Your Best Source of Referrals – By John Stiernberg

In the July 2010 issue of Mobile Beat, we talked about generating referrals, and making sure that you and your mobile entertainment business are referable. The fundamentals haven’t changed: 1) Show up on time, 2) do what you say you are going to do, 3) finish what you start, and 4) say “please” and “thank you.” Doing those things consistently make you referable, but do not necessarily assure that your clients will refer you. What do you need to do to generate referrals?

Will past clients take initiative? Are you optimizing online tools? This article addresses these issues and recommends three action tips for success.

WHY REFERRALS ANYWAY?

You know the expression, “The best advertising is word of mouth.” When someone says good things about you, they are providing “third-party credibility.” It’s not you bragging or paying for promotion. Instead, a happy client recommends your service. Prospective clients are far more comfortable approaching and hiring someone that one of their peers has hired successfully. Peer groups are not limited to people who know each other. They can be “friends and followers” in the 21st-century sense.

The relevance of this is at the heart of social media today. Your peers have more street cred than the business that is offering virtually anything for sale. That applies to reviewing and sourcing services (like mobile entertainment) in addition to goods.

So why work at generating referrals? Because they eliminate (or at least minimize) cold call selling. Say that a couple is getting married and needs to hire a DJ. You hear about it or see the engagement announcement in your local media. You could contact them directly, introduce yourself, and ask if you could meet with them to discuss their wedding entertainment plans. Or, you can seed the market with referral sources so that the couple or their wedding planner is aware of your good work and calls you. That ringing phone (or text or e-mail) is a beautiful thing!

PUT YOURSELF IN THE CLIENT’S PLACE

Want to go out for dinner and you’re eager to try a new place? It’s possible that you would ask friends, co-workers, or family for a recommendation before you would Google “restaurants” and take a chance. But sometimes it isn’t practical to make phone calls or chat with trusted advisors. In those circumstances, the next best thing is to check out reviews online. Angie’s List, Google Reviews, YouTube, and Facebook (among many others) all feature reviews of virtually everything. The level of detail ranges from the simple thumbs up “Likes” to lengthy reviews or blog entries with plenty of details.

There are two levels of client involvement in terms of driving referrals to you.

Passive. The client agrees to be a reference when you ask them. They will say good things about you if anyone contacts them, but they don’t otherwise take action.

Active. The client agrees to post a positive review on your website or Facebook page. There are degrees of this. For example, they may simply click a like button or post multiple positive reviews and encourages their friends, family, and co-workers to hire you. This is active promotion vs. waiting for someone to contact them.

HOW TO HELP YOUR CLIENTS PROMOTE YOU

Why would a happy client refer actively vs. passively? It boils down to asking them for their help. Here are three suggestions for how to make it easy for your clients to promote you.

Action Tip 1. Set up your website, Facebook page, YouTube channel, LinkedIn profile, and any other online outlet with places where clients can easily talk about you. This means making your website interactive, which may cost a little time and money, but is worth it.

Action Tip 2. Contact your past clients and invite them to post reviews. They won’t necessarily know about it until you tell them, so take the time to reach out. E-mail blasts and Twitter tweets may get a few random replies. Personal phone calls yield two things: 1) a higher positive response rate and 2) the opportunity to ask them if they know anyone planning an event.

Action Tip 3: Send a thank you note to everyone that posts (referability skill #4—say “please” and “thank you”). Wow, those fans will become your diehard advocates when you simply say “thanks.”

And if for any reason a client refuses to cooperate or posts a bad review, you are immediately presented with the opportunity to do preemptive damage control (hope that doesn’t happen…).

HERE’S THE POINT…

Passive references are better than nothing, but active referral sources and online buzz are competitive advantages. While you need to work at it, there is a big payoff: more gigs and more happy clients. Be sure to implement the Action Tips in sequence: 1) set up your online tools, 2) invite past clients to post reviews, and 3) thank them for their efforts.

