Follow up surveys to lost prospects

[sawdust123]

Does anyone send follow up surveys to the prospects they lost or chose not to do business with (e.g. price shoppers)?

I always found that one can get great information on improving their business from customers that they lost. This information may include feedback on your sales process, marketing materials, pricing, personal interaction style, etc. Happy clients may tell you how great you are but in all their enthusiasm may not mention where you have room to improve.

I was reading another thread about a low-balling price shopper and it occurred to me that a follow up survey to such clients may yield good information. Basic questions such as how happy they were with their choice of DJ, any regrets they had, how they viewed you, can all yield interesting information.

I used to do this informally in my prior business and it was always fascinating. Of course, I had all (including non customers) my contacts in a CRM system and I often saw these prospects at trade shows. In other words follow up was relatively easy.

 

[camarofleet]

Always wanted to - never had the stones (or time) to bother them.

I just did a bridal show in August - a week before Labor Day weekend. For me, I know the information all gets jumbled to the leads when they accept it from different vendors. I too imported everyone to a CRM. I had a bride reach out to me quite a few times stating she was cost conscious, then she started inquiring about add-ons such as a photobooth and if I would contract that independently which totally threw me. She went camping over Labor Day weekend. I didn't hear back from her. I followed up with her a week or two later and she went with someone "who knew her hall well". I wonder what bit of information the competitor had that we did not.

So, show was late August, I imported leads into the CRM that week and sent out a bulk email. Grouped all the leads by priority...
Priority 1: Weddings coming up soon (like spring 19'), anyone that reached out to us after the show, slow dates and halls we want to get into or maintain a relationship with
Priority 2: Summer and fall 2019 "regular" dates
Priority 3: Peak dates I am confident will be filled (Memorial Day Weekend + many September and October dates are already booked or in the sales process with a lead), are currently filled and all 2020 inquiries.

Everyone in "Priority 1" was contacted within 2 weeks of the show by phone (personally, by me). 95% of "Priority 2" was contacted within 3 weeks of the show (by phone - by me). "Priority 3" leads were offered to my Djs to contact since more often than not I am already booked. Since they didn't have any time to make calls it looks like I will begin working down that list myself then assigning the work to whoever I have available that day.

Of interest, by the time I got through Priority 2 I had made about 30 contacts (one email followed up by a phone call):
-1 person booked with me at the show
-2 people opted out of email, stating they booked elsewhere at the show
-3 people opted out at the point of phone contacts since they had booked elsewhere (so they had booked within three weeks of the show)
-1 person booked over the phone
-Talked to two or three other people but haven't closed
-Everyone else is non-responsive to an email and phone call

Quite honestly, I wonder if it was delay in followup, poor approach, price or just not a good fit personality-wise. As far as follow-up, how much is too much and where is that fine line where you get lost in the mix of everyone else, caught up in the rush before Labor Day weekend, or are beat by a competitor to book. I try to treat others the way I want to be treated and strive not to spam them. This could however be countered with the fact some brides may want to be chased by a service giving off more of a VIP vibe. I've slowly been working through my brand issues trying to do more with Social Media and Video etc.

I've noticed the majority of my clientele are Caucasian couples in their late twenties to forties - which almost makes me venture to guess it may have something to do with my approach, style or halls I typically work in. Younger brides don't seem to be interested in talking to us in any sort of followup capacity and people of different ethnicities tend to book elsewhere or opt out of communication with us relatively quick even though they registered with us. We do not collect age or ethnicity data at the booth - I'm solely basing this off of leads I have personally worked with vs. leads who actually book.

I've thought about adding some different questions to my show registration around budget, best time to contact and interests, but again, there is a fine line where it may venture into how much is too much data entry before someone becomes annoyed.

I'm sure there's some great research on this somewhere. I just haven't run across it yet.

 

[Albatross]

I often ask at the point of "rejection" if there was one thing that really made the difference. Normally the answer there is budget related. But I've never thought to ask after their event as well. Interesting idea...

