DJGold

Dj Sean

Ask your client this: What will your quests remember about event? The flowers, the balloons, what Aunt Mertels hair looked like? NO, most likely .....the music and entertainment!

Once you've got their attention tell them about this statistic comparison. This is a great comparison for weddings which for many of you, is your bread and butter. Of course this is a few years old but I'm sure not much has changed. Let me know if it helps.

Consider this, a study which asked guests what they remembered most at weddings compared to what cost the most.

Average Amount of $$$ Spent
Reception Hall & Catering 37%
Wedding Ring 23%
Miscellaneous 20%
Bridal Attire (including Gown) 16%
Photo & Video 9%
Entertainment 5%

Most Remembered by Guests
Entertainment 38%
Miscellaneous 20%
Gown 18%
Flowers 16%
Photo & Video 9%
Reception Hall & Catering 8%

*These statistics were published in St. Louis Bride & Groom Magazine in 2003. Sources include: Simmons, 2001; USA Today, 2002; National Bridal Service, 2001; The Knot, 2002; Brides Magazine, 2001.

Sean Patterson
On Beat Productions
TheEventDj.com

TheBartman47 · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 12:10 am Post subject:

Maybe it's just the food connoisseur in me, but whenever I was a guest at weddings, I remembered most the catering. I can remember just about everything that was served and still visualize the layout of the food and tables. However, it's kind of ironic that of all the weddings I've been, not one of them ever had a DJ, then I turn around and start DJing wedding receptions.

Dj Sean · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:00 pm Post subject:

:) That's great!
The food is a close second sometimes first for me depending on the music selection. We have some great caterers in Tahoe!

jwg · Joined: September 15th, 2004 Posts: 1089 Location: Erie, PA

Several factors can determine how important entertainment is. Plus, if couples have seen cheap, really bad DJ's, then that will sour their opinion of us even more. Unfortunately, with the advent of laptops and the ability to get songs even easier, anyone can dj an event with Winamp or Musicmatch.

It's all a matter of education. And, showing these couples your worth and importance.

Dj Sean · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 8:07 pm Post subject:

I think no one would argue with you there. That is what I like about this statistical comparision, Quote: It's all a matter of education. And, showing these couples your worth and importance. With this comparision your "educating" your customers on your "worth and importance" in this big play called "weddings".

Toneman

jwg wrote: if couples have seen cheap, really bad DJ's, then that will sour their opinion of us even more.

In the past people use to think that a DJ service was a person that showed up to their event, setup some equipment, played music for 4 to 5 hours, tore down the equipment, got paid and went home. You learn from your mistakes. Unfortunely some of our clients have had or seen "cheap/bad" DJs. But this is also a good thing. Now an days the consumer is more aware of the importants of hiring a professional and experiance service and are more willing to shop for a service based on other eliments of a service other then price. Couples that want to hire a DJ based on price should get what they paid for. I want clients that want to hire my service based on my professionalizem, experiance and customer service. The ones that hire based on price are most of the time harded to cater to due to that they want the world for little to nothing at all and I would have a hard time serving them.

djmc · Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 11:02 am Post subject:

Amen to that, brutha Toneman!

Dj Sean · Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 3:06 pm Post subject:

I second that Tone!

Toneman · Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 8:49 pm Post subject:

Educating the consumer about our service and why it is important to hire an experiance and professional DJ. I still get calls from those who still want cheap. Some times if not most of the time, DJs are last or close to the last things that is consider when it comes down to planning a event. So some times the client is low or short of funds and are wanting cheap. I try to educate them by letting them know how important it is to have good entertainment. Entertainment is the "MAKE or BREAK" of their event. The entertainment is what their guest are going to remember the most about the event. Not what was served for dinner, what the table center pieces look like, or how grand the decorations are. When they want cheap, I ask them to think back about that one event that they remember the most and ask them what it was that they remember about it.... most of the time if not all the time, it was how good the entertainment was and that they enjoy themselves. Not once did anyone ever mention center pieces or decorations. Some clients like to dump lots of money into these items for there events. I let the client know that simple is better and the money saved can be better spent on things that the guest are going to remember (like entertainment).

djmc · Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 12:34 pm Post subject:

Proms are the worst potential customer.......they are VERY decoration-oriented and the Music is the last priority.

