Weddingwire

[Ausumm]

If they knew how to market themselves properly, and offered great service at good prices, then they would not need to spend thousands of dollars on radio ads, and "remotes" in order to bring people in to buy their products!

Mercedes makes some of the best cars in the world.
They still need to advertise.
If they didn't. People would buy more BMW's instead.

And remember....you cannot succeed on great prices and/or service.
All of the OTHER furniture stores can offer those things, too.
So you need to advertise to convince people that you do it BETTER than your competition.

These businesses are in prime locations, and have major exposure just from their location. If they have been in business for more than a few years, why would they need to advertise at all? ...They should be earning more money year after year by referral, and being the buzz of conversation among social circles!

If you can buy the same brand couch, or same model car at ANY other location...
you need to advertise to tell people you sell it for less, or offer better service after the sale.

I hear from every DJ on here that DJs who know what they are doing don't need to advertise, and operate 100% off of referral and word of mouth, and break record sales every year. You also have DJ Taso who is killing it with his marketing not spending any money on advertising! ...You mean to tell me a DJ can figure it out, but furniture store owners/executives, and dealership owners/executives/managers can't figure it out, and have to spend thousands of dollars on radio ads? ..Don't tell me they are different either!

THEY ARE DIFFERENT
Because furniture stores and car dealers don't sell on a personal level like Mobile DJ's.
People hire YOU as a DJ because they like YOUR style, YOUR personality, YOUR music selection...etc.
And they are willing to pay MORE for you if YOU are the DJ they want.
There is a lot more personal preference in buying a DJ than buying a recliner.

...If Radio worked, the top Mobile DJs in every area including YOU would be spending $$$ on radio ads to increase your sales/profits, BUT you say you get "plenty" from Referrals and word of mouth. There is always room to grow profits. So why not start radio campaigns so you can earn more money with your DJ biz...After all you probably would get a discounted rate being an employee! ...

Nope. No one ever said that radio works for ALL businesses.
I have been writing and producing radio ads for 37-years...
and have only seen a Mobile DJ advertise three times.
I have had the chance to advertise my business many times on my own stations.
I could have gotten the best bargain you can imagine...
but it still would not have worked.
DJ's only use radio when they have traded it for advertising. (provided music for a radio station event)
BECAUSE IT DOESN'T WORK FOR THEM.

Hope your popcorn lasted thru the whole post!

 

[DJ Ricky B]

Mercedes makes some of the best cars in the world.
They still need to advertise.
If they didn't. People would buy more BMW's instead.

And remember....you cannot succeed on great prices and/or service.
All of the OTHER furniture stores can offer those things, too.
So you need to advertise to convince people that you do it BETTER than your competition.



If you can buy the same brand couch, or same model car at ANY other location...
you need to advertise to tell people you sell it for less, or offer better service after the sale.



THEY ARE DIFFERENT
Because furniture stores and car dealers don't sell on a personal level like Mobile DJ's.
People hire YOU as a DJ because they like YOUR style, YOUR personality, YOUR music selection...etc.
And they are willing to pay MORE for you if YOU are the DJ they want.
There is a lot more personal preference in buying a DJ than buying a recliner.



Nope. No one ever said that radio works for ALL businesses.
I have been writing and producing radio ads for 37-years...
and have only seen a Mobile DJ advertise three times.
I have had the chance to advertise my business many times on my own stations.
I could have gotten the best bargain you can imagine...
but it still would not have worked.
DJ's only use radio when they have traded it for advertising. (provided music for a radio station event)
BECAUSE IT DOESN'T WORK FOR THEM.

Hope your popcorn lasted thru the whole post!

I'm about to go out and eat some lunch...or maybe a real late breakfast...Then i have to get a few things before I come home and start wrapping presents before my son get's out of school today.

Everyone knows about Mercedes. The only reason they need to run an ad should be to let people know about a current sale or deal. They can do that on TV, and on the internet.

With that said. Rolls Royce does not advetise. Neither does Ferrari or Lamborghini to my knowledge. ...Tesla has also done very little advertising. People are buying those cars, and they seem to be doing fine.