 

[sawdust123]

Most people will give you the budget reason when you ask in person. This is an easy answer for them to give as they don't run the risk of hurting your feelings. Obviously, budget will be the real reason for certain prospects but if there were other issues, it would be interesting to know what they are.

Many CRMs and email marketing tools allow you to schedule future messages. You can design a survey in advance and schedule to send it a couple of weeks after the event date. Since it is a survey and not a face-to-face or phone call, they may be more inclined to provide more specific critique.

 

[DJ Ricky B]

There are lots of reasons. Most of the time it will be "budget" or "Found a lower price" if you are in the $850+ price range. If you are a DJ quoting $399 for 6 hour weddings, and losing a lot of prospects, then it will be something other than budget. Could be personality. Could be that you are priced so low that you are scaring many prospects away as they don't want to take a chance with a real cheap vendor for their wedding.

The following could also be concerns to the prospect when making their decision to go with someone else:

1. Your responses to their emails and phone calls were not done in a timely manner in the prospect's eyes. ....If you are taking more than 24 hours MAX to return a email, or phone call then you are going to lose prospects over just that! If anything, you should shoot to respond to an initial phone call within 1 hour.

I had a phone call on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. I was driving to the wedding, and don't like talking in my car when dealing with the highway (Plus it's illegal to talk on the phone while driving in Maryland). - I got to my gig, and forgot to call the prospect back. Called the very next morning. No answer. No response. ...The event is coming in less than 2 weeks. She likely found another DJ who answered right away, or called back within an hour, and likely booked with that person. My fault for forgetting to call back when I got to my gig. ...Or I can say not really my fault, it's a Saturday, why should I be expected to be doing business when I'm out performing events? ...But that is how the world works today. Instant communication at any time is best for obtaining sales. When time is of the essense, prospects don't like to wait around...Even for more than a few hours!

2. You are White DJ, and they are Nigerian, Chinese, Indian, Hispanic. Generally speaking people want to book DJs who are their same ethnicity/nationality. ...Not always the case. Sure, sometimes we happen to book a ethnic wedding that is different from who we are. However, it does not occur often, and it's certainly a reason why you will be out of the running. Simply because of your skin color/ethnicity/nationality.

3. Your age. Sometimes a younger couple refuses to book an older DJ. Sometimes an older couple refuses to book a real young DJ.

4. Your looks/appearance. I once had a bride tell me the other DJ at the bridal show is missing a lot of teeth, and was glad to see that I had all my teeth. ...True Story!
-Some people are superficial, and want their DJ to have a specific look to them.

5. Personality - Many prospects want to book a DJ who they mesh well with. While they feel many DJs they talked to could get the job done for them, perhaps they found a DJ that is very similiar to them. ...Maybe they are hipsters, and want a hipster DJ! Maybe they are into into the EDM culture, and their DJ is a EDM specialist, but also dresses just like they do, and attends the same music festivals they do..so their hearts become set on that particular DJ over the others they spoke with just for that reason.

It's not ALWAYS Price/Budget. Price is the most common issue for sure, but there are certainly other reasons why you will lose prospects.

 

[djrox]

In my not humble but limited decades experience, survey/follow up of/on lost leads is a very arduous, often expensive, typically fruitless and occasionally a negative exercise. Any actual results are usually minimally reliable or beneficial. The expense is usually measured in wasted time and the impact of repeated and continual rejection.

When telephones were the primary tool of communication, I often was told, in no uncertain terms, "Stop calling."

My favorite such interaction was on a second attempt, after leaving a voice message, when the lost client listened to my intro and said, "If you call again with this BS, I'm gonna give your name & number to my sister who works for an aluminum siding company."

I laughed, apologized to this lady and ended the experiment.

I cannot imagine Millennials, Generation Yers, Gen Nexters, & iGen/Gen Z-ers being any more patient or helpful.

The lost lead has no real or vested interest is spending their time to assist an already rejected provider...basically, What's in it for them?

