Word of Mouth — PART 3

What do taking 90 minutes to do a 60 minute load out, actively engaging with people requesting music, having lunch, and joining your local fire department have in common with each other? Word of mouth.

I hope that by now, after reading Part 1 & Part 2 in this Word of Mouth series, you have been convinced that word of mouth is something that isn’t working for you nearly as much as it should be. I hope you’ve started brainstorming ways that you can improve your current word of mouth traction.  For the remainder of this post, I am simply going to list some of the things I do with purpose, in order to leverage word of mouth in my favour.

Keep in mind, much of what you will read here is done for other reasons as well. Even though they may not be done entirely for the purpose of word of mouth, I believe they influence it very heavily.

REQUESTS — I treat someone coming to my booth to request a favourite song as a unique opportunity to engage with them that will hopefully translate into an experience they have never had with a DJ before. See my interview on this DJNTV episode of “Mobile Music Thursdays” for further context.

LOADING OUT — I am notorious among my colleagues for taking forever to load my gear out at the end of a wedding. This is because I spend as much time as possible socializing with everyone from general wedding guests, parents, wedding party members and of course, the bride and groom. I’ll also spend time visiting with the staff of the venue and any other vendors that might still happen to be there (which at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning isn’t often very many!).

VENDORS ON FACEBOOK — Friend wedding vendors that you’ve worked with or maybe want to work with one day and engage them in the occasional conversation, complimenting pieces of their work that you like, events you have in common, etc. Share from their business page to yours and write your reason for doing so.

FACEBOOK PERSONAL PROFILE — Keep your personal profile positive and uplifting. Be a person people want to be friends with. Do not air your dirty laundry here (even if you only keep “friends” on your Facebook profile).

COMMUNITY — My work as a board member for the local Chamber of Commerce has been incredible for spreading the word of what I do. I am also involved in our local Fire Department and have pioneered for them an annual fundraising banquet to become a $90,000+ event. This alone has put my face in front of countless people through the elaborate sponsorship program that fuels the event. My work with a local daycare and helping to organize completely new and fresh events for them has also added to my word of mouth presence. But don’t simply join a group for the sake of being a member, become an organizer in some capacity so that you have the opportunity to stand out and demonstrate your professional self.

VENDOR NETWORKING — If a wedding vendor networking group exists in your area, get involved! Offer to help plan future meetings, present on topics people tell you you’re good at, etc. If such a group doesn’t exist and you have enough positive relationships with a large enough group of wedding vendors, then start one! I have experience in building a wedding vendor networking group and would be glad to share my experience with anyone interested in starting one in their region.

STORIES — Share original and authentic personal stories through your personal and/or business Facebook page. Rather than sharing or reposting general content that anyone could share, tell real stories of your work, clients, and unique event moments. Write content people might actually care about, something that might make them smile. (Hint: people don’t care that you’re about to “rock” Mike & Tegan’s wedding unless you hint about what unique concept might be leading you to that end goal of “rocking” their party.)

PAST CLIENTS — After the wedding, after a few months, after a year… reach out to the wedding couples you’ve worked with. Particularly the ones you really enjoyed working with. Remind them of you. Be their friend (if you sincerely “clicked”). Meet them for coffee. Send them an anniversary note, not necessarily on Facebook, but through a private text message or email.

INQUIRIES — In situations where I am unavailable for an incoming inquiry, I will often speak with them in any case to determine what type of DJ colleague I might be able to recommend. I also believe that helping out even those I can’t work with (by suggesting to them Tom Haibeck or Peter Merry’s book) leaves them with a positive experience of having reached out to me. It is my hope that this will increase the likelihood that they will remember me for someone else in the future (I have been referred by people who’s weddings I was unavailable for).