A Great furniture store owner and management know how to generate buzz about their store without ever needing to advertise after the first few years. I bought a new recliner a few years ago. People asked where I bought it, and I told them. Free word of mouth advertising right there. I was satisfied with my experience at the store. The store has been in business for probably 50 years. They don't advertise on the radio or TV, and they don't do radio remotes to bring in a bunch of people at once. They don't need to.

People buy furniture when they need to/want to, and are ready. They don't go out and buy because some radio station is doing a remote, and some great sale is going on ...I would argue that those furniture stores would have had those same customers over time any way. The remote just got them to come in at that time, and spend money at that point in time instead of maybe later.

Chipotle and Panera Bread hardly ever advertise. These restaurants are busy all the time.

Nieman Marcus does not run advertisements on TV.

Sears does, and did all the time...Now they are about to shut down and only be a memory. Why is the advertising not working for them? Maybe spending so much money on TV and Radio Advertising is Sears downfall? They should have just let word of mouth, and referrals run the course for themselves!

 

[Ausumm]

I'm about to go out and eat some lunch...or maybe a real late breakfast...Then i have to get a few things before I come home and start wrapping presents before my son get's out of school today.
Everyone knows about Mercedes. The only reason they need to run an ad should be to let people know about a current sale or deal. They can do that on TV, and on the internet.
With that said. Rolls Royce does not advetise. Neither does Ferrari or Lamborghini to my knowledge. ...Tesla has also done very little advertising. People are buying those cars, and they seem to be doing fine.
A Great furniture store owner and management know how to generate buzz about their store without ever needing to advertise after the first few years. I bought a new recliner a few years ago. People asked where I bought it, and I told them. Free word of mouth advertising right there. I was satisfied with my experience at the store. The store has been in business for probably 50 years. They don't advertise on the radio or TV, and they don't do radio remotes to bring in a bunch of people at once. They don't need to.

People buy furniture when they need to/want to, and are ready. They don't go out and buy because some radio station is doing a remote, and some great sale is going on ...I would argue that those furniture stores would have had those same customers over time any way. The remote just got them to come in at that time, and spend money at that point in time instead of maybe later.
Chipotle and Panera Bread hardly ever advertise. These restaurants are busy all the time.
Nieman Marcus does not run advertisements on TV.
Sears does, and did all the time...Now they are about to shut down and only be a memory. Why is the advertising not working for them? Maybe spending so much money on TV and Radio Advertising is Sears downfall? They should have just let word of mouth, and referrals run the course for themselves!

You're trying to prove that radio doesn't work...
by listing companies that don't advertise, or "don't need to".
(by the way, I dubbed three Mercedes commercials just today. And it wasn't a sales ad)

You're basing your proof only on your own personal knowledge and experience!
And you're also including TV advertising....which is a COMPLETELY different animal.

You have already made up your own mind about radio....
so I will end this now, and let you believe what you want to believe.
After all....what do I know about radio?

 

[Patrick]

I can only speak from my experience the past couple years (with photography and video)... one year we did TheKnot and it worked well, but not exceptional, one year we did WW and it was ok, but not great, last year, we did them both, and about 90% our of jobs came from the two combined, we won Best of The Knot weddings this year and will be switching over to a higher placement ad on there and cutting our WW...

I have not really found either to be a "rip off".... we go 5 jobs from one and 6 from the other last year, so they are well worth it for us, but it also completely depends on your price point... the brides on there without question looking at price first before anything else, we are priced at the low end of the scale for photographers ($1100 for 6 hours with 2 shooters) and video ($1000 for 4 hours with 2 shooters) so that is obviously something that helps the numbers from those sites.

 

[Albatross]

I'm about to go out and eat some lunch...or maybe a real late breakfast...Then i have to get a few things before I come home and start wrapping presents before my son get's out of school today.

Everyone knows about Mercedes. The only reason they need to run an ad should be to let people know about a current sale or deal. They can do that on TV, and on the internet.

With that said. Rolls Royce does not advetise. Neither does Ferrari or Lamborghini to my knowledge. ...Tesla has also done very little advertising. People are buying those cars, and they seem to be doing fine.

