Um, I think we're talking about two different kinds of personality. From what I gather (and please correct me if I'm wrong) you're viewing personality strictly in terms of over-the-top extroversion or "cheesiness". What I'm talking about is personality, in the psychological and sociological sense; what makes you different from everyone else. Figure out how to market that and you really won't have to worry about the $400 DJs, the gigantic multi-ops, or the 22 year old DJs doing it "as a great way to meet chics."
Who is your competition?
- Thread starter SemiRetired DJ
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Um, I think we're talking about two different kinds of personality. From what I gather (and please correct me if I'm wrong) you're viewing personality strictly in terms of over-the-top extroversion or "cheesiness". What I'm talking about is personality, in the psychological and sociological sense; what makes you different from everyone else. Figure out how to market that and you really won't have to worry about the $400 DJs, the gigantic multi-ops, or the 22 year old DJs doing it "as a great way to meet chics."
As J Mac mentions if our personality meets or exceeds the clients hopes or wishes it wont matter what toys are offered. My personality is not for every client but Im Chameleon enough to present myself as such and able to adjust. Selling to one personality is specific to the client its up to us to learn the approach to success for each personality which our client is most comfortable with.
Yes, we were indeed speaking of 2 different things. By the way, we are a multi-op but wouldn't consider us "gigantic". More to your point. if what you are saying is that at the point of sale (when the client calls to inquire), then absolutely - the personality can make or break the sale. Problem is, we do not even get the call because the client calls the small independent friend of a friend who DJ'd little Suzie's sweet 16 and "since THEY were happy, I will be happy" mentality takes over.
I will never ever believe that just because you have a great product/service you won't have to worry about the bottom feeders. Bottom feeders will always be there and as long as there is a client willing to book them, that is one less client willing to book us. In this area - those are our biggest competitors. Mainly because all DJs (independent, multi-op or even talent agencies) have a much more equal voice and are more accessible and clients don't know how to shop for their wedding DJ.
No offense intended, but it sounds like you're having trouble finding your target market. The folks who are going to call the friend of a friend would most likely not look at any other DJ regardless, so are they really your targets?
In your second paragraph, you're extremely close to solving your own competition problem. The reason the "bottom feeders" exist is because there was a market that was not being served by you and the other DJs in your area. This is one of the core fundamentals of business, identifying an unserved or underserved market and going after it. The "bottom feeders" will always be there as long as their market exists and the only thing you can do to change that is to figure out how to target the clients in their market and that could take some serious time and changes in your plans of attack.
If all of the DJs have close to an equal voice, then it's all the more important that your personality shows through in every little aspect of your business.
No offense taken. You may be right as far as finding the target market. However, DC is a very weird market altogether as it is the #1 most transient area (military, political, tri-state, etc). Therefore, the market changes drastically year after year. For 33 years in the business we have had ups and downs as any business does, but it is especially competitive with and estimated 3200 DJs and approximately 18,000 weddings per year. We used to capture 12% of the market. Then as the internet has come into full fruition, we are down to about 3% of the market. Don't get me wrong - we are very busy, just more difficult to get the brides to even call us. So our competition nowadays keeps the clients from even getting to us to allow the personality to show as we are lost in the mix of everyone.
I can see where you're coming from, everybody and their brother can have a website anymore, but that's where website development and marketing come into play. It's all about making the brides want to call you. When my wife and I were looking for a DJ for our wedding (we live in Indiana, got married in Metro-Boston) we used the internet exclusively to find DJs. If a particular website didn't peak our interest, that DJ got passed up.
Anyone who has a need for my service is a potential Client to me. Not because someone picks up the Phone and calls a DJ advertising on Craigslist means they don't have the necessary money to pay a higher fee. To them they may think that it is just one place on the Internet to go and look for a DJ. Some have never heard of Wedding Wire and if they had they may go there too.