WEDDING GIFT — Discreetly leave a small wedding gift on or near the gift/card table at the wedding reception. I would also insist on making it personal. Make the gift mean something to you and tie that in to why you’re giving it to them. Create another reason other than the fact that it is simply a gift – give it additional meaning. You’ll be remembered fondly at the gift opening with the bride, groom and any other family or friends that happen to be there. (To find out why the gift I use is a special bottle of unique wine and what the meaning behind it is, send me a note with your thoughts on the blog so far and that you’d like to know what I use for a gift. And of course, don’t forget to sign up for the free updates!)

VENDOR FOLLOWUP — Following each and every wedding, touch base with every vendor that you worked with on that wedding. Write to them from a “team” point of view. Be gracious for the opportunity you both had to work together. Be genuine. Stay in regular contact with those you’d like to work with again.

WEDDING PARTY & PARENTS — Prior to a wedding (weeks or months ahead), contact every wedding party member, person(s) presenting a speech/toast, and of course the bride’s and groom’s parents. Something as simple as an introduction of yourself and that you’re looking forward to the wedding is adequate enough. Then touch base with them after the wedding as well. Ask for any general commentary on the wedding and express that you’re looking forward to having your paths cross again.

LUNCH WITH VENDORS — I make a point of having coffee or lunch with at least 2 or 3 wedding vendors (not necessarily a DJ) every month. I hope this shouldn’t need any further explanation. This is very valuable networking time.

DJ COLLEAGUES — Reach out to other DJs in your community (particularly if you are a single system DJ company like myself). Connect with those that are like minded and those willing to be friendly colleagues as opposed to ruthless rivals (which of those are you?). Keep these connections alive and healthy with regular coffee, lunch and conversations. My business is successful today because of many client referrals between our group of friendly DJ colleagues (for which no referral fees where ever exchanged).

I’ve truly only scratched the surface with the many different ways you can influence word of mouth in your favour. In addition to the larger, more obvious things (your performance, success with events and clients, etc), I hope a few of the above ideas will move you to try something new.

What would YOU add to the above list and WHY? Please comment below or send me an email with your feedback.

~ Dave T.

 

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Word of Mouth — PART 2

Statistics show us all of the time that many people shop online for their wedding vendors. People find DJs all the time by searching through Google, Yahoo, WeddingWire and the many other search outlets available. But rather than simply jumping onto the idea that you should be buying into programs and campaigns that will put you front and centre in those search results, do as Bill Hermann preaches and ask, WHY? Why are people searching online in the first place. Why?

The answer should be pretty obvious: they don’t have a DJ for their wedding. But why don’t they already have a DJ for their wedding? Why don’t they already know of a DJ they can call?  The average couple getting married has generally been to a few weddings right? The answer is hiding (painfully) in plain site.

As a guest at past weddings, the DJ wasn’t worth remembering (or if he was, it was probably for the wrong reasons). Friends who they have spoken with have never been impressed enough by a DJ to provide them with a recommendation. The wedding vendors they have already hired didn’t suggest someone. From within the community organizations, business groups and social circles they belong too, the name of a DJ that is perfect to do business with them hasn’t come up. Kind of sad, isn’t it?

Companies in the “lead generation” business (there is something cold and impersonal I dislike about that terminology) depend on you to NOT utilize the valuable asset of word of mouth to fill your calendar. If the success of every DJ business could rely completely on word of mouth promotion, then every company in the DJ marketing or lead generation business would fail. Because of that, they are required to make you feel insecure, that without them, you can and will never be successful. Please do not fall into this trap and do not believe that garbage.

A colleague recently shared with me that a marketing company wanting to do business with him said he could be the best DJ in the world, but if no one knew about him, being the best wouldn’t really matter. It is a slick sales line that I’m sure has been very, very successful for them. The truth of the matter is, the better and more talented you become, the more in demand you become without any “paid” advertising.  The more in demand you become, the more people talk about you.  The more people talk about you, the less you require 3rd party promotional services. If you were the best DJ in the world, chances are that so many people would be talking about you that you would laugh at such an idea.

