Can You Match Their Price?

Can You Match Their Price?

I went to dinner with my wife the other night at Ruth’s Cris.
Steak House. As the waiter was waiting to take our order I
asked if they could price match a with a McDonald’s meal.
Why not? You can order a burger for dinner at both places
and it will fill you up the same right? So why not ask if they
price match?

Before you think I’m nuts, this is not a true story, I would never
ask that question at any restaurant and I don’t think you would
ether. I’m just proving a point.

Why do people go to a restaurants like Ruth’s Cris, stay at
a 5 star resort like the Four Seasons or rent a fancy stretch limo
to go from point A to point B. One reason…A special occasion.
For special occasions consumers choose the best service and
finest quality.
Why don’t we ask The Four Season’s to price match the
Comfort Inn?
Why is flying first class cost more money than flying coach?
The difference is quality and service. There’s no comparison.

Walmart will price match with it’s competitors the exact same
product with the same quantity and brand. Apples to apples.
In this case the cheaper is the better value.

For most brides this may be the first time planning a wedding. It
could also be the first time you’ve ever needed to book a DJ.
Just about any DJ you ask will tell you their most popular question
from a potential bride is “what are your rates?” In most cases looking
for the cheapest price thinking all DJ’s are the same.
If your a DJ that quotes prices up front, you just turned that bride
into a price shopper, while turning  your services into a commodity.

Brides don’t really know what else to ask since this is a first for them.
As a wedding professional you should have a better answer for them
instead of just simply quoting a price.

No two weddings are exactly the same.
Since each bride has different needs, tastes, and wants,
each wedding I perform is different. Every DJ is different too.
If all DJ’s were the same and offered the same service, you would
expect all DJ’s to charge the same price. If not you should ask to
price match.

Brides want the finer things when it comes to their wedding and
will spend hours searching a comparing items i.e. wedding gowns,
flowers, and linens. Then meet with several photographers to
view portfolios, and go through different tastings to find the right
caterer, not to mention the time visiting many different wedding
venues to find the perfect location. They do this because they
want to see what their getting first before they buy, and what
will fit to their style and taste.
A wedding DJ should be no different.

A wedding DJ is a personalized service, each DJ will provide a
different level of talent, experience, quality of service to your
event. DJ’s are not commodities, and they are all very are different
from one another.For these reasons you will see a huge disparity
in pricing.

When searching for wedding entertainment keep in mind the price
you pay will be equivalent to the quality of service you receive.
If you pay above average for a wedding DJ you should expect
great party.
Don’t expect a top tier experienced full time professional to price
match with part-time amateur, and don’t expect that amateur
to give you great quality service.

Not only is a wedding a special occasion but one of the biggest days
of your life. If you want the best for that one special day expect to
pay more. Figure out what your top priorities are and budget more
for them if you want better quality and service.
The general rule is… You get what you pay for.

In this case the cheapest DJ is not the better value.

Mark Sanchez
www.PhoenixDJ.net

 

Do I Really Need An MC For My Reception?

Do You Really Need An MC For A Reception?

I have seen bridal websites where brides can post questions,
and share ideas and experiences. I’ve read some posts where brides
ask if they need an MC for their reception.
Let me just say if you invite over 30 guests to your reception you
need a Master of Ceremonies if you want any kind of direction.

Your wedding is a big production that can take more than a year to
produce and plan like a movie or a TV show. A movie needs a crew of people
including producers, actors and a director. Your wedding, like a movie needs
the same crew of people to make the event successful.
TV shows like “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance” will have a
Master of Ceremonies. The MC is the one that is also directing & guiding the
audience to what’s about to take place, and what’s coming up. Without an MC
how do you know what’s happening or what’s about to happen?

A wedding needs direction, the director of a wedding is the MC. A professional
MC will have the entertainment training and experience to keep your guests
informed throughout the night without taking the focus off the Bride & Groom
(the star of the show).
A wedding MC is there to run the show not be the show. Like a TV show a good
MC can build a connection with his audience and keep them in tune. A bad MC could
make you want to turn the channel, or leave a reception early.

