Mobile Beat seminar tour

Tomorrow, I fly to Chicago for the first stop of the second leg of the Mobile Beat Pioneer ProDJ Tour (Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh).

There hasn’t been much time to refresh from the first tour leg, but I have put together a few thoughts that may be interesting. To start with, here are some cumulative statistics (approximate) from the first four stops(Phoenix, San Diego, Orange, & Silicon Valley).

• 75-80% of the DJ’s had a Facebook presence (mostly personal, some business).
• 40-50% had a profile on LinkedIn, but many professed to not using it frequently or fully.
• Only a handful at each stop had a Twitter account.
• Just a few at each stop published a blog.

The thrust of my presentation, Social Media Strategies, was two-fold.

1. Help people frame a strategy/goal/reason-for-being-there for Social Media.
2. Explain enough about the different social media tools, and their features, so as to help people frame their tactics, to accomplish their strategy/goal.

It is clear, when talking to people, that many have just followed the crowd (often fueled by national media), and have not yet focused their social media strategy or tactics.

Social Media is not free: I am continually annoyed by seminars or articles that boast the no-cost factor of social media. The statement is nonsense. One’s time is worth money. If you are investing 4-5 hours a week in social media, that has value. For that reason, alone, it’s important to zero in on  your purpose, and apply the proper tactics, consistently, to achieve it.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

Last night, at the San Diego stop of the Mobile Beat Tour, I took the time to thank “Dave AND Buster” for hosting our event. I’m not really sure if there is a Dave or a Buster. I was just having fun in acknowledging the venue that is hosting us at all 15 stops.

Most people know Dave and Buster’s as a game room palace for people of all ages. In addition to all the fun and games, the Dave and Buster’s has a showroom at every location. The room is two levels, and includes a huge projection screen, built-in overhead projector, house sound system and podium.

It is a great set up for the Mobile Beat Tour and would be a great choice for any company desiring to do a presentation for up to about 125-150 people in a non-hotel location.

The Mobile Beat DJ Tour hits 15 U.S. Cities

Sponsors, Speakers and Mobile Beat crew were greeting to a seats-full audience at its first stop on the Mobile Beat Pioneer ProDJ Tour.

Digigames‘ Rob Johnson MC’d the evening which offered a great variety of education, information, and inspiration.

Many members of the Phoenix ADJA Chapter were in attendance. And, happily, a mighty contingent from the Tucson ADJA Chapter had made the 2-hour trip to attend.

Wedding Marketing Authority, Andy Ebon, is the opening presenter on this leg of the tour, speaking about ‘Social Media Strategies.’

Mock up of the coming book

On the heels of his highly successful chapter contribution, Blogging Your Way To Business Success, in the Power of the Platform: Speakers on Success, Andy Ebon, ‘The Wedding Marketing Authority,‘ has been asked to participate in the sequel.

The Las Vegas Convention Speakers Bureau, publisher of the Power of the Platform series, has tabbed Andy to write a chapter for the Power of the Platform: Speakers on Purpose. Andy’s chapter title is: Building A Focused Social Media Strategy.

The chapter breaks down a total social media strategy, including: Blogging, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Power of the Platform: Speakers on Purpose is scheduled to be released in 4th quarter 2009.

Everybody on the Bus for Mobile Beat

Andy is the leadoff speaker on the first two legs of  the Mobile Beat Tour 2009 presented by Pioneer ProDJ. The tour kicks off on Sunday, August 9th, in Phoenix, AZ.

Andy’s presentation is based on the chapter from his forthcoming chapter: Building A Focused Social Media Strategy.

I only have $500. Will you take it?

A couple of days ago, I posted an item about the differences between money (price), value, budget and result. It generated lots of traffic, a comment or two, and plenty of direct email.

It also caused me to consider the phrase, ‘budget bride.’ Along with DIY Bride, these are two of the most annoying and poorly used descriptors in the industry. To a great degree, I lay that at the feet of my friends in mass media for the wedding industry. Mass media tends to be a popularization tool as much as an information source. If you repeat a phrase, such as ‘budget bride,’ often enough, it becomes part of the wedding lexicon, for better for worse.