 

John Stiernberg is founder of Stiernberg Consulting (www.stiernberg.com). His book Succeeding In Music: Business Chops for Performers and Songwriters is published by Hal Leonard Books. Contact John via e-mail at john@stiernberg.com. You can find John on LinkedIn, Plaxo, and Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

How to Turn Down a School Booking without Saying ‘No’ to the Business

How many times have you been called by one of your best school clients to book a date in which you are already sold out or otherwise can’t perform? As your client base of schools grow, this will enviably occur more often than you’d like, especially considering schools tend to hold their dances around common times of the year. Of course, you’d like to book the event because you certainly don’t want to risk losing a long-time repeat client to a competitor. Do you have the staff to book one more event that night? Do you have the right equipment to book another school event on a day you’ve already got a full plate? If the answer is “No” – you just can’t book the event, what’s the best way to tell the client without risking losing their long-term business?

I imagine most of the time the conversation goes something like this:

School Dance Advisor: “We’d like to book you for Saturday, February 11^th for our Valentine’s Day dance. Are you available?”

You: “Unfortunately, we’re all sold out that day, but we’d love to work with again you in the future!”

School Dance Advisor: “OK. I understand. Do you have anyone else you can recommend?”

This is where the slope can become slippery for retaining future business. Instead, I suggest the conversation go something like this:

School Dance Advisor: “We’d like to book you for Saturday, February 11^th for our Valentine’s Day dance. Are you available?”

You: “Unfortunately, we’re all sold out that day, however, if you have any flexibility with your date, I do have openings on February 18^th and 25^th. Will either of those dates work for you?”

School Dance Advisor: “Let me check with the committee and my administration and get back with you.”

Many schools are very flexible with their dates and are picking them rather arbitrarily in the first place. They are often willing to move their date in order to retain the services of a DJ they trust. It also sends a much stronger message of your desire to work with the school, than simply deferring business to “the future”. Finally, it can avoid the potentially uncomfortable situation of having to recommend someone else to perform their dance, business you may or may not get back.

Why Should I Believe You? – By Steve Brazell, The Hitman

Hitman, Inc. Competition Removal™ – www.yourhitman.com

An augmented excerpt from the book Clear! The Simple Guide to Keeping Your Business Alive and Kicking

OK. I understand what you’re selling, how much it costs, and I’ve even got a pretty good idea what’s in it for me. Now the number-one fear for all humans kicks in: the fear of loss. The question pops up: “Why should I believe what you’re telling me?” No one wants to lose money. No one wants to lose face, reputation, time, relationships, or anything else they value. We all want to believe we are making a safe choice. The herd mentality is simple: if I do what everyone else is doing, it must be safe; otherwise so many other people wouldn’t do it. I’m always fascinated by how many people pull into only one lane of two lanes that are both turning left. You can’t help but second-guess yourself as you slowly pull all the way to the front of the empty lane wondering if they know something you don’t.

To get customers over the last hurdle, we need their trust. They need to know we’re a safe bet. Sometimes that can be a money-back guarantee, or a free shipping and return policy. Zappos.com does both and completely removes the risk of shopping online. But, more times than not, we want to know that other members of our species have had a good experience with your company, so we want to read reviews and testimonials to see who your other clients are and if they’re happy. Review sites like Yelp (www.yelp.com) are becoming more and more important for a company to address in their public relations strategies. It’s easier than ever for consumers to do their homework on your product and services, and what other customers are saying about your company is always more believable than what you say about yourself.

REVIEW REALITY
After moving to New York City, my wife and I would research restaurants, salons, vets, clubs, car services, electricians, and laundry services, just to name a few, by reading reviews online. The majority of our decisions about who we would give our business to came from a combination of online reviews and asking our neighbors and friends.
In today’s world, everyone is a critic. It used to be that if you owned a restaurant, you kept your eyes peeled for the city food critic to come and dine at your establishment. Now anyone who dines can quickly post a review of your restaurant online for all to read, and people are reading them. When we plan travel, if we read several poor reviews about a hotel it will dissuade us from booking a room there.