Too bad......because of all the ruined proms due to crappy DJs!!!

sddj

The statistics shown at the top of the thread are good... don't get me wrong. The problem is they are overused. To the point of probably not meaning too much to the average consumer.

Just about every DJ's website you visit shows this data as a graph, pie chart, stats, something. So much so that it has gotten diluted, and probably does not do much for brides at this point. Plus the fact the data is at least 3 years old, some of it older! Data that is more than a year old doesn't hold much water. Think about it, how different is your business over the last 3-5 yrs? Would you want a bride today comparing your pricing structure (today), with that of her sister's wedding DJ from 2003? Most likely not.

It would be nice to see something like this from various sources, and updated to say 2005 or so. Until that happens I won't use data from a any single source, that is 3 yrs old, or older.

Dj Sean · Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 9:07 pm Post subject:

All good points sddj but from a bride or grooms point-of-view I don't think overuse is going to be something they notice.

You did mention brides not seeing the date of statistics more than a couple of years old, as less valid, that I wouldn't argue. Even though the data would probably be the same today as back then because, entertainment is important, will always be important, and in fact has probably become more important as weddings become more refined and sophisticated in this day and age.

But the info being overused, this I feel, doesn't apply to brides and grooms as so much, to you and I.

Hopefully B & G's will only get married once (statistically probably twice depending on what statistic you look at) meaning their only shopping once (maybe twice) for a DJ in there life.

What this info is meant for, is a quick reference to value vs. cost for weddings. ***This CAN be a great convincer.***

Much of which is a warped view by the consumer. Consider....why are DJs usually the last thing B & G's get? Because in their mind we are the least important element to a wedding. This is something we should stop dead in its tracks.

This very assumption can be argued to be not true, that is why I pointed out "what will the quests remember?"

Also another good point that I just discovered through a guy named Chuck Johnson a DJ in the Florida at the Disney World Resort "Fairy Tale Weddings Department" :

and I quote " If wedding consumers looked at it logically instead of emotionally, they might see this:

1) If the flowers come on your wedding day and they are the wrong type, you, and your family, may be very upset. But, more than likely it will not ruin you whole wedding day. Most quests did not know what type of flowers you ordered, and probably would not notice.

2) If you paid for steak, and the caterer server chicken, you would be livid, and demand a full refund. Again though, your guests more than likely don't know what's on the menu and they won't notice the difference.

See the pattern? Many things(hopefully not at your wedding) could happen without the guests even realizing it.

*But, if your DJ/Host for your reception is not up to par, EVERYONE notices.*

We as DJs have to make sure they understand the TRUE VALUE our role as DJ/Hosts, because simply, we can make or break it.....

djdonny · Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 9:10 am Post subject:

Quote: 1) If the flowers come on your wedding day and they are the wrong type, you, and your family, may be very upset. But, more than likely it will not ruin you whole wedding day. Most quests did not know what type of flowers you ordered, and probably would not notice.

2) If you paid for steak, and the caterer server chicken, you would be livid, and demand a full refund. Again though, your guests more than likely don't know what's on the menu and they won't notice the difference.

See the pattern? Many things(hopefully not at your wedding) could happen without the guests even realizing it.

*But, if your DJ/Host for your reception is not up to par, EVERYONE notices.*

This is a little misleading. You're comparing pretty flowers to pretty flowers, or steak to chicken. If the flowers were half dead (like some DJs), the guests (or at least the female guests) would notice. If the food was half burnt or very raw (like some DJs), all the guests would notice.

