As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression. I did a little internet search for wedding disc jockeys, and randomly found a couple of companies that I don’t know.

Below, I show their logo and a DJ photo from their respective websites. You can click any image to visit their website for more information.

Today’s burning question: Who would you refer? Why? Any other comments or thoughts are most welcome.

DJ Tony T

DJ Walt

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

written by Andy Ebon \\ tags: Andy Ebon, first impression, identity, image, logo, professional photo, referrals, website, wedding disc jockey, wedding marketer, Wedding Marketing Authority

This morning, I received an email from a radio reporter in a major United States market. She had been assigned to do a story on the dynamics of the wedding industry during the challenging context of today’s economic climate.

Her email asked if I could provide her with a couple of wedding industry professionals in her market to be interviewed. She wanted one on the planning side and one on the vendor side.

When I asked her how long she had been reading my blog, she said, “Not until today. I Googled various combinations of terms, such as weddings, recession, marketing, brides… and your site came up. I thought your post titled: What’s Your Recession Package? was particularly enlightening, and decided to email you.”

We chatted a while about what I observed through my direct conversations with wedding professionals. That became a back drop for the wedding professionals I would refer to her.

I got on the phone and contacted two people I know through NACE, at national conferences, over about a 10-year period. Both of them continue to network with me, online, through LinkedIn and Facebook. At least one of them subscribes to this blog, and reads it regularly.

I called them both, and they were thrilled at the possibility of getting some airtime in their local market. By being interviewed, both individuals and their companies would be able to share important information and perspective to the public. And, they would be positioned as industry experts.

Among other things, this is an example of qualified referrals. When I called the reporter back, I confirmed that I had emailed her the contact information on both people, and that they were looking forward to her call. I gave her a little more background on each person, and a couple of questions I thought might be pertinent.

There are several morals to this story.

Right now, I believe referrals are the life blood of business. With the proper foundation being laid, I think it’s likely that my friends will be interviewed, and provide excellent content to the reporter. How that will benefit them is hard to say. The important thing is that, collectively, we made a connection.

Receiving referrals is a wonderful thing. Giving qualified referrals is a very gratifying thing. It’s not unusual that people who give lots of referrals, receive them in return.

So while we are in this collective struggle for survival and prosperity, ask yourself what you can be doing to help other people be successful. It may be the key to your own success.

Your thoughts?

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

written by Andy Ebon \\ tags: publicity, radio interview, recession marketing, referrals, wedding marketing, wedding planner, wedding professionals

This week, I am making several presentations at the Mobile Beat Conference in Las Vegas. Monday, my friend, Jodi Harris (Sight’n'Sound) and I facilitated an all-day symposium for 25 mobile DJ company owners.

About one-third of our time was dedicated to an event planner panel, consisting of a wedding consultant, a senior catering sales manager, and an event specialist from a destination management company.

The purpose of the panel was to get their perspective on hiring and referring DJ entertainers. The presentation and the Q & A was frank and informative.

There was one answer that was precise, in unison, and clear. When asked, “Given the choice, would you prefer a DJ come self-contained or is it OK, in your mind, for the venue to provide a banquet table as needed.”

“Self-contained, self-contained, self-contained.”

It has prompted me to update a post from last April. It received the most traffic and comments of any, this site has received. Let’s play it again.

===

Way back when, in the mid-1970’s, when Scott Foell and I founded Music Man Mobile DJ Service, off-the-shelf casing or consoles were not widely available for mobile disc jockeys. In order to look good, we had to design and construct our own. Having a partner who was an engineering genius didn’t hurt.

Scott designed and built a 1-piece console that he covered in black Formica. It looked stunning. It took a great deal of effort and money, but it was worth it. We always looked good.

Today, Mobile DJ’s can buy from a wide assortment of industrial-style cases, carpeted consoles, and electronic equipment designed to fit in those units. One can buy big or modular, depending on individual needs for venue access, transportation, and size of crew (1 or more people).

In spite of availability of professional, clean looking disc jockey equipment, I am thoroughly amazed and perplexed that many disc jockey entertainment services have an incredibly weak presentation (click on the image to show it larger). Here are some of the deficiencies I see again and again (not necessarily just in this case).

photo supplied by A Dynamite DJ, Richmond, VA

Browsing the internet, I found a couple of photos explain the possibilities quite well. Grundorf, manufactures a hinged-DJ facade that wraps around gear that is not permanently mounted. It magically ‘cleans up the clutter’ to the casual guest.

As well as facades there entire 1-piece consoles, stacked consoles (full width or podium width). Any of those manner of presentation give the DJ a more permanent and polished look. There is no one right answer, as different disc jockeys service different sizes and types of events. Their individual needs, for the local market and their clients will dictate what gear they choose to use, and how it’s organized.

In the photo on the right, DJ Astrid Monroe (Musique Nonstop) shows off a custom white-covered podium-style console. You can see a white speaker in the right side of the photo. The company has beautifully constructed charcoal grey covered booths, and features the ‘white system’ as an upgrade, for an even more elegant presentation.

THIS SYNDROME IS NOT LIMITED TO DJ’s: There are plenty of photographers who need to carry lots of gear, and must keep it in a reception room for security. Yet, many never really address a clean way to stow it, in plain view. Videographers have some of the same challenges. Even vendors who don’t participate in the reception, such as florists and bakers, must deliver and set up in a professional manner.

The 1-piece console featured (lower right) belongs to Alan Franco of DJ Connection. His 1-piece unit displays at a comfortable height, showing the top portion of his laptop computer, and the microphone, well above it, on a gooseneck. It’s really quite an elegant presentation that is going to ’show well’ in any situation.

Moral: It’s not enough to sound good and perform well it you want to earn top dollar and be referred at the highest possible rate. You must look good, too. When the wedding pictures come back and the set up looks like a cobbled together set of roadcases on a banquet table, you are not at your best. Brides and grooms are often oblivious to many things that go on around them at a wedding. That’s no excuse. They will see it in the wedding pictures. Guests and family will see it at the event.

Don’t kid yourself: People do care about how you look. And you’ll never know how many referrals you’ll lose, because you’ll never hear about them.

written by Andy Ebon \\ tags: brides, disc jockey console, DJ console, first impression, grooms, Mobile Beat Conference, referrals