For mobile professionals, having your clients sing your praises is more important than ever. Unfortunately, most DJs don’t do a good job of branding and are becoming commodities—still in demand but only differentiated by price. One important way for you to differentiate yourself from the herd is to give reasons for your clients to believe what you’re saying about yourself. (And of course you should be saying amazing things about you and your company.) Make sure you’re getting testimonials from your happy customers. Get industry press. Get mentions. The more potential customers hear and see positive press, the more likely they are to believe you and want to hire you.
Good press, company blogs, and managing review sites are all important strategies to incorporate in a successful ongoing public relations campaign. As the media continues to move “social,” what others say about you will play a bigger role. If you’re making promises, as long as your customers and critics back you up, I’ll believe you.
I want reasons to believe you. Make sure you give me authentic ones.

Clear takeaway: List three outside authorities who have endorsed your product. If you don’t have at least three, review your customer list and find believable authorities who will provide testimonials. And make sure (if appropriate) you’re listed on sites like Yelp, Insider Pages, Bing Local, City Search, Google Maps, Yahoo Local, and Merchant Circle.

###

Steve Brazell is one of America’s top marketing and branding experts. He helps Fortune 500s, start-ups, small-caps, celebrities, and individuals make more money by communicating their brand stories better. Some of his clients include; IBM, Wingate, Century 21, Kevin Costner, Coldwell Banker, Keyshawn Johnson, Warner Brothers and Walt Disney. He is the founder of Hitman, Inc., a Competition Removal™ firm with offices in New York and Vegas, and the author of Clear! The Simple Guide to Keeping Your Business Alive and Kicking.

Chauvet Is HIRING – And they might want you!

Job title: Product Manager Club/DJ
Job location: Sunrise, FL 33351
Classification: Fulltime, Exempt, Salaried
Reports to: Sr. Product Manager

The primary objective of this position is to direct the new product development process from conception to launch. Oversee and manage product coordinator and/or specialist.

Job Requirements: include the following essential duties and responsibilities. Other duties may be assigned.

Execute product development strategy for a specific product category including coordination of strategic product map, pricing, and identifying & capitalizing on competitive advantage. Responsible for launching new products on-time and on-cost. Lead new product development process from conception to launch. Lead prototype/sample evaluation process for products within category, organize and maintain reports from product engineers and product specialist on products in development for feedback to manufacturing partners. Maintain product launch calendar. Work with Product Engineering Supervisor to help establish schedule for Technical Writers.

Write specifications for new products and communicates these to marketing and sales. Work with marketing team to create product positioning statement, product names and logos. Articulate applications of fixtures to marketing and Product Marketing Manager to assist with development of marketing materials including (but not limited to) PPS, Video, webpage, and catalog & catalog specs. Take an active role and provide feedback on product photography, packaging, videos, product web pages and other marketing communications. Responsible for internal and external training on new and existing products.

Lead trade show planning, design and execution. Manage selection and availability of new product samples for trade shows, and work with marketing and sales to ensure that category products are represented effectively. Work with quality control, marketing, sales, service and purchasing to reduce/eliminate product quality issues and to identify cost reduction and value improvement opportunities.

Act as a product champion; monitor market and competitor products before and after product launch via YouTube, lighting forums and other mediums. Supervise setup & programming of category specific products in showroom. Maintain relationships with key partners (customer and vendors).

Coach, develop and mentor product coordinator and/or specialist. Provide timely development and performance feedback. Produce and submit regular performance monitoring and assessment reports, including one (1) annual and one (1) semiannual review for each direct report.

Overnight travel required

Education and/or Experience:

Associate’s Degree in Electronics or Electrical Engineering and 2-3 years supervisory experience; 1-2 years experience and/or training in prototype/sample evaluation and teardown/reassembly of lighting, small electronics or technical products prototype or equivalent combination of education, experience, and supervisory skills. Proficiency in use of major PC applications including Microsoft Office. Expertise in Production/Installation Lighting technology and applications.