It is up to me to qualify the prospect and get a good fit between what they want and what I have to offer. I am fortunate to have many system configurations to suit almost any need of a regular client. Now if I come across someone who I determine does not know the difference between one DJ and another except for price, then it is up to me to show them the value of what I have to offer vs what the other DJ is offering. That is not lecturing, it is simply making a presentation with enough information to sway the prospect in my direction. That is called salesmanship. Not everyone is comfortable with the sales process and thus become Order Takers. They feel that the prospect should just accept or decline. When the prospect walks away without buying, their excuse is "That Client was not for me!" For me, when a prospect walks without booking me, I view it as not having done my job. I did not ask enough questions or give enough information to affect a sale. I learn from that and get better prepared for the next one.
It is up to me to qualify the prospect and get a good fit between what they want and what I have to offer. I am fortunate to have many system configurations to suit almost any need of a regular client. Now if I come across someone who I determine does not know the difference between one DJ and another except for price, then it is up to me to show them the value of what I have to offer vs what the other DJ is offering. That is not lecturing, it is simply making a presentation with enough information to sway the prospect in my direction. That is called salesmanship. Not everyone is comfortable with the sales process and thus become Order Takers. They feel that the prospect should just accept or decline. When the prospect walks away without buying, their excuse is "That Client was not for me!" For me, when a prospect walks without booking me, I view it as not having done my job. I did not ask enough questions or give enough information to affect a sale. I learn from that and get better prepared for the next one.
My competition are those who claim to do the same - but charge less. And another competitor actually charges more - in many cases, double. So I get it from both ends.
Music playlist, equipment, and in some cases appearance can be copied. But there are so many intangibles (I do not want to divulge here) that couples see as value (re: pay a higher price) for services. I tell them it does not make me a better DJ but just part of the overall package.
And if they mention DJ so in so, I then encourage them to compare what we chatted about to the other company's offering. 9 times out of 10 they come back to book me. if not, I still wish them well.
The trick to referrals is 'street cred'. The more 'clout and credibility' the referrer has, the more likely they will book. Unless the referee self destructs during the interview.
Music playlist, equipment, and in some cases appearance can be copied. But there are so many intangibles (I do not want to divulge here) that couples see as value (re: pay a higher price) for services. I tell them it does not make me a better DJ but just part of the overall package.
And if they mention DJ so in so, I then encourage them to compare what we chatted about to the other company's offering. 9 times out of 10 they come back to book me. if not, I still wish them well.
The trick to referrals is 'street cred'. The more 'clout and credibility' the referrer has, the more likely they will book. Unless the referee self destructs during the interview.
Completely agree. And by the way, regarding target market - that is dynamic. Target market will change as the economy, music tastes, trends, etc. change.
Yes, very good point. Assuming they come to you in the first place (which is my biggest problem), it is up to you to sell them. Most clients have no clue what they are looking for in a DJ and the competition really becomes anyone with an ipod to the true pro with the right gear, knowledge and experience so you really need to distinguish without bashing the others. I also agree that anyone with the need for service is a potential client.
About the target market, I think that's only partially true. Yes, the economy will affect how much or how fast someone is willing to open their pocketbooks. Musical tastes, we're DJs, it's our job to stay on top of what's current in music while still having a knowledge of previous tastes and trends.
I'll use my own business to give an idea of target market attributes that don't change. We try and focus on middle/working class folks (which is the vast majority of our area). Also we target couples who don't want to be forced to choose between packages, instead we offer making their reception fit them especially when it comes to the music.
A good example of this, we have a song suggestion page we give to clients just as a place to start ideas flowing abot their special songs. We don't use premade lists from The Knot, Wedding Wire, etc, but our lists come from what our previous clients have used. This works for us because we can easily show how we want to help the prospective clients' personalities show through the music. I mean really, how often have you used Spinal Tap for a cake cutting song (their choice)? Off the wall, you bet, but it fit the bride and groom perfectly.
That makes sense for the individual, but for a multi-operation like ours we have different strengths, weaknesses and can appeal to a broad range. If we have 3 weddings on a weekend that is extremely slow for us. We use DJ Intelligence and use the forms and request lists and the client can customize how they wish. Again, the DC market is SO diverse it is much more difficult to pinpoint the target market. That said, I would think we appeal to the middle class for sure. But we get working class and high class too.
