The Clever DJ
Meet the dynamic duo discussing everything DJ related. Diverse perspectives from a Novice and a Pro.
The Clever DJ
This Is Why You MUST Follow Up With Your Clients - Ep #39
What if following up with clients could transform your DJ career? Dive into this episode of The Clever DJ, where I reveal the secrets to building rock-solid client relationships and securing repeat bookings. From my own journey as a DJ rookie to becoming a seasoned pro, I share invaluable insights on how consistent and effective follow-ups can set you apart in the competitive DJ industry.
Ever wondered how to turn a one-time gig into a steady stream of referrals? Discover practical strategies for gathering client feedback, showing professionalism, and maintaining reliability that can lead to long-term relationships. We’ll also explore the power of creating a referral network, offering incentives for word-of-mouth marketing, and the importance of timely follow-ups within 48 hours post-event. Learn how demonstrating genuine care for your clients' needs can manage expectations and cement your reputation.
As an added bonus, get ready to enhance your post-event client interactions with actionable tips on addressing issues and providing additional services. Hear about my experiences with new production equipment like the OBS Bot Meet 2 camera, and how such tools have upgraded the quality of my content. Whether it’s sending personalized playlists or encouraging photo reviews, these small touches can make a significant impact on your DJ business. Tune in and discover how to elevate your client follow-up game to new heights!
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Today's episode is about following up with your clients. Following up with your clients, it's an extremely important thing to do, whether it's before the event, during the event, after the event. We're gonna get into all of those points. Welcome back to another episode of the Clever DJ. A quick intro about the podcast before I begin.
Ilia:My name is Ilya and I've been a DJ for just about three years now, and this podcast is here to capture my journey from absolute beginner to pro. We are on episode 39 now, I believe, and I had to change a little bit of the production. As you may know, if you've been here before, this used to be a podcast with two people. There was a co-host. Now he had to leave for personal reasons. He may be back in the people. There was a co-host Now he had to leave for personal reasons. He may be back in the future, maybe not, we'll see.
Ilia:But I had to make some decisions about the production, the lighting, the camera. I have this tablet here now, so if my phone is not around, it's incredible, I can just use that and it's just. It's way more convenient. And I got an amazing camera If anyone needs a webcam or something for their gigs or just just a camera for podcasting, whatever it is for streaming, for podcasting, whatever it is for streaming. It's good for everything. I just got the OBS Bot Meet 2. It came out very recently and it's not expensive. It's like $130 US dollars, $180 Canadian dollars Incredible. The list of features that you have, all the things you can do and the quality 4K and great sensor, great lens, like it's just an amazing camera. And it's this small, it's tiny, it's like two of my thumbs, not even from the start, from the middle. So, yeah, this is just here. I'm here to capture my journey.
Ilia:I started just about two to three years ago. It's hard to say exactly when because, honestly, the first time I got a controller was, I think, 2015 or 2016. And then I played around with it. I didn't get what I was doing, I left it. Then I met someone. He showed me a few things. I left it again, met someone showed me a few things. I left it again and, uh, at some point I was bartending and, um, I was working at a venue. Uh, a few venues. And then, and one of them, I met a DJ and I told him listen, I also, I'm also a music producer and, um, if you will agree to let me shadow you and you show me, teach me how to DJ properly, cause I I got back into it, I'm starting to kind of get it, but I need someone to really speed this up for me so I can start doing gigs. Right, I will intern, I will provide whatever I can as a music producer for your business. We became friends, we discovered I have pretty good photography and videography skills as well.
Ilia:I leveled up his social media game, pr skills and all that stuff and all of that came in, came together like a package for my own business, for my own DJing career, and from practicing at home, here and there, to getting a few gigs, to getting some consistent gigs. I just for the first time and if you were here before, you know I've never done it before For the first time I did my own from start to finish my own wedding gig. So, yeah, I'll, I'll need some applause, um, so what happened? Was I? Um, I, I took this podcast, took a lot of my time and, um, I started gigging less and I was learning about um, just like I, I got really interested in podcasting and, uh, you know, teaching others.
Ilia:Uh, what I know? Uh, I do have a couple of students. Uh, at this point I'm teaching absolute beginners, people who never ever touched a controller, and it's for me, it's really easy to teach them. I find that I'm I'm a pretty decent teacher. They're learning quick, quickly, and they're loving it. Uh, and it's great because when you teach someone and they respect you and you appreciate how they learn, you can add them to your team. So now I have two people who I can trust to bring to gigs with me, especially when they get to a certain level where they can do things on their own, and I can send them to separate gigs to get even more money and more exposure for my company. Right, and that's what's amazing about teaching someone. Sometimes you can charge them because they're coming in as students. Sometimes it's totally free because they're coming in just to learn the skill.
Ilia:I am really against keeping someone for too long for free. At some point, if you're starting to get value from them, you got to pay them. It sucks to lose another 100, 200, 300 bucks technically, but remember how it was before you got an assistant, how much you're benefiting and how much they're leveling up your game with all of their help, and you know their company and everything. And you know you got to pay them and also, if you were in their shoes, you probably would want to get paid. So for me it's really personal, because I've been on either side and only later I understood that you know, like, maybe I should have gotten paid, uh, at some point, right, uh, but again, different people will will treat the situation differently and if, if you're finding that you're benefiting from something, stay. If not, leave, but don't burn any bridges. That is definitely something you need to remember. Uh, in business, set your ego aside as much as you can. If you can't, if it's something that you just have to deal with, okay, it's a one-off. But trying to start wars with anyone unless you, really, unless you can finish them and be the one who wins? But I kind of started rambling. I almost lost my train of thought there.