DJ Teddy Bear · Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 9:29 am Post subject:

Dj Sean wrote: 1) If the flowers come on your wedding day and they are the wrong type, you, and your family, may be very upset. But, more than likely it will not ruin you whole wedding day. Most quests did not know what type of flowers you ordered, and probably would not notice. My wife was VERY pi$$ed at our florist because the centerpieces at our wedding had daisies. She was specific that she didn't want daisies because they look cheap. Did the guests notice? Maybe, maybe not. But that is certainly something they MAY notice.

On the other hand, we are so upset at how crappy our photos are that eight years later, we still did not pick any for a photo album. We couldn't even pick any one photo for the 11x14 enlargement. Do our guests know? Only those that have been to our house and asked to see the photos. We have to show them the proofs....

On the OTHER other hand, we had guests tell us they left feeling like fat pigs because the food was so good. One in particular said the cocktail hour was so good he stuffed himself, thinking that after that, how good will the dinner be. Then he was pi$$ed because the dinner was fantastic and couldn't finish it!

sddj

Sean... let me put it out there this way for a second...

If a bunch of, or many, DJ websites each have those same statistics on them... what good does it do? Each B&G sees the DJs marketing as offering the same things, telling them the same stories, offering them the same data. Trying to convince them of the same thing. Give the B&G some credit... if they look at 10 DJs websites, and 5 or 6 of them are trying to convince them using the same data... well, you fill in the rest.

So guess what the customer thinks...?

I guess ALL DJs are the same.... right?

That is my point, nothing more.. nothing less. It's time that this industry looks at itself from the outside in... not always from the inside only.

CJ Greiner · Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 12:45 am Post subject:

Actually sddj, after I read what you wrote, here's what I filled in for the rest:

"I keep reading the same info on every website I visit... so it must be true!"

_________________

You're making an excellent point that every DJ should find a way to be unique. I just don't think that a different set of statistics is the way to do it. I think that a unified message from DJs (and other websites) all reminding the customer how important excellent entertainment is to the success of their event is a great thing.

If a DJ wants to stand out from the crowd, there are other ways to do it such as:
Actually answer the phone. Customers are much more likely to book a human being than an answering machine.
Build an image in the clients mind of how successful the event will be with THIS DJ as their entertainer.
Go over the details of how THIS DJ will help them have the customized event of their dreams, instead of the same ol' show....
(The list goes on and on!)

Dj Sean · Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 8:35 pm Post subject:

I have to agree with CJ on this one. I couldn't have put it better myself.

If many of us tell the customers the truth they will start to take it with more weight.

Quote: If a bunch of, or many, DJ websites each have those same statistics on them... what good does it do? Each B&G sees the DJs marketing as offering the same things, telling them the same stories, offering them the same data. Trying to convince them of the same thing.

First of all I never said offer them the same thing or even say it the same way! Every DJ is gonna have his or her own way of entertaining, packaging, etc. I DO, and I know everyone else does too.

BUT, we are trying, in this case, to help B & G's realize one very important thing. What is that you ask??

Simple, ....that DJ's are worth more than the last item to take care of on the checklist!!! We are worth more than the flowers, worth more than the cheese squares, even worth than the embrodered napkins.

I'm sure you wouldn't disagree with that.

The fact remains, this approach works. Many B & G's are not gonna see why they should pay $1000 or more for a DJ unless we show them the many great reasons why!!!

Just like some won't believe we are no more than a jukebox playing songs unless we "educate" why we are not!!

SDDJ, I understand you don't like sending the same message, or sales approach to your potential clients, you probably feel, selling your uniqueness is one of your biggest hooks, thats great I'm glad this is what you believe, (but I think this is where you miss understand me).

I'm not saying lets all sell the same thing, I was mearly pointing out some great facts and points we can all use to show B & G's our real worth.

If you have a better way or approach, I, and I'm sure everyone else, would love to hear it.