The frustrating part is when the middle and yes, even the high end clients - those that have reception venues for 200 and pay $150 per head for their caterer but only want to spend $500 for their DJ and hire the "friend of the friend". This is an email I received this morning. I receive at least 2-3 per week like this...
"Hi Dave,
I hope you are having a great week! I just wanted to let you know that my family had a connection with a DJ who offered us a really great deal that we could not refuse due to some budgetary restraints. I appreciate all of your help and wish you the best!! I know you will book up quickly and I will definitely keep you in mind for any future events (and will also recommend you and your team to other friends that are getting married). I really appreciate your positive energy and helpful spirit!
Have a good day!"
This bride has a headcount of 250 at a country club that charges $125 per head (not including alcohol)! This has been a trend for the last 8-12 months.
What it sounds like to me...and I don't believe these words are coming from my mouth...you haven't created value in the eyes of your potential clients. If things have been truly like this for the past year for you, maybe it's time to do a hardcore and thorough rethink of your strategies and plans.
Yeah I like to find out the venue and things to give an accurate price, if they got plenty of money i want my share, but yes they will pay for everything else but go low on us,,,
I think that is pretty accurate. Ironically, I did redo a strategy/plan for this last year. Here is the kicker - we are up 26% from this time last year. Although I am extremely happy with the outcome, it seems the competitors are coming out of the woodwork more than ever.
One thing folks missed in my initial post is the statement about going out to the venues on dates that you have no bookings. If you are a multi-op, there is a possibility that one of your DJs will be open.
See who is working. Look at what they are doing. Maybe even find out who the client is. OK, this is a bit extreme, but, if you can get the client's contact information and do your own after action call.
If you think these tactics are not being used by other industries then you are wrong. An acquaintance of mine works as the operations manager for a store chain and he walks into the stores of the competition, talks to their clients, and keeps track of their ads. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this.
When somebody e-mails you to tell you that they have found somebody else, find out who. Research them.
Keep files on the DJs in the area. Know their price.
This is all market research. There is nothing wrong with it.
If you are working and satisfied then you don't need to do as much but if you hit a lull it is time to find out why and what can be done about it. More than likely the research will help you overcome the lull.
See who is working. Look at what they are doing. Maybe even find out who the client is. OK, this is a bit extreme, but, if you can get the client's contact information and do your own after action call.
If you think these tactics are not being used by other industries then you are wrong. An acquaintance of mine works as the operations manager for a store chain and he walks into the stores of the competition, talks to their clients, and keeps track of their ads. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this.
When somebody e-mails you to tell you that they have found somebody else, find out who. Research them.
Keep files on the DJs in the area. Know their price.
This is all market research. There is nothing wrong with it.
If you are working and satisfied then you don't need to do as much but if you hit a lull it is time to find out why and what can be done about it. More than likely the research will help you overcome the lull.
What I have done in the past is email a client under an anonymous company saying "Let us know about your vendors and get entered into a $50 drawing". Like an exit poll to find out WHY they booked their DJ. Most were pretty happy and I found the #1 reason they booked over others was price. The ones that were not happy all said if they had to do it all over again, they would spend more time AND money researching their DJ.
...and yes, I actually did the drawing and gave the $50 to the winner.
...and yes, I actually did the drawing and gave the $50 to the winner.
Nice! I like your approaches.What I have done in the past is email a client under an anonymous company saying "Let us know about your vendors and get entered into a $50 drawing". Like an exit poll to find out WHY they booked their DJ. Most were pretty happy and I found the #1 reason they booked over others was price. The ones that were not happy all said if they had to do it all over again, they would spend more time AND money researching their DJ.
...and yes, I actually did the drawing and gave the $50 to the winner.
After the fact they always wish they went to the quality vendor first. This is human nature....and will never change. The $1000 ice sculpture, the chair covers, etc, etc. None of these can set the actual tone of the event.
Best,
Paul
Best,
Paul