Ability to interpret technical instructions in diagram form, follow established procedures, and keep accurate records. Attention to detail. Excellent communication and time management skills with the ability to work independently with minimal direction in a fast-paced environment. Ability to lift up to 50lbs unassisted

For more information please contact:

Melanie Levy

Human Resources Assistant

CHAUVET® | 5200 NW 108th Ave., Sunrise, FL 33351

Direct: +1.954.577.4462 | Main Office: +1.954.577.4455 x 1201 | Fax: +1.954.678.3042

mlevy@chauvetlighting.com | www.chauvetlighting.com

What If I Don’t Have Enough Gigs? – By John Stiernberg

HOW TO FINE-TUNE YOUR MARKETING

If you’ve been following the Business Chops series over the past four years, by now you’ve got your stage rig, your vehicle, your support team, and your strategic plan in place. Hopefully you’ve got as much work as you your plan calls for. But what if the gigs aren’t coming in?
Are your competitors getting more work than you? Are referrals not at the level that you hoped? Not sure what to do? This article addresses these issues and recommends three action tips for success.

EVEN GREAT PLAYERS GET IN A SLUMP

Look at your favorite sport and you’ll notice that no team or individual player wins every game or championship. Hitters get in a slump. Golfers miss the cut. Football players get sidelined with injuries. Basketball players can’t seem to make the downtown shots like they used to.
It happens with entertainers too. Bands and musicians may have a hard time following up a hit record or big tour. Movie actors don’t pull at the box office. Best-selling authors have difficulty selling new book projects to publishers. And mobile entertainers’ booking calendars get thin from time to time. You are not alone.

Has it happened to you? Most likely, yes. Business slumps happen to everyone at some point. What’s changed? Is it the economy? Is it your local market? Or is it your brand reputation? Number of Facebook likes and Twitter followers? Check out all of the above to get a handle on your situation.

WHEN THINGS CHANGE

You can’t help but notice when things chance. Slower bookings, declining revenues, fewer new signups to your e-mail list; you get the picture. Some mobile entertainers default to blaming the economy. Have you ever said something like the following to yourself?

They just can’t afford quality entertainment.
I went to a wedding where the couple brought an iPod and a boombox.
I’ve heard that corporate gigs are down because of tighter budgets.

Well, in the 1990s the competition was cassette mixtapes on the boombox, not iPods. Otherwise, I’ve heard all of those excuses for years, well before the economic downturn of 2008 to 2010. Thankfully things are actually better now for mobile entertainers.

Maybe the market has changed and you haven’t. What are you selling today vs. five or ten years ago? How do you promote yourself? Are you aware of what competitors are offering that you don’t? In prior Business Chops articles, we talked about the Seven Links in the Marketing Chain: 1) product strategy, 2) pricing strategy, 3) promotion strategy, 4) place/trade area strategy, 5) sales team strategy, 6) target client profiles, and 7) competitive threats. Does your written marketing plan include all seven links?

Before you blame market conditions, take a fresh look at your marketing plan from a comprehensive viewpoint. The marketing chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Here’s a key point: Somebody’s hiring mobile entertainers in your area. Why don’t they hire you?

FINE-TUNE YOUR MARKETING PLAN

I recommend that you review your marketing plan periodically (at least four times a year) and make adjustments along the way. Here are three suggestions for how to deal with promotion and sales issues.

Action Tip 1: Review and update your promotion plan. Make sure that your brand message is targeted to the kind of clients and gigs that you are looking for NOW, not five years ago. Use a multi-platform promotional approach such as a combination of website, social media, showcase or charity gigs, and publicity. Don’t rely on one outlet to get your message to everyone.

Action Tip 2: Match your promotional budget dollars to your sales plan. If you are spending less than 1% of your gross revenue on promotion, it’s probably not enough. If you spend more than 10%, it’s probably too much.

Action Tip 3: Promote “new and now.” Remember the slump analogy? Don’t dwell on past successes (or failures). Just like fans of athletes and entertainers, your prospective clients want to know what new services or concepts you are offering now. Positive messages will re-focus their attention and bring in new sales leads and inquiries.

HERE’S THE POINT…

Everyone gets in a slump once in a while. The most successful mobile entertainers recognize danger signals early and respond with fresh marketing plans. Often only minor tweaks are required to achieve a big payoff.

Be sure to implement the Action Tips in sequence: 1) update your marketing plan, 2) invest the right amount in promotion, and 3) promote what’s “new and now.”

Next issue we’ll talk about looking ahead and planning for success. In the meantime, best wishes for success in mobile entertainment in 2011!

