Telling The Difference
Go on, look closely…Can you see it?
No?
Ok, let me tell you.
Both of those baked beans come from Tesco’s, out of a can. They both look like baked beans, smell like baked beans, they are, quite simply, baked beans. So are they the same?
NO!
The beans on the left are Tesco Value Baked Beans costing 30p and the beans on the right are Heinz Baked Beans costing 68p.
Now can you tell the difference?
Probably not, but enough of the games, the difference is in the taste, they look the same, orange and beany but they taste so different. Having sampled both varieties I would easily choose the Heinz beans every time but for someone who just wants beans and doesn’t care what they taste like, as long as they look like baked beans then the 30p can will do just fine.
So what has this got to do with disco’s???
Substitute both of those pictures for pictures of a mobile disco. They both might look the same, speakers, lights, maybe a star cloth on the front to hide the wires, a DJ…it’s a disco. The problem is one costs £150.00 and the other £450.00. So how do you spot the difference? And more importantly, should it matter to you?
You see, the look might be the same but there might be loads of differences you can’t see. For example, one of those DJ’s will more than likely have professional insurance, pay tax on their earnings, buy music legally and keep their equipment (and backup equipment) properly maintained and tested for safety. He or She might also be a member of the various trade bodies that help and support professional DJ’s, they even might have another vehicle they use solely for their business. The other DJ may, or may not have and do all of the above. So how do you tell the difference? Do you just go off the price? No. We are conditioned from a very early age to understand that “you get what you pay for” – but it’s not always true. I’ve seen DJs out there charging professional rates and providing a fantastic level of service. I’ve also seen DJs out there charging the same rates for that “great 30p taste”.
You are entrusting the evening entertainment on one of the most important days of your life to someone you probably haven’t met before. It is importantly you find the right DJ, someone you can learn to trust who will deliver everything you ask them to on the day, without question or fuss.
You need to understand that whilst equipment is important, it’s not as important as you think. Look at the baked beans example above, 30p beans look exactly the same as 68p beans but that is where the similarities end. What’s important is what you can’t see. A DJ can have the best equipment in the world, he can buy “the look” very easily, and cheaply but the one thing he or she cannot buy is…
Experience
Experience is everything, if you want to entrust the biggest, most emotional day of your life to someone with very little or even NO experience in providing quality entertainment on your wedding day then that is shocking. I don’t believe for one minute that there is a Bride and Groom out there who would put so little “experience” value on any aspect of their big day, not just the disco.
Would you hire a photographer with no wedding experience to take pictures on your wedding day?
Would you hire a baker with no experience in making exceptional, unique wedding cakes for your wedding day?
Would you hire a stationer with very little experience in creating exquisite invitation cards for your wedding day?
Selling the invisible
The problem DJs have is that we are trying to sell the invisible. What we (i.e. Mobile DJs) are offering has no value at all until it’s been delivered, same as a photographer. He or She could show you hundreds of photo’s of past weddings and have the latest Nikon or Canon SLR, but if they don’t deliver on the day then all you’re left with is a load of naff photo’s.
Look beyond what you CAN see and investigate what you CAN’T SEE, there lies the hidden value