In a world where everyone is fighting for time and space to promote their products and services, being heard above the noise of it all can often be a challenge. But you don’t need to shout and scream in order to be heard above the noise. No, there is a much better way.
As a DJ in the building (or rebuilding) stage of your business, it can be tempting to think that all you need to focus on is marketing. Should I buy Google Ad Words, book a wedding show booth space, subscribe to a listing on WeddingWire, etc. While each of those might play an important role in the development of a DJ business, they should all be secondary to what you as an individual and you as a performer bring to your clients and their events.
If your performance skills are anywhere from beginner to average in today’s day and age of “everyone’s a DJ,” you may be stuck in a vicious cycle of always depending on excessive marketing to fill your calendar. As you develop your talent and skill level (through methods such as 3rd party performance critique, workshops, conferences, etc.), you will become less dependent on that excessive marketing. That is when the real excitement begins.
When you rise above being average, your clients, their guests, fellow wedding vendors and many more will go out of their way to rave about you to the people they know and the people they meet. That idea can be summed up with the well-known phrase, “word of mouth.” This idea that the people you meet, the people you work with, and everyone else in your circles will tell everyone they know about you, is without a doubt, the most powerful form of marketing available.
I think we would all agree that word of mouth is important, but I am not convinced we truly grasp just how powerful it can be. If we did, why would so many of us still be focused on other traditional advertising methods like print ads, paid listings and wedding shows? Sure those may have their place in your marketing plan, but don’t let word of mouth marketing take a back seat simply because you don’t write someone a check for it.
What are YOUR best sources of word of mouth?
Click here to read PART 2.
~ Dave T.
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Thanks for your comment Charlie. You are certainly right, everyone (usually) does look good in ads and images (which may or may not be entirely true).
Truth and honesty are hard to hide in Word of Mouth. Maybe that’s why I like it so much. 🙂
~ Dave
Thanks for reinforcing this thought to me Dave. Having just done this independently for the first few months and attempting to get my name above the crowd, I’ve found marketing challenging as everybody can make themselves sound good on an ad or look good in images. Most of my bookings have come from other people experiencing my events and trusting the person that I am. As I build a client base, expanding on these relationships is huge and being patient will certainly be a virtue.