A Great furniture store owner and management know how to generate buzz about their store without ever needing to advertise after the first few years. I bought a new recliner a few years ago. People asked where I bought it, and I told them. Free word of mouth advertising right there. I was satisfied with my experience at the store. The store has been in business for probably 50 years. They don't advertise on the radio or TV, and they don't do radio remotes to bring in a bunch of people at once. They don't need to.

People buy furniture when they need to/want to, and are ready. They don't go out and buy because some radio station is doing a remote, and some great sale is going on ...I would argue that those furniture stores would have had those same customers over time any way. The remote just got them to come in at that time, and spend money at that point in time instead of maybe later.

Chipotle and Panera Bread hardly ever advertise. These restaurants are busy all the time.

Nieman Marcus does not run advertisements on TV.

Sears does, and did all the time...Now they are about to shut down and only be a memory. Why is the advertising not working for them? Maybe spending so much money on TV and Radio Advertising is Sears downfall? They should have just let word of mouth, and referrals run the course for themselves!

Dude... just because these brands don't advertise in the places that you watch TV, doesn't mean they don't advertise. But they choose their channel in a way that attempts to support their brand.

Most big brands run ads for familiarity. The same reason that "Got Milk?" ads ran. They weren't introducing milk to the public. They were refreshing your awareness of it, and burrowing the product into not only conscious brain, but your unconscious one as well. The Pork Board (an industry support group of pork producers) did the same thing with "The other white meat" campaign.

I'd bet if you read luxury fashion magazines you'd see ads for Neiman Marcus like this one: Ads That Know Your Name: Magazines Push Further Into Personalization - (https://adage.com/article/media/magazines-push-ads/233084/)

If advertising didn't work, lots of mediums would die from losing their support. It does work - but it's a long game, not a short one. Building brand recognition is hard, and expensive.

 

[djcrazychris]

The real issue is... many times radio is selling dreams and stats to mom and pops who cant afford the long game...and will never achieve brand recognition. But because of the sleezy heartless nature of SOME cough cough Sales team members... they would sell ads to anyone and quote the local car lots stats (whove ran ads for years) as the success story...

I dont wanna step on any toes Mike... but lets be fair....this radio discussion started with you waxing poetic about a sales team member with zero to little ethics. lol

TV and Radio will never be the powerhourse they once were.... The only people in my life who still listen to radio and still have cable are my parents... Sirius ...pandora... netflix....etc... will drive the final coffin nails in within 5 years....as hard as it is to stomach...

cc

 

[djtaso]

High End Luxury Companies advertise differently. They effectively use brand placement and targeted ads. I get ads for neiman marcus and luxury hotels all over my social media feeds. I do shop at neiman marcus personally, so I guess they've found me to be a qualified buyer... however if you ask my dad, he's probably never seen a neiman marcus ad in his life. You also see many high end brands being used by influencers on social media, and paying celebrities to wear or showcase their products. They also place advertisements in High End magazines, such as the Du Pont Registry Magazines, or Real Estate magazines for places like Manhattan, LA, and Miami Beach. They're there, but just because you don't see them doesn't mean doesn't mean they're not advertising effectively... they're just doing it selectively.

 

[rickryan.com]

The real issue is... many times radio is selling dreams and stats to mom and pops who cant afford the long game...

What's the difference in what we DJs are doing? I can't speak for you, but I know that I certainly have up-sold plenty of brides on stuff that in my gut I knew they couldn't really afford. I sure won't take any potshots at radio ad people for trying to maximize their revenue stream either.

 

[djcrazychris]

What's the difference in what we DJs are doing? I can't speak for you, but I know that I certainly have up-sold plenty of brides on stuff that in my gut I knew they couldn't really afford. I sure won't take any potshots at radio ad people for trying to maximize their revenue stream either.

lol...i didnt need confirmation about your ethical threshold Rick

I personally sell an amazing product that lives up to its price... and will not sell a client something they dont need... or especially something that is essentially useless for their event

cc

 

[rickryan.com]

lol...i didnt need confirmation about your ethical threshold Rick

I personally sell an amazing product that lives up to its price... and will not sell a client something they dont need... or especially something that is essentially useless for their event

cc

It's really a fine line to walk. I can't speak for anyone else here, but there have been any number of times that I got the impression that a bride could not afford what she was asking to buy from me. The daddy in me wants to pipe up and say "Don't put yourself in a bind over just 5 hours." but then the business side of me knows that they're adults and it's not any of my business to tell them how to conduct their finances.

