Customer satisfaction is a term that is frequently used in marketing as a measurement of how products and services meet or exceed a customer’s expectation.
According to Wikipedia, 71% of marketing managers said they found customer surveys very important and useful in managing and marketing their businesses.
When you survey your clients after evemts, it’s important to listen carefully to what they say; however, be sure to take criticism constructively, not personally.
Case In Point
I recently received a not so stellar review from a bride just moments before I was ready to head out to an event. Initially I did take the review personally ,and it made me feel as if I got kicked in the family jewels.
It was not very truthful and exaggerated the facts.
I thought about writing a dispute of the bride’s claims but decided not to do it because it possibly would have made me look even worse to other brides who read it.
What I know is true about me, is that in my heart of hearts, without a shadow of doubt, I give my very best effort at every event where I perform.
Yes, it was a tough few minutes trying to recover before I walked out the door. But, I’m glad I was able to take a deep breath and change my attitude about the situation.
Turning Lemons Into Lemonade
Instead of letting this review get me down and affect my performance, which would have been unfair to the clients who were paying me good money to perform at my best, I psyched myself up for the New Year’s Eve event and rocked the house. It was the party of the year.
It is the greatest feeling in the world, when you’re at the top of your game. I had a great audience, the dance floor was packed and the crowd responded to everything I played the whole night, it was a major rush. I nailed it and I could not get to sleep until 4:30 AM.
Then to kick off the New Year, I received two more reviews from clients who thought my work was outstanding.
The end of this story is I wound up receiving the Bride’s Choice Award for the fifth consecutive year.
Now I understand to some, receiving awards or recognition from bridal sites or local bridal publications may or may not mean something to you because some may say that publications may be biased particularly if you are an advertiser; however, it does add credibility to your company for future clients.
You see in that particular customer’s point of view, they were not satisfied, because the weather changed and things didn’t go as planned. Naturally I couldn’t control those things but guess who got the brunt of the blame anyway? You got it, me, the DJ Entertainer.
My satisfaction was that when I received that recognition, I sent the client an e-mail of thanks for their review, because without their input, the award would not have been possible without them.
That review, (regardless of how blatantly they fabricated it) actually made me work harder.
Bettering Your Best
Total satisfaction is a goal to strive for because as DJs, it helps us keep our hunger and desire to always do better.
Keep raising the bar, and stay motivated to better your personal best. Like me, always try to make your next event better than the last one. Now go out there and shine!