The chasm that exists between how much word of mouth marketing might be doing for you now and how much it could be doing might be a lot larger then you realize. In my next post on this topic, I will share the many different methods that I use to leverage word of mouth in my favour so that I don’t need to depend on common advertising methods. I use many different avenues to increase the likelihood that someone will say, “Hey, you should call Dave.”  It is tried and true and has everything to do with how I handle inquiries for dates I am unavailable, to my load out process at the end of a wedding.

What methods do you employ in order to leverage better word of mouth for your company?

Click here to read PART 3.

~ Dave T.

 

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All content is © Dave Ternier but sharing of blog content online (Facebook, chat groups, etc.) is strongly encouraged provided the following two conditions are met: 1) Direct URL to the blog post must be shared and any part of blog quoted must be attributed to Dave Ternier or aDJthought.com and 2) Copying and pasting an entire blog post in it’s entirety is not permissible, but if quoting, please quote no more then 1 – 2 paragraphs.

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Word of Mouth — PART 1

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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All content is © Dave Ternier but sharing of blog content online (Facebook, chat groups, etc.) is strongly encouraged provided the following two conditions are met: 1) Direct URL to the blog post must be shared and any part of blog quoted must be attributed to Dave Ternier or aDJthought.com and 2) Copying and pasting an entire blog post in it’s entirety is not permissible, but if quoting, please quote no more then 1 – 2 paragraphs.

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Quotes from Gary Vaynerchuk

As I sit here reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s latest book  “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook” and his other book titled “The Thank You Economy“, I can’t help but feel these quotes need to be shared.

If you’ve never heard of Gary and you want a pep talk on communicating your message in today’s “social media” world, stop reading this and look him up now (well ok, read this first, THEN look him up!).

From “The Thank You Economy” by Gary Vaynerchuk:

“There’s only so low you can go on price. There’s only so excellent you can make your product or service. There’s only so far you can stretch your marketing budget. Your heart, though—that’s boundless.”

Are your clients going out of their way to tell their friend who just got engaged about the service you offer? Do your past clients look for opportunities to talk non-stop about the quality service they received from you? When you arrive onsite at a wedding do the parents of the bride & groom come up to you and say “We’ve heard so many great things about you! Mike and Tegan are really happy with what you’ve done for them!” The last line in the above quote explains why some DJs get these reactions quite commonly, while others are left wondering what the big deal about their DJ competition is.

“You have to be no less than a customer concierge, doing everything you can to make every one of your customers feel acknowledged, appreciated, and heard. You have to make them feel special . . . and you need to make people who aren’t your customers wish they were.”

When inquiries come in for dates on which you’re no longer available, what is the tone of voice in that of the caller? Are they saying things like “Who else does what you do?” Make every person you come into contact with (past, current & prospective clients especially) feel like a million bucks. Why not? What have you got to lose? No sir, the question should be… what have you got to win? Lots…that’s what.

From “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook” by Gary Vaynerchuk:

“There is no sale without the story; no knockout without the setup.”

Don’t tell people what you do through a “point form” method. Don’t run through a checklist in your head listing off this that and everything else (that all of your competitors likely do too). Share with them your experiences, past, present and future. Do so through story that they can relate to. If you don’t know what they’ll relate to yet, then you haven’t completed your homework. A future post I’ll be writing about Mitch Taylor’s “Sales Is Solutions” workshop will help to shed light on that.

“Content is king, but context is God.”

 

 

In the context of Gary’s book, he’s referring to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, etc and to use them in the appropriate language for which they are built. While content is king when sharing your story online, if shared in the wrong context, it is useless. It will be a waste of your time and those who come across it (people will start to tune you out). I can think of many other examples (outside of social media) that this phrase refers too also though. That’s why it stands out as a favourite for me.

“Social networking sites light up people’s dopamine pathways and the pleasure centers of their brain. Your content must do the same, and it will if it looks the same, sounds the same, and provides the same value and emotional benefits people are seeking when they come to the platform in the first place.”