Innovative Foto – Redefining Photo Booths

Fantasy Entertainment Announces Name Change to “Innovative FOTO”

New Name Better Reflects Corporate Mission and Market Leadership Position

SALEM, NH – September 8, 2011 – Foto Fantasy, Inc. (dba Fantasy Entertainment) announced today that the Company’s board of directors approved a name change to Innovative FOTO, Inc. effective September 6, 2011. To illustrate the name change, a revised logo with tag line “Redefining Photo Booths” will now be used, and the company launched a new web site at www.InnovativeFoto.com.

“It is indeed gratifying to receive the support of our board of directors and customers at this pivotal time,” says Dale Valvo, Innovative FOTO’s President and CEO. “By leveraging our new brand, we’re better able to communicate our dedication to technological innovations that positively impact our partners and stakeholders by improving our product development, service, and production methods.”

Steve White, Vice-President of Sales and General Manager adds, “Although our name has changed, our core values remain the same. We pride ourselves on our ability to develop products that continually deliver an exceptional entertainment experience, and felt the need to create a name and associated brand that sets us apart. With this change, our name now describes our corporate mission more effectively to customers and partners around the globe.”

About Innovative FOTO

Innovative FOTO is a privately held company and North America’s largest manufacturer, operator, and distributor of digital, self-service photo kiosks. Started in 1995, Innovative FOTO now operates nearly 3,000 photo kiosks within marquis destinations, major malls, theaters, zoos, museums, aquariums, casinos, and hundreds of other high traffic outlets and tourist locations. Innovative FOTO is also a supplier to domestic rental operators and international distributors in over 30 countries. The company is headquartered in Salem, New Hampshire, USA.

Old school mixes are cool but old rules of marketing are not by Steve Parry

Old School Mixes are cool but old rules of marketing are not.
By Steve Parry

Opportunity can be defined as, “A favorable combination of circumstances.” In the business world this usually involves the exploitation of trends favorable to the endeavor. As the saying goes, “An idiot in a straight-up trend defeats an expert in a flat one every time!” Further, it has been said that success happens when opportunity and preparedness meet. We hope to help prepare you and show you not only the tools but the why behind social media with these post. Even if you’re not interested in computers it is difficult to ignore the impact the internet and electronic commerce has had on our society in the past few years with social media.

John R Levine, author of The Internet for Dummies, “…we gave to say the internet is totally mainstream and you’re falling further behind the curve if you haven’t gotten started.” Michael Dell, billionaire founder of Dell Computer Corporation, said “I believed – and still believe – that the Internet will become as pervasive and invaluable as the telephone.

In a USA today article with Emily White director of Facebook’s Local who works with business on Facebook tools she was asked: Many small businesses are concerned about taking on another project – social networking. Why should they take the time? White says, “the web is changing from an information web to a social web. The way people are interacting with online materials is really starting to mimic what they’re doing offline. A small business not on Facebook is missing a ton of opportunity. People are already talking about them, but all the positive things they’re saying are going off into the ether – and not getting shared broadly. Your page becomes a living breathing representation of your business.”

Now that you see that your online business is a “breathing representation of your business” what does that mean? Let me ask you when was the last time you looked in the yellow pages for a service and you had no clue who or where you were going to start? Have you even thought about or used the yellow pages in the past six months? If you’re not using them why would you expect others to call you from that same ad that you have had in there for years? It’s the normal thing to do, everyone else is doing it……really it’s just one of the old rules that you could be wasting money on. With so many of the old rules there is no way to measure its effectiveness. How often do people get a new phone book every six months to a year, maybe. It could be 3-4 years and different yellow page ads to find the right and effective one. While online you can see something is not working and change it on the hour if needed.

Thinking in real time is the key, as a Dj, for example you do this all the time. A song is being played but no one is dancing and you still have 4 minutes left. Do you let it keep playing? I didn’t think so…..with marketing you have to think in real time as well. People all over are wrestling with the challenge, and most are not at all comfortable with adopting a real time thinking process. It’s not something you learned in school or read in the best seller business book when you started your business. When the notion is put in front of them, many dismiss quick response to opportunities and threats as “reckless” or “risky” but like the opening statement of this post opportunity can be defined as, “A favorable combination of circumstances.”