 

[Jeff Romard]

I would argue that they don't have a clue as to what they are doing!

If they knew how to market themselves properly, and offered great service at good prices, then they would not need to spend thousands of dollars on radio ads, and "remotes" in order to bring people in to buy their products!

These businesses are in prime locations, and have major exposure just from their location. If they have been in business for more than a few years, why would they need to advertise at all? ...They should be earning more money year after year by referral, and being the buzz of conversation among social circles!

I hear from every DJ on here that DJs who know what they are doing don't need to advertise, and operate 100% off of referral and word of mouth, and break record sales every year. You also have DJ Taso who is killing it with his marketing not spending any money on advertising! ...You mean to tell me a DJ can figure it out, but furniture store owners/executives, and dealership owners/executives/managers can't figure it out, and have to spend thousands of dollars on radio ads?

..Don't tell me they are different either!

...If Radio worked, the top Mobile DJs in every area including YOU would be spending $$$ on radio ads to increase your sales/profits, BUT you say you get "plenty" from Referrals and word of mouth. There is always room to grow profits. So why not start radio campaigns so you can earn more money with your DJ biz...After all you probably would get a discounted rate being an employee! ...

It's apples and oranges completely. Let's start with the basics we will go with a furniture store for example

A furniture store has an infinite amount of stock they can sell. It may not be right there but it can be in a day or two which is expected in that business. The also have a very high overhead in comparison. The stock, the building, phones, heat, maintenance, trucks, staff etc. They have to be putting people through the door consistently, The also sell a tangible product. If you want to buy a lazy boy and it's $599 at shop A and $699 at shop B where do you buy? It's the same Lazy Boy. Most people know even if they don't go that route than all services aren't the same. They need to be more active than you or I do at any point in letting people know that they are there

They also do the free and other paid advertising. The most successful ones are on social media doing well. I was at the theatre last night and before the movie the biggest one had an ad on there

I have essentially 52 dates I want to fill in a year I don't want to play every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In reality I don't even want every Saturday but let's say I do. My goal each year is 50 gigs on an average year 35-40 are on Saturday and the rest Friday or Sunday. The odd time I will have a weekday gig maybe 1 or 2 on an average year. I'd have to look at records to be sure but I believe 2004 was the last year I didn't go over 50. My overhead is paid in full by the 4th or 5th gig of the year unless I go on a gear binge that year. If I include my bar gig on Fridays I will be closer to 80 this year and the overhead will be paid by mid February

Years back I spent a LOT (for me) on advertising over the course of 4 years. The YP alone was $20,000 over that 4 years. I did radio, local cable channel, lettering vehicles, some newspaper, and several other things. My goal was to create a Top of mind awareness and it worked OK. To this day the awareness I created still benefits me. Of the ones I mentioned the YP had the best ROI (I'm sure that wouldn't be the case today). Local cable and newspaper were by far the worst. Radio was close to the YP. Lettering the vehicle had a good ROI too

The radio advertising I've done in the past and it had a much better ROI than what you or Rick managed on WW or TK.

The fact I work in radio probably helps get me booked there are lots that mention that I'm "that radio guy" but I don't get discounts on advertising...You really don't know radio sales guys if you think I do

 

[djcrazychris]

Glad you brought up the lettering of your vehicle... that paid huge dividends for me in the 90s...

I would park it at the mall all day on a Saturday in a prominent spot...and get a half dozen calls each time...

 

[djcrazychris]

It's really a fine line to walk. I can't speak for anyone else here, but there have been any number of times that I got the impression that a bride could not afford what she was asking to buy from me. The daddy in me wants to pipe up and say "Don't put yourself in a bind over just 5 hours." but then the business side of me knows that they're adults and it's not any of my business to tell them how to conduct their finances.

i have no doubt you would sell a light show to a blind school ...lololol

cc

 

[Jeff Romard]

I'm about to go out and eat some lunch...or maybe a real late breakfast...Then i have to get a few things before I come home and start wrapping presents before my son get's out of school today.