I've found substantially more benefit from diligent follow up and requests for real criticism from established clients. Be tenacious and steadfast as most truly satisfied clients will initially reject the thought of failure but when the plea is framed in a spirit of "I need/want/hope to improve" most people will try, and that is all we should expect.

An honest request for help with improvement, from satisfied clients and guests has typically yielded the MOST beneficial critiques I have received.

Certainly praise, accolades and positive reviews are cherished and provide a sense of pride and success but fair and sincere criticism have also provided the most bountiful harvests.

 

[rickryan.com]

Point of rejection is the appropriate time to ask this question. This will be a waste of time and will likely only get you insults from the people you're bothering. If this was a business where you could earn repeat business (okay, many do get married more than once) from a particular client, then maybe it would be smart. In our cases, my vote is "No".

 

[Bob Kreider]

I've only followed up with a lost opportunity a few times, got no response. So I gave up on attempting it again. However, If I don't get an event I am always wondering, but it's really a waste of time, since people rarely share what influenced their decision.

I'm not complaining, I have about as many events that I can take on. And as another poster mentioned, great communication will go a long way in scheduling a positive number of opportunities. That communication starts with phone and email response time. My phone is always answered, you'll never get an answering machine, and I make it mandatory to return an email within five minutes. But never more than an hour.

Just my 2 cents on lost client follow up and how to help increase your closing rate.

 

[Jas]

I've never sent out any kind of surveys to clients or prospects that didn't get sold. I'm not quite that business minded. However, I can see where the feedback would be valuable. Maybe my ego can't handle the truth!

I have asked why a few times and learned a little from doing that. Price is a common reason, but another reason has been that I don't offer many of the extras that other DJ companies have - karaoke, video, large screens etc.

I've heard the best way to get the truth is to have someone else send out surveys - making answers anonymous. Folks are more likely to speak the truth behind other's backs.

 

[camarofleet]

Not to reopen an old thread - but I actually sent one of these out for the first time tonight - Reason being, my close rate seems to be down from where it was historically. We'll see what happens.

In the past, my leads were almost all referrals. I probably had a 90% close rate.

I started doing bridal shows about three years ago. Entering into my first show, while I attempted to follow up I was not getting many "warm" leads who wanted to set up an appointment or discuss things further. Second year was about the same. Made some huge changes to the booth this year and since have had probably ten couples reach out to me - some of whom I did not even contact. A few are booked, but I recently received two rejections which kind of stuck out.

The first rejection: bride emailed/texted back and forth. I drove up to the Cleveland area and met with her and her fiance at a Starbucks. They were younger, seemed kind of shy - but what bothered me is I could tell within the first few minutes they weren't really "feeling it" and I was really struggling to engage them. She seemed concerned about price - I offered her a break if she booked on the spot and she said she's have to think about it. I told her I understand they probably want to compare and discuss and that was fine - if she gets back to me by Friday I'd still honor it. I normally don't pull the "scarcity" tactic (and felt kind of like a jerk doing it), however, her date was in May and another Dj approached me with some overflow work for that month. She named the other two services she was in conversations with - one I know as a fact is way out of her price range, the other (in my opinion) is an inferior company that just pumps inexperienced kids through a multiop (and is of similar price to us).

The second rejection: bride followed up from the show using the contact form on website. I sent some information via email and asked her if she'd like to arrange a call. Scheduled it, called etc. The call was way shorter than others I am used to. She seemed more interested than the last bride, however, still didn't seem as engaged as some of the other prospects I deal with. She sent me a very nice email today thanking me for my ideas, saying she enjoyed speaking to me, however after discussion with her fiance, they booked with someone else who they feel is a "better fit for their vision". This comment really peaked my curiosity, so I crafted a simple response to see if she might share some more info.

I normally shrug things like this off, but can''t help but thinking if I am failing to engage someone during an appointment - there has to be a way I can adapt my approach. I also can''t help but wonder what the other "brand" might be offering or proposing idea-wise that I am not. Since we can offer just about anything anyone else can around here - it all seems to come back to a sales or marketing failure on my end.