Attitudes are so ingrained that even when confronted with an iceberg off the bow, companies persist in choosing slow and cautious over quick and nimble. Way too much time is spent checking, getting permission, researching, and running it past “experts” by the time decision is finally reached its time to call in the rescue team and abandon ship.

What have we been taught in the past:
Wait to make certain.
Work from checklist.
Make five year business plans.
Measure results quarterly.
Get yellow page ads.
Mail out flyers.
Post ads on billboards.
Run all decisions by staff.
Do all your research.
Aim for perfection before the public has the release.
Respond to customers on YOUR time frame.
Make newspaper and magazine ads stand out.
TV/Radio commercials.

Nothing on this list is wrong. Clearly research, planning and working as a team are important. The problem is that speed and agility are all too often sacrificed for the sake of process. Testing ads, the plans and checking things on that quarterly level have a problem when it comes to trying to find out the results that work and the ones that don’t. To overcome that you need to consciously and proactively adopt a real time thinking process.

Now that the gears are turning in your head and thinking about you’re marketing plan. What do you have in place? Yellow page ad vs ads on the internet (new rule, by the way), TV ad vs you tube channel, article in the local wedding publication vs your own blog. I think you can see where I’m going with the end of this post. So now after your done reading I have something that I want you to do. Call it a small challenge. Take a sheet of paper (or make a new document on your computer) and write out all of your marketing and public relations and on the top make a T down the middle writing OLD RULES on one side and NEW RULES on the other. Write them all out and if you think they are old or new. Think about it, if you don’t know write them in the middle. If your thinking they are new write them on that side, keep the paper for in the next post we will start going over the New Rules of Marketing in the next and following post.

Steve Parry and Justin Williams are the owners of Socially Xcepted a social media management and coaching company to help you with your needs on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Visit them at www.SociallyXcepted.com or email them at getsocial@sociallyxcepted.com

How do I market my business NOW? by Steven Parry

Since the age of the “dot com bomb” we have seen a change in the way marketing is done. From calling people out of the phone book to finding out what cool business owner had a fancy fax line. Then it came down between car phones and email, followed up by if you don’t have a website how do you expect to stay in business. Now the tables have turned again, everyone wants to know “are you on Facebook, please like our page” or “make sure you follow us on Twitter” so the question poses itself. Is your business on these mediums? If so are you doing well? Are you using your time effectively and not planting that crop on your virtual farm? This is a start of a new blog series being hosted by Mobile Beat with Ryan Burger,Justin Williams and myself Steve Parry the owners of a social media management and coaching company called SociallyXcepted. Together with Ryan and his staff, we have develop a program that will help your business move forward with anonline marketing plan. For some business owners this will be a new venture all together and for others this maybe a walk in the park, either way we hope to be able to help you learn and move forward.

In this blog series on social media you will learn how marketing has changed and what you will need to do to make it in today’s business online world. In the process of learning you will also be introduced to tools, techniques, and the new process of marketing and how to successfully market your business online. The overall blog series is a part of a smaller program that will be a video series with downloadable videos that will guide you step by step using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The main program will have an initial package with follow up videos, online books, and updates. Not only will wecover what is important within these site but how to use them effectively with personalities, using the DISC theory and The Five Love Languages. Now you may be asking yourself why would you need those in running a mobile disc jockey business and the answer is everything. Business’s are built on relationships, if you learn how to use them and build them effectively you will be more profitable with more success. Our goal is so that you understand, learn and use them to your advantage.

Using social media has changed the RULES of the game within marketing. The first step starts now. Many of you have been coming to the Mobile Beat Las Vegas show for years, some of you this is your first time. For the young and old this all applies now, for some of you it will be harder to do than others but this is the start. Getting your thinking in the right place is key. Did you read or skim over that last sentence? Here it is again, the first rule is getting your thinking in the right place. As you have been in business for yourself you have come across many different people from clients to vendors to other guest at events. When you go out again and plan another wedding and you ask your bride and groom how the search for the right photographer (florist, cater, ect) is coming and their expression is concern or worry what do you do. Naturally you have the thought of “I know someone” comes to mind. Stop!!!Let’s get on their same page and think like them for a second before we just throw some business cards at them. Ask them what kind of pictures they are looking for, narrow it down. From your experience in this field you know a little bit about your other vendors you have worked with and their style and know someone that is going to be right for them. You then tell them about Jack and his photo company because you have worked with them in the past, you know think that this would be a perfect match. You have a team a select few people that will help the event as a whole move in the right direction, your job at the wedding is not just another gig at a wedding but it is the event of a lifetime for this couple.

