be decisive in your recommendations for layout. Unlike weddings where you should give lots of options, here people are after the best marquee solution so they can then concentrate on the details.
iii) Weddings
- Arguably the most lucrative market as nearly all marquees require lining, lighting, flooring etc
- As weddings are planned 6-12 months in advance you know your peak season well in advance (useful for planning labour, buying extra equipment etc)
- Standards need to be very high
- Give the clients options. Unless the bride and groom know exactly what they are after you should supply them with two or three options for layouts etc together with pros and cons of each
- Marquee equipment is surprisingly predictable. White marquees, ivory or white linings, chandeliers or spotlights & uplighters for lighting.
iv) Country fairs, fetes etc
- A volume game. No lining, lighting, flooring or furniture required. It’s all about getting as many marquees up and down as quickly as possible

If you’re very brave (and have a burning sensation in your pocket) you can try to buy enough equipment to go straight in to corporate entertainment or weddings.
However, most people start off doing small private parties and local fairs/fetes and see where the market takes them, expanding whenever possible.



What to look for when buying marquees

When you research marquees or look around the Showman’s show you’ll realise the marquees can be put into 3 categories:

Lightweight: Consisting of easy-up/pop-up marquees and party tents.

  • The easy-up/pop-up design is very impressive. The frame folds together, you leave the roof on, you can put the marquee up in 60 seconds.
  • Thin framed ones should be avoided as they won’t last very long in the hire trade but the thick framed ones last quite well.
  • The material used in party tents generally make them too lightweight for the hire trade. Whilst the steel pipe used is okay the roofs and walls are made from 120g/m2-240g/m2 PE which doesn’t last very long.
  • Suitable for small parties, BBQ’s and small stands at fairs
  • Aren’t adaptable or elegant enough for corporate or wedding marquees

Midweight: Consisting of DIY Marquees and other steel pole style marquees

  • Aim to have the same finish as their heavier duty counterparts.
  • Components aren’t quite as strong as heavyweight marquees – typical midweight cover is 500g/m2
  • Usually a fraction of the cost of heavyweight marquees.
  • Midweight marquees are good for parties, fairs and (if lined) weddings.
  • Can be limited for corporate hospitality as hired themed linings are generally made only for heavyweight marquees.

Heavyweight: Consisting of Tectonics UK, Roder, Hoeker

  • Most expensive but also the best quality marquees - covers are usually 600-700 g/m2.
  • Same style is used over all widths – 3m up to 30m wide.
  • All marquee lining hire companies will stock additional linings if required.
  • Suitable for any event but can be uncompetitive for private parties due to the large initial outlay.

It depends on how much you want to spend starting your marquee hire business up which marquees to go for. Personally I would recommend having a mixture of each type. This means you can cope with a wide variety of events and you can see in which direction is best to expand rather than committing down one path before you start.

I’m not sure what the topics will be next time. Probably advertising/getting yourself known, or site visits.

Thanks for reading :)

Spencer
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Having had to retire after 10 years of running a marquee hire company due to a serious back injury I now supply commercial marquees and linings for marquee hire companies at Marquees for Sale from DIY Marquees.
In the future I will be writing on what to expect from your marquee hire company which will be expanding on the articles I wrote for confetti.