Weddings are unique events with several important formalities & traditions that can
take place. Unlike a birthday party where a DJ can get away with just showing up
and playing any kind of music to the crowd.
Therefore there needs to be a plan (agenda). An MC needs to be involved with the
planning since he will be the one (MC) guiding & directing your guests.

You go out to a movie or turn on the TV to be entertained. Your reception is the
entertainment part of your wedding, where more time and money is spent.
If a Movie or TV show gets bad reviews or ratings they won’t last very long.
If your reception entertainment is poor it won’t last very long ether.
What kind of reviews will your wedding get?
How do you want your wedding day to be remembered?

A good wedding MC will take the time to get to know you and know you well.
By doing so that MC can represent you the way you want to be represented,
by your style and by your expectations. If your wedding MC knows nothing
about you how can he represent you? This is one reason why many wedding
DJ’s get the reputation of being cheesy or goofy because they are not sure
how to act.

Imagine how you may feel in front of a large group of people you don’t
know with most of them looking at you. Now think about having to talk
to them on a microphone.
Now think about how you may feel in front of the same group of
people, but only this time you know a little about the guests and more about
the couple your representing. Representing that couple on the microphone
just became much easier.

Ever seen a Mobile DJ stay behind his DJ booth all night at a wedding?
Wonder why?

Always meet with a few prospective wedding DJ’s first. Make sure they ask
questions about you, get to know you and the style you want to create for
your wedding.

Do you really need an MC for your reception? Absolutely! But what you really
need is a good professional MC that will get to know you and represent you well.

Mark Sanchez
www.PhoenixDJ.net

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Using A Friend DJ Your Wedding?

Using A Friend DJ Your Wedding?… Really?

Having an inexperienced friend to DJ your wedding is like
having a passenger on a plane that has never flown before
fly the plane. Your reception will crash and burn.

In todays economy I see more and more brides cutting back
on their budget by using a friend to DJ their wedding with the
thought of saving hundreds of dollars. However what they don’t
realize is that they are actually losing thousands to save hundreds.

Cheap entertainment is bad period, and when entertainment is bad
guests will not stay for the big crash. Let’s say you budget $15,000
for a 5 hour wedding. Break it down, that’s $3,000 per hour. If your
guests leave just one hour early because the entertainment is poor,
you just lost $3,000.

So I posed this question to other wedding professionals across the
country.

“What would you say to a bride if she is thinking about using a friend
to DJ her wedding?”

Christine Hussey
Director of Sales at The Inn at Longshore

“My professional advice is not to hire friends as vendors. I have seen too many lost friendships follow after the wedding. Hiring a wedding professional is always the route to go, they have the experience and knowledge to ensure that the day unfolds the exact way it is supposed to. Having people work weddings that have no experience tends to stress out the other vendors because they have to “cover” for the person who is not the professional. Experience with scenerios lends itself to anticipating an unknown on the day of and professionals are able to deal with this quickly and efficiently.”

Erin Calvimontes
Owner at Divine Celebrations Event Planners

As a professional planner, I have had this scenario come up many times before and my first question always would be;
“is your friend a professional wedding DJ?” and depending on the answer, if she actually knows, I would educate her on the important of having a professional wedding DJ.
Things can go from good to, bad to, worse, in a matter of minutes with a non-professional DJ who is not trained to “read the crowd”, react to the mood of the guests, switch up music to keep the mood lively, and actually keep the FLOW of the event running smoothly.
Educate her on the fact that a professional DJ is not just an “autopilot” IPOD with a microphone but, an entertainer with years of experience running events, a large library of music to fit everyone through all generations, and comes with a great personality at no additional cost!! LOL
You do get what you pay for!
Good luck!!”

Michelle Groom
at Mele Amore Events

“I hear this all the time and I always ask the same thing … are they experienced in DJ’ing a wedding? And how many weddings have they DJ’ed? Depending on their answer I then say … Wedding DJ’s are a lot different then party / club DJ’s. They are experienced in wedding etiquette, activities and how to get both your grandparents and best friends to enjoy the event together. Club/Party DJ’s may play great music but they struggle with the formalities at a wedding.”

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