You already know this and are asking yourself what does this have to do with social media and using it for my business? Everything, do you see what I did, got you thinking in the place where you would understand it. Now I’m going to say that the “old rules” that you will learn about the next post vs.the “new rules” and how they have changed and how you are going to have to think like the clients to be able to find new and have old ones come back using your online networks. If you get the right thinking, with the right marketing plan, throwing out the old marketing plan (if you actually had one), then you will figure out how to have personal relationships grow not only for business but with family and friends. This series will help you to expand to new levels. So here is the old saying “back to the drawing board” comes into play. Let’s have fun, learn a lot and we will see you on the next post.

Differentiate to Dominate – by Michael Edwards

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: YOUR OWN CREATIVITY IS KEY TO CONQUERING YOUR MARKET

The best way to move to the front of the local DJ pack is to offer something different that clients in your market can only get from your company.

Look for a way to separate (and elevate) your services from your competitor’s services. “We play great music” doesn’t cut it. Everybody says that. “We have great equipment” means little when they hear it from every DJ they speak to. You need to differentiate in a way that is truly unique if you want to dominate. The key is to think of a way to offer clients the same basic thing as all of your competitors, but in a way that makes them want to buy it from you and you alone—and maybe even be willing to pay more for it too!

The larger the market, the tougher the competition…and the tougher it is to come up with effective ways to differentiate.

McDonalds was the first fast food chain to have a “kids meal.” It was simply a regular burger and small sized fries in a box with cartoon characters on it. No specific food changes. The “differentiation” was in the packing and marketing only. They just labeled and promoted it as a kid’s meal. Soon Burger King copied them with a kid’s meal of their own, so McDonalds added a “free” toy and now called it a “happy meal.” And they were certainly happy when they suddenly sold much more than Burger King, based largely on simple act of differentiating it as not just another kid’s meal.

It works the same way for any business, but the ideas on exactly how to differentiate your products or services from your competition must come from you! That’s where it gets tough.

PLAYING WITH PRICE

Real professional DJs have many ways to differentiate themselves from amateur DJs. Pro DJs are often members of a national mobile DJ organization, such as the ADJA or NAME. They also carry liability insurance and backup equipment that amateurs don’t. Many DJs actually think that type of stuff doesn’t matter, and that all the customer really cares about is the price. If you take the time to educate your clients on the differences in between pro and amateur DJs, they usually change their minds.

If your level of service is not the same as the amateurs, don’t worry about what they charge or make the mistake of trying to compete with amateur pricing. If you do, you’re not a very good businessperson. Amateur ability and mentality will never be able to compete at a pro level. That’s a cold hard fact in any profession. Even during the darkest recession, clients were still willing to pay more for a reliable professional quality DJ service when booking the entertainment for what they felt was a “once in a lifetime” event. It is sometimes possible to differentiate in your market, just by your price.

A few years ago, DJ Peter Merry posted “Prices Starting at $5,000” on his website. That price instantly distinguished his service from all other DJs in the minds of visitors to his website. Granted, it scared some clients away, but I’m sure he expected that. He took it a step further and decided he was no longer going to be known as a “DJ” and instead, took the title of “entertainment director.” Yet another way to differentiate his services from his competition—even those who may have offered an almost identical level of professionalism and similar services at a lesser cost. Differentiating works. You just need to find your best point(s) of differentiation.

RISING ABOVE THE PACK (AS WELL AS THE RIFF-RAFF)

Real success will come after you successfully differentiate your company from the other top DJ companies in your specific market. Most pro DJs clearly stand above the amateur DJs, but the challenge is to stand out from the other pro DJ companies too.