Everyone knows about Mercedes. The only reason they need to run an ad should be to let people know about a current sale or deal. They can do that on TV, and on the internet.

With that said. Rolls Royce does not advetise. Neither does Ferrari or Lamborghini to my knowledge. ...Tesla has also done very little advertising. People are buying those cars, and they seem to be doing fine.

A Great furniture store owner and management know how to generate buzz about their store without ever needing to advertise after the first few years. I bought a new recliner a few years ago. People asked where I bought it, and I told them. Free word of mouth advertising right there. I was satisfied with my experience at the store. The store has been in business for probably 50 years. They don't advertise on the radio or TV, and they don't do radio remotes to bring in a bunch of people at once. They don't need to.

People buy furniture when they need to/want to, and are ready. They don't go out and buy because some radio station is doing a remote, and some great sale is going on ...I would argue that those furniture stores would have had those same customers over time any way. The remote just got them to come in at that time, and spend money at that point in time instead of maybe later.

Chipotle and Panera Bread hardly ever advertise. These restaurants are busy all the time.

Nieman Marcus does not run advertisements on TV.

Sears does, and did all the time...Now they are about to shut down and only be a memory. Why is the advertising not working for them? Maybe spending so much money on TV and Radio Advertising is Sears downfall? They should have just let word of mouth, and referrals run the course for themselves!

These companies do advertise they just don't advertise to you and I. I would suspect it's much more targeted.. You likely aren't going to see then during a WWE or Nascar broadcast

Neimun Marcus advertises all the time on News 880 in New York ( I listen to AM sometimes on the way home for the skip) and I'm sure other places

Here's a short read for you

Interesting Ad campaigns by Rolls Royce over the years 1906 to 2006 - (https://www.shamoor.com/interesting-ad-campaigns-rolls-royce-years-1906-2006/)


And a few ads. How about this one

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zf7VIUtX08


Or this one for Bentley

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKBHwX-qMEQ


Lamborghini

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd0Ok-MkqoE

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m75SuloWaZY

 

[steve149]

The Rolls and Bentley ads SUCK .. almost as bad as some of the French perfume ads being shown for the holidays ..

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5v1ABZijjc

 

[rickryan.com]

i have no doubt you would sell a light show to a blind school ...lololol

cc

Hey, what kind of person do you think I am? After all, they can feel the heat............

 

[djcrazychris]

Hey, what kind of person do you think I am? After all, they can feel the heat............

Lololololol

cc

 

[DJ Ricky B]

What's the difference in what we DJs are doing? I can't speak for you, but I know that I certainly have up-sold plenty of brides on stuff that in my gut I knew they couldn't really afford. I sure won't take any potshots at radio ad people for trying to maximize their revenue stream either.

I can't say I really up sell anything other than Up lights. I have never had the feeling that my clients couldn't really afford it. I consider the cost of booking me a small part of the pie, and I believe my up lighting prices are very reasonable knowing that some others in the D.C. area quote $45 to $55 per up light.

I have been told by quite a few prospects over the years that I am too expensive in their mind. Those are the ones who either could not afford me, or just did not really value what I do, and think a DJ should be under $500 or whatever cheap price they have in mind

. I definitely have not had the "gut feeling" that my prospects who do book can't afford it. BUT, I have gotten that gut feeling that a particular client is going to not pay the balance due. ...I'm starting to get that feeling now as my last holiday party client did not pay the balance, and was sent the PayPal invoice on Monday, and has not paid it yet. ...I failed to follow my own policy, and collect balance in full at booking on this one since they booked just over a week out. Collected 50% deposit, and now waiting on the 50% balance after doing the job. ...I am very hopeful they will pay, and I received high remarks from the company owner and she did say "Send over the invoice on Monday and I'll pay it" (I was told they would have a check for me, but did not), but now I'm wondering when I will get paid. I hate waiting! ...I'm thinking I should have been more forceful in getting them to pay with a personal credit card at the event on my CC reader. ...When I told them I could take a credit card there, the response was that they did not have a company credit card on them... Another learning experience that I shouldn't be learning AGAIN. Make sure to get corporate clients to pay in full beforehand. ...I already have a apartment management company that stiffed me on $300 and never paid from 2 years ago. Getting a debt collection company involved was not successful.