The problem with these phrases is they paint the bride’s resources with the grayest of brush strokes. So, at the risk of being more precise, I’ll break it down from my experience.

• DIY Bride: (Budget: under $5000) Someone who probably doesn’t have the resources to get married just yet and is likely to turn most of her wedding into an Arts and Crafts project.
• Low Budget Bride (Budget: $5000 – $14,999) Has the resources, but will have to make some tough decisions on the reception. The big conundrum is whether to economize across the board or cut in specific areas, and not others.
• Statistically Average Bride: (Budget: $15,000 – $34,999) Has the resources to do a nice job on the reception. Her biggest decision should be ‘How many guests can we invite to have a nice reception?’
• High Budget Bride (Budget: $35,000 – $60,000): Has more than enough money to do great things. Her biggest challenge is not to make bad choices among wedding vendors, irrespective of money.
• Luxury Bride (Budget: more than $60,000): Daddio has wads of cash and she wants to be awash in greenbacks. Not all brides in this financial category are Bridezillas, but the risk and tendency is greater than in any of the lower tiers. Bridezillas almost always make bad decisions. It’s in their DNA.

A budget is not:

• … is not throwing a dart at a target.
• … budget is not the total amount in the parent’s bank account or your bank account.
• … budget is not what one or more girlfriends spent on their wedding.
• … is not necessarily what you see on Platinum Weddings or Get Married TV (those are inspirations)

A budget is:

• A study of the range of what wedding products and services cost in your area, balanced against your tastes, inspirations and fantasies.
• Factored by the number of guests you choose to invite.

A line budget item is not:

• “I only have $750 left for videography. Will you take that?”
• “Oh, my third cousin, Oscar, is going to take the photos.”

A budget is:

• $1 Million
• $50,000
• $25,000
• $7,500
• $3,000

Budget does not necessarily mean low budget. A budget can be…

• A specific dollar amount or less
• A specific dollar amount or more
• A range from $X to $Y (this is the preferred budget)
• Money is no object (must be the truth)

The Wedding Report publishes ongoing data about spending in the wedding industry. It consistently reports that brides spend close to 50% more than they had budgeted for the wedding, with an average wedding expense running  just under $30,000. This shows a major discrepancy between the original money allotted, from reality of their desires.

I would assert the reason for this is that their original money allotment was not a budget at all. It was dart throwing at a bank book.

Here’s the challenge from every wedding professional, wedding media outlet, and industry trade association:

• Clearly delineate what it means to be a professional in your category of the wedding industry, from the standpoint of ‘benefits to the bride.’
• Explain the relationship (if any) of your business category to others. Such as the interactions between entertainer, photographer, videographer and caterer/venue. Or flowers and cake.
• Explain the Truth or Consequences and effect of making a sub-standard choice.

The naked truth about satisfaction vs. money spent: When a wedding day is over, either the bride and groom are happy with a particular product or service or they are not. A vendor is not wearing a price tag around their neck. There is not a dollar cost at your place card, showing the price of each dinner. There is not a little flag in your slice of cake, showing its cost plus a cake cutting fee.

In retrospect, most wedding couples can point out decisions they made, that were off-the-mark. There are hundreds of decisions, big and small, involved in a wedding. Amazingly enough, it only takes one or two really bad decisions to create an unhappy outcome. And, amazingly enough, a really bad decision is often not related to money.

It would be outstanding if all wedding industry professionals would embrace educating the bride to realistic and exciting expectations, rather than than just fanning the flames of fairy tale dreams. It is true that if the wedding budget is spent disproportionately, bad things usually happen.

A bride with $12,000 to spend, should be able to experience as much happiness on her wedding day as one with $50,000. But that supposes she has enough information, common sense, and critical thinking to make consistently good decisions, and then does so.