Make people smile. Make them feel good. Make them laugh. Make them cry. Give them something to talk about. For my company, Special Request Weddings, I’ve done this reasonably well in the past, but these days… I need to work on this part… a lot.

Check out Gary on YouTube as well, so long as you don’t mind his occasional use of “colourful” language. His passion is contagious and he’s been a great inspiration to me. I hope he’s some inspiration to you as well!

~ Dave T.

 


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All content is © Dave Ternier but sharing of blog content online (Facebook, chat groups, etc.) is strongly encouraged provided the following two conditions are met: 1) Direct URL to the blog post must be shared and any part of blog quoted must be attributed to Dave Ternier or aDJthought.com and 2) Copying and pasting an entire blog post in it’s entirety is not permissible, but if quoting, please quote no more then 1 – 2 paragraphs.

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Scott Faver opens the CDJ Show!

With his popular, likeable and well known high energy, Scott Faver opened up the May 2014 edition of the CDJ Show in Calgary, Alberta this morning!

Scott Faver at CDJ Show May 2014

Scott’s presentation “Promotion is not Devotion” spoke at length about methods through which he “promotes” his name and his company. “Promotion” though, as he sees it, isn’t exactly what you might think in this case. Through an unparalleled devotion to his clients, Scott demonstrated how he stays top of mind with not only clients, but past clients, wedding vendors, etc. In order to accomplish this, Scott insists that proper and real relationships must take place before, during and after any event. This translates, when done efficiently, to a service that requires little to no advertising which is what Scott has enjoyed for many years.

As it seems to have been a common thread in materials that I’ve been reading and listening to over the last few weeks, something else Scott also shared really stood out to me, “If you are everything to everyone, you are nothing to all. FOCUS.”

Wes Straub at CDJ Show May 2014

Later that morning, Wes Straub, DJ and Website designer, spoke under the seminar heading “Power up Your Brand and Business”. Wes’s DJ background has taken him all over the map from clubs in North America to across the Atlantic in Ibiza. He also currently works as a user experience, interaction and graphic designer, technical development and project manager for Inspire Studios Inc.

The information and presentation Wes shared on creating an online presence for you and your brand was very well polished and delivered in a manner that was engaging and easily understood for even the most novice marketing individual. When discussing your brand and the idea of taking it online, his approach to that conversation requires answers to 2 very specific things about you and your business. Before you go online… define who your customers are and define who you are. All you’ll do is waste your time and everyone else’s time if you go online before defining both of those things.

I’ll also share 4 rules here that Wes gave us for creating and maintaining meaningful online content:

#1 Less noise, more voice. Be human online and make it count.
#2 It’s for your audience, not the entire world. You know who your audience is right?
#3 Be original, be unique, be inspiring. Create conversation, whether it’s about what you actually do or not.
#4 Audience first, SEO second. Search Engine Optimization is important, but never forget that your content needs to be written for your audience first.

Near the end of his presentation, Wes brought up a topic that I’ve written briefly on before and am very passionate about: How you represent yourself in every public face is your brand. Your brand is everything you do. Your brand is you.

That sums up this write up for the May 2014 edition of the CDJ Show in Calgary. If all goes according to plan, I’ll put together one more write up tomorrow.

Now… to go and find some sleep…

~ Dave T.

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All content is © Dave Ternier but sharing of blog content online (Facebook, chat groups, etc.) is strongly encouraged provided the following two conditions are met: 1) Direct URL to the blog post must be shared and any part of blog quoted must be attributed to Dave Ternier or aDJthought.com and 2) Copying and pasting an entire blog post in it’s entirety is not permissible, but if quoting, please quote no more then 1 – 2 paragraphs.

All content of aDJthought.com may be available for reproduction for commercial purposes (print, website, email newsletter, etc.) but a request must be filed to receive approval for such use. Thanks!