by Stacy Zemon
(Excerpt from The Mobile DJ MBA)
DJ King Kong from New York felt like he was on top of the world as he realized his business had nearly doubled over the past two years. He beat his chest with pride, and gazed lovingly at his booking calendar. Kong knew this was no “happy accident.” This was the result of his preparation, hard work, and persistence as a guerrilla marketer.
Perhaps you’ve heard of “guerrilla marketing” but don’t know what it is. It is actually a loosely defined term that has been used as a descriptor for many types of non-traditional media such as viral marketing, grassroots marketing, and buzz marketing, to name a few.
This primer will assist you in understanding how, if you want to grow your business and be “DJ King Kong” in your market, you must remove the shackles of insecurity and fear and start going ape over guerrilla marketing.
Planning to Succeed
Guerrillas plan backwards, starting with a clear vision of the goal they want to achieve then creating a road map for attaining it. By knowing what must be accomplished and by when, you can shine a spotlight far ahead, illuminating the path upon which you are traveling and the destination to which it leads.
Put your vision into the form of a written plan and share it with your allies, which can include the VIPs in your life with a business background and marketing savvy.
To be highly effective, the plan for your marketing campaign must contain these key elements:
PROFITABILITY: Your advertising should bring in twice as much money as it costs to place (e.g., if you spend $100, you must net $300, or $200 profit). Track your advertising results in order to gauge how well each medium is working and to plan future expenditures.
CLIENT-FOCUSED: It focuses on your clients’ needs and concerns rather than your attributes. Collect and use testimonials from former satisfied clients. Include a headline in your marketing materials that clearly states a benefit to the prospect.
SOLUTION-ORIENTED: It explains how your prospects’ problems can be solved and their fears alleviated by engaging your services.
UNIQUENESS: It creatively and persuasively emphasizes what makes your services different and more desirable than your competitors’. If you don’t already have a distinct USP (unique selling proposition) then create one. Effective advertising includes an irresistible offer your prospects can’t refuse.
LONGEVITY: It motivates people to buy what you’re offering and builds long-term value-based relationships.
Achieving Maximum Results
There are several definitions for guerrilla marketing. This writer’s personal favorite is: “Unconventional marketing intended to get maximum sales results from minimal resources.”
Guerrilla marketers economize by getting the absolute most from any money they’ve invested in marketing. They realize that economizing has nothing to do with cost – and has everything to do with results.
Make the most out of your existing resources before spending your hard-earned dollars elsewhere. The best method of economizing is to market to your past clients. It costs a fraction as much to get a previously happy client to book you for another gig then it does to begin the courtship process witha new prospect.
Also, consider joining local organizations where you can build relationships that lead to referrals. Popular organizations include the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Lion’s Club and Business Network International. There are ethnic and religious organizations, and fraternal societies, as well.
A solidly formed and well-executed marketing plan requires an investment. Stay patient and committed, and don’t abandon your campaign before it has the chance to pay off. Guerrillas know that it takes time for an investment to reap dividends, and instant results are rarely part of the deal.
Budgeting Your Bananas
Your marketing budget should be based on your gross annual or projected gross annual revenue. Multisystem/location operators generally need to spend more money on advertising than single-system operators because they have more jobs to fill.
Devote 5% to 25% of gross sales to your marketing budget, depending on your length of time in business. The longer you are in business, the less money you will need to spend in advertising because your word-of-mouth referrals will grow.
That is, of course, IF you provide stellar service. Obviously, you cannot afford to spend more than you have. As a rule of thumb, avoid spending more than you can easily carry as a monthly payment until the income starts to flow.
You’ll get the maximum return on investment by targeting your advertising messages at the people who are most likely to hire you for your disc jockey services. This is your target market. Whatever methods of advertising you choose, consider them a test. Develop a system for monitoring the results of each medium (cost vs. return).
Each time a potential new client calls, inquire how they heard about your company, and be sure to keep track of the answer in a computer program. Stay with what works best for your company and make alterations accordingly, if an ad or other medium is not providing sufficient return on investment (ROI).
The best measurement of an ad’s effectiveness is whether it brings in enough new business to pay for itself at least twice over. It is important to judge media effectiveness not only by the number of inquiries you receive but also by the cost of obtaining those inquiries.
The Secret to Prosperity
Marketing and sales – not talent – are the keys to unlocking your unlimited earning potential as a DJ business owner.”
You can forget about the forehead advertising and interactive urinal communicator. Guerrillas control the messages that they send. Every time they beat their chest they are communicating a specific and consistent benefit message targeted to their core prospects.
A good look into your mirror ball will reveal whether you are the true guerrilla marketer you’d like to be.
Publisher and Chief Scribe
To her credit, Stacy Zemon has spawned more professional Mobile DJ business owners than anyone in the industry — anywhere!
She is widely considered a leading authority and has become a distinguished leader during the course of her extensive career as a DJ Entertainer.
Stacy is author of the world’s best-selling DJ books: The Mobile DJ Handbook, The DJ Sales & Marketing Handbook and The Mobile DJ MBA, and is a longtime writer for DJ Times magazine.
Her mission is to provide educational resources for DJs that support their professional growth and financial prosperity.
Write to her c/o [email protected] or call 877-442-7170.
For the longer version of Stacy’s story, click here. To learn about Stacy’s business consulting services, click here.
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