Come to think of it, that’s a pretty good operational mission statement for the wedding industry.

Don’t you agree?

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

… is probably the wrong question.

I must admit I been infused with a heavy dose of Seth Godin logic. It comes with reading his books and blog, and understanding his perspective. His angle is consistent. Ask different question. Suggest to his readers that they ask different questions.

So when one of my business friends posted the title, “To Blog, Or Not To Blog” on a private message board, I could help but suggest, “Perhaps that’s the wrong question?”

Just because blogging is almost free, in terms of hard dollars, doesn’t mean it’s easy. If you are not a natural writer, you may spend more time per post or have challenges with subject matter. At a lecture last week, I invoked the quotation: “Anything worth doing well, is worth doing badly at first.” (Ben Franklin, I think).

FACT: A well-crafted, well-maintained WordPress blog, that lives on your website server is perhaps the greatest search engine optimization tool, around, today.

The benefits of engaging customers, prospects, industry peers and media are tangible and incalculable. Actually, not entirely incalculable.

Another FACT: The longer you wait to blog, the more run-up time you give to your competitors.

One of the most important facts of life is: Don’t kid yourself.  As my friend likes to say: “It’s a no-brainer.”

The answer to the question: “To blog, or not to blog?” (as part of my wedding marketing plan) is, indeed, a no-brainer. There are other good question to ask, but from where I sit, this isn’t one of them.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

It is already a problem that the wedding industry overly focuses on the bride. Cliches, such as Your Special Day and words such as Perfect, permeate advertisements and magazine covers. 

Today, there is more information available to the bride than ever. Websites, blogs, and television shows. Many of the TV shows inspire and inform, offering a plethora of creative ideas and interesting perspectives. But what about Bridezillas on We TV?

Recognizing that any wedding show is entertainment, my question is still the same. Does the showcasing of brides-behaving-badly do anything but foster bad behavior? Understanding that much of ‘reality shows’ is not reality, but staged, does the wedding industry need brides-to-be watching a show that gives narcissistic, mean-spirited brides centerstage?

Your thoughts…

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Many business people are addicted to more. More products, more services, more locations, more choices… all of these allegedly leading to more profits.

In many cases, more means additional revenue. The irony, of course, is more can also mean more overhead, more headaches, more personnel, more mistakes, and more confusion.

Just in a line at a fast food operation and watch customers in front of you. You’ll see their heads begin to spin at the vast array of choices offered for a simple lunch. When out to dinner, there is nothing better than a competent waiter who not only gives you the specials, but recommendations for the dishes that he/she or customers enjoy the most. The waiter is softly taking some choices off-the-board.

In the wedding industry, over time, many wedding businesses add services and products to the point of customer confusion. Alternatively, companies simply get larger to the point of inefficiency. Is having 8 photographers better than having 3? Is having 15 disc jockeys better than having 8? It depends.

Depends on what? On the profitability of the last DJ or photographer. Not to mention the personnel juggling, clerical support and other complications brought on by more.

Entrepreneurs are, by nature, idea people. We look for opportunities to expand, grow, and enhance.

Just for a moment, knock it off!! Instead of looking at how to grow, examine how to shrink. What services or products are you offering that generate revenue, but not profits. Is your third sales office generating a profitable level of sales? When you crunch the numbers, is the first two-thirds of your capacity (people, products, office) generating more than 90% of your sales? Is that last 10% of sales profitable, at all?

If you reduced your availability (capacity) would your pricing be stable… or even go higher?

Think of it as cleaning out your closet. Are there things that don’t fit any more? Are out of style? Are just creating such clutter that you can’t even see all the choices?

Chances are such a circumstance is creating confusion within your company, as well as your contacts, customers, and prospects.

Eliminating unproductive products, services, and yes…. people, is addition by subtraction. You will recapture some time, ease, and perhaps be more productive with less.

So ask yourself, what really needs to stay, and what has run its course and should be eliminated. After you’ve asked and answered that, please comment and let me know.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority