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| Marketing for Wedding DJs Part 3
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Marketing our products (DJ gear, lights and music libraries) instead of our services (planning, event direction, master of ceremonies, disc jockey & quality referrals) has been the number one reason why our clients tend to treat us as commodities rather than as personalized entertainment service providers.
Recognizing the real differences between marketing a service and marketing a product is the 1st of 6 keys for creating service focused marketing. To diagnose a health problem, you must first know the difference between signs of health and symptoms of disease.
It is my firm belief that our industry has been suffering from a disease called product focused marketing. The cure will be found in creating a healthy dose of service focused marketing.
In his ground-breaking book, "Selling the Invisible", author Harry Beckwith states, "…services are not products, and service marketing is not product marketing." *
Below is an example. Have you ever seen Building Contractors marketing themselves like this?
We can easily recognize the humour in this ad, but the unfortunate reality is that a majority of Mobile DJs have been marketing themselves in this same way for years. I have seen countless photos of DJs with their full gear set-ups, or with their trailer covered with signage and surrounded with gear and their team of DJs in tuxes or, my personal favourite, holding the microphone as if they were singing or making an important announcement. It's as if they are telling their customers, "We can make your party great, 'cause we've got tools!"
When Wedding DJs market themselves by displaying their gear, they are telling their clients that the gear is what's important. This causes prospective clients to be trained to shop for the best gear at the lowest price.
So why is this style of marketing so prevalent in our industry? Because most Mobile DJs are following the example of "Bill & Ted's" as we described in the second article of this series. They are trying to copy or improve upon the marketing they have seen displayed by other Mobile DJs.
If you are unsure whether you have a product or service focus, here's an easy way to find out. Think of the most recent time you encountered another DJ at an event. If you immediately sized up his gear and determined that he must be a lame DJ, then you are probably product focused. If you waited to see if his performance contained anything creative that you could learn from, then you are probably service focused.
If you discover that you are product focused, please understand that it's really not your fault. We have been teaching ourselves to think, act and market this way for years. There are even "experts" that are actively teaching the general public to be product focused as they shop for a Wedding DJ.
Written By Peter Merry |
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The full article can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 13, Pages 44 - 46 |
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Copyright EJ Media 2003 - 2010
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