 

[Jeff Romard]

. I definitely have not had the "gut feeling" that my prospects who do book can't afford it. BUT, I have gotten that gut feeling that a particular client is going to not pay the balance due. ...I'm starting to get that feeling now as my last holiday party client did not pay the balance, and was sent the PayPal invoice on Monday, and has not paid it yet. ...I failed to follow my own policy, and collect balance in full at booking on this one since they booked just over a week out. Collected 50% deposit, and now waiting on the 50% balance after doing the job. ...I am very hopeful they will pay, and I received high remarks from the company owner and she did say "Send over the invoice on Monday and I'll pay it" (I was told they would have a check for me, but did not), but now I'm wondering when I will get paid. I hate waiting! ...I'm thinking I should have been more forceful in getting them to pay with a personal credit card at the event on my CC reader. ...When I told them I could take a credit card there, the response was that they did not have a company credit card on them... Another learning experience that I shouldn't be learning AGAIN. Make sure to get corporate clients to pay in full beforehand. ...I already have a apartment management company that stiffed me on $300 and never paid from 2 years ago. Getting a debt collection company involved was not successful.

I find it so weird you have trouble with corporate clients especially on small amounts. I do a fair bit of corporate work throughout the year and never have trouble collecting. Occasionally I will get a slow pay if it's being mailed but never did I get stiffed or even had the feeling I would get stiffed on a corporate account

 

[DJ Ricky B]

I find it so weird you have trouble with corporate clients especially on small amounts. I do a fair bit of corporate work throughout the year and never have trouble collecting. Occasionally I will get a slow pay if it's being mailed but never did I get stiffed or even had the feeling I would get stiffed on a corporate account

I use to always feel like I can trust them up until that apartment complex. I had done work for that apartment complex management company many times over a 2 year period. They had not used us in probably 8 or 9 months, and I had a call from the manager at one of the properties we did ONCE in the past. They were having a open house event. They had a bunch of various vendors there, and they were giving away raffle prizes to people who came and enjoyed the open house. Probably 200 people came. They gave away a 3 night stay to some luxury hotel. They also gave away a 50 inch Flat Screen TV, and many other raffle items.

It was kind of a last minute thing, and I knew that their accounts payable was rather slow as a manager of another apartment property told me about that. So, that particular manager would book with us at least 3 to 4 weeks ahead of time, and had me send her an invoice for the full amount along with the agreement. She would submit it, and I would get paid in full beforethe event. The check would get mailed to me usually between 4 and 10 days before the actual booking. That was nice.

Well this last booking I had with them, I was never paid before hand. They did not have a check for me at the event. I waited, and waited, and checked in with the manager of the property at least 4 times. After the 4th time, the check finally came in 6 WEEKS AFTER THE EVENT. However, the check was cut for the wrong amount. It was for $350, and not $650. I contacted the property manager about it, and she said I would have to re submit another invoice which was a pain in the arse to do at that point. I did, and then it was crickets. ...I checked in with the property manager with no response about the issue. I called up to her office, and she was never there. THe staff was very short with me, and would tell me I need to go to corporate, BUT they would never give me a specific person, or even a phone number to call to get the issue taken care of.

After 2 certified letters, and waiting another 80 days, I finally got a debt collecter involved. They tried calling them for almost a year. I received a report from the debt collector that after 48 phone calls, they were unsuccessful in getting any where with the company. So they closed my account out. I could continue to use their services but they wanted a $39.95 fee to continue. They were trying to collect the debt before with no fee, and if they were to collect, they would take 30% of the balance which would have been $90. I was fine with that if they would have got the money.

They signed an agreement for $550, and I went an hour over time at $100. They paid me $350.

So, I just let it go. Pissed off at that management company. $300 is too small of an amount to go to small claims court over. I just got screwed over by a company who doesn't care, and is out to minimize their expenses however they can ...Makes me wonder how many other vendors get taken by them on a invoice here, and there.

All it takes is being screwed over 1 time to do everything you can to get pre payment in full.