Over a year ago, we added an uplighting division. There were three or four other excellent companies already in our market who also offered exactly the same uplights and had been doing it longer, so they had more experience, and had already established relationships with a variety of venues for their uplighting referrals. Since all those services were priced about the same as we were, it was hard to differentiate ourselves. It was hard for a typical customer or venue to see anything unique in our service…so why would they hire us above the competition?

Our “ahead of the curve” solution was to differentiate our service from all the others in our market, and possibly anywhere else in the country. All of the lighting delivery people we hire are required to have a degree in “theatrical lighting design.” It’s wasn’t just an excellent way to market our uplighting service as superior to the average low-cost set-up staff our competitors use, but it also produced amazing uplighting results for our customers and the venues. Several banquet hall managers have told us that no other lighting service has made their venue look as good. Clearly, differentiating with a built-in quality upgrade is an excellent way to stay “ahead of the curve.”

So, what can you do to make your company truly stand out from the crowd?  [MB]

Michael Edwards is the owner of AllStar Entertainment & UpLighting, a licensed, bonded musical entertainment agency in Andover, MA, specializing in Greater Boston weddings and uplighting. A member of the Mobile Beat Advisory Board and the American Disc Jockey Association, Michael’s sites are www.getadj.com and www.getuplights.com, each featuring a few “ahead of the curve” ideas of their own. Contact him at 978-470-4700 or info@getadj.com.

Don’t Beat Your Competition…Seduce Them

She Says

I honestly don’t think we have any competition.

Before you take me as an egomaniac, let me explain…

There is no one, and I mean no one, in our market who does exactly what we do exactly the way we do it. Because of that it’s impossible for us to have competition.

If you can make your service completely unique and different from everything else out there, then you “beat” the competition without even trying. The easiest and most effective way to do that is to target a very specific, small section of the market and specialize in it. Own it.

For example, you can specialize in certain types of music (Latin, Polka, country) or events (corporate, proms, weddings) or even types of clients. Over the years we’ve identified our ideal wedding couples: they are age 27-32 with advanced degrees, live in Manhattan, work in finance, have eclectic hipster taste in music, and choose non-traditional weddings locations.

When they find us, they immediately know we’re the right ones for them.

Which brings me to my second point. There are a few DJs in our area who have a similar style to us. Rather that whining and complaining about them because they are our “competition,” we make those closest competitors our allies.

We send them referrals. They send us referrals. Because our markets are a close match these are extremely warm leads in both directions. Our competitors make money for us, and we make it for them.

Quit worrying about the competition and win them over instead. And if they don’t bite, focus on making your service so different that your competition doesn’t even exist.

He Says

Proudly proclaiming that you specialize in “all occasions” on your website is a badge of mediocrity. What you’re really saying is that you’re not special at anything at all.

The best advice I can give any DJ is to focus like a laser on what you do best or the market you want to work for. Steer your message to this market and you won’t have any competition. Become the best at serving that market.

If you want to do weddings, pick the type of wedding. Are they low end or high end weddings? Do they want a club type atmosphere or a lower profile DJ who just plays great music?

What’s authentic to you? If you’re not good at being a club DJ and you pretend to be one, everyone is going to notice.

Then turn your competition into fans. Help them.

Say what???!!?

Do something nice for your competition and you’ll be amazed at how it will come back to you.

I regularly hear my DJ brothers and sisters complaining about the competition. It’s time for a perspective shift.

Stop looking at them as competition and look at them as potential partners.

Start thinking about how these relationships can lead to better profits for you instead of all the things you don’t like about how they run their businesses. You can only work a finite number of jobs in the year. You might: sell your leads to your competition, exchange dates when they are booked, contract them out for services you don’t offer.

Stop worrying about Craigslist DJs because there’s nothing you can do about them. They’re not going away.

Rise above them or get buried by trying to compete with them.

Don’t just BE different; make sure your difference is consistent in your message and expressed in all your marketing. It’s not enough for you to know what your specialty is; you need to clearly communicate it to your potential customers.

Take an honest look at yourself, your website and your marketing. Does it look unique? Does it look homemade? Does it solve a problem for your client?

Or is it just good enough?

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