Ilia:What I believe, what I was going to say, is that I really started focusing on the podcast and less on actually gigging. And you know I did different gigs. I did birthdays, I did different kinds of birthdays. You know I did house parties. I did, you know, like certain things in venues as well, but never a wedding. I was absolutely terrified of the idea of me doing a wedding by myself or even helping someone. Now, this was a simpler wedding, still had all the aspects of a regular wedding, but they were trying to save some money. They were more modest, they weren't on my case with everything, but it made it easier for me to be the best version of myself and not be nervous, and I prepared as much as possible. I'll tell you something about preparing for this wedding.
Ilia:So the first one was actually my second client for weddings, the first client that's coming up in October. Um, so what happened was I got my first client. I was really happy. I have like a month. I'm good, uh, and then, um, then I get, I get a message and I only see it a day later, like 24 hours later, and I'm like they need to. They need a DJ for Saturday, like this. So it is Saturday, and then they need a DJ for next Saturday, for September, the 21st. Um and uh, I'm like, can I do it? And I'm, and I'm with my friends and I'm I'm like almost like jumping off my seat. I'm like, can I do it? It's a second client. Do I say yes to this? Like I need to really make sure that I'm acting correctly here and I'm like, yeah, I can do it, I'll figure it out, I can do this and I respond. I think they didn't want to call first. They kind of want to kind of feel it out with with a chat later I understood why they did that, um, and explained everything.
Ilia:I was actually really strict about things. I was like you know what? Do you want me there a week from now less than a week from now, technically, because I'm I was not even home. So sunday was going to be the first day I was going to start preparing. Really. Then you're going to have to pay some sort of premium. So I charged the first couple a decent fee, almost as much as a professional DJ would charge, and on a platform where usually you can only charge up up to half of that. So that was. That went really well.
Ilia:And then I charged these guys a tiny bit more. A tiny bit more because I felt for them. I didn't know if they're going to get their deposit back. Uh, they're never going to go with a DJ again, cause apparently they. I asked them did your DJ bail on you? And they said yeah, so I'm kind of fast forwarding. That's after they already wanted to make a uh set an appointment, set a meeting on zoom, and their DJ double booked. And again, I don't know if I'll ever be in that situation I don't think I will, because I'm extremely like, organized with this kind of stuff but, um, he double booked and he said, apparently you know, I'll send someone else and then I'll I'll switch. And I heard about this kind of stuff and, uh, people who mentored me, showed me how to DJ and took me to gigs with them. They did that too right. So some people really don't like that though. So they backed away from the deal and they seemed like really nice people, and I'm very you already know that about me if you've watched some episodes Very spiritual, very trying to help everyone, and I just find that it really really like what goes around comes around, and more often than not, I benefit from it in one way or another, like, for example, one time I fixed someone's computer an old lady and the old lady was going to get her money and said, well, how much would it be?
Ilia:And, um, cause, I told her like approximately 300 bucks for what she said. But then it was such a simple fix. It was just she didn't know what she was doing and she just it was as simple as as um, something not plugged in, but not exactly that. Something not plugged in, but not exactly that. So I I told her you know what this one's on the house, but the only thing I'll ask you for is to call me when you actually have a real issue, because that's not a real issue. I got three more calls from her and I got paid nicely and I got paid with a tip and tea and cookies and everything. That's just one way that I benefited from something like that. So I just find it that being nice is generally something that's really going to help you. So I give them a good price too, but definitely not cheap, not the way I used to price things before. And that's really what I'm getting at.
Ilia:And I'm sorry I'm kind of rambling here. It's just so much has happened in the last few weeks and I'm really trying to put it together in my head. I actually, for the last few episodes, I was reading off a script. I was trying to kind of get used to being on this podcast on my own and now I'm just chatting with you guys. So you know I'm trying to not forget my train of thought.
Ilia:So what happened was I didn't gig for a long time and then the first thing I get is a wedding. Once I started like advertising myself again and stuff on on on our uh, on one of our most like known platforms that I mentioned in the past. Um, I get, I get a wedding and then I get another one with like five or six days to prepare and, by the way, when they messaged me back, it was like five or four days like away from the wedding because she never messaged me back after my message. It took her like two days to get back to me and then another day to like actually have an appointment, like a meeting or a few more hours, like half a day. So, yeah, I went back into the world of gigging.
Ilia:It was hard. It was hard to switch from doing this to that. I was kind of thinking, you know, like I'll get it, I'll get back back to it when, when the time is right, like right now, I'm doing this. But I knew that like, hey, summer's almost over, summer's pretty much over in the us it'sa little longer because everyone goes back to school a bit later in September. Um, but um, I was like, if I, if I'm going to get any, any, any gigs this year, I need to start again now. So, yeah, that's uh, like I honestly don't remember. I had to cut, cut, cut earlier because I totally forgot what I was talking about.
Ilia:But then I kind of got back to what it was and I'm just I'm exhausted this weekend because it took everything out of me to be prepared for this gig. And guess what? They were absolutely grateful and satisfied and it just it went so well and I'm not nervous at all for my next DJ gig, my next wedding gig, because it went extremely well and I've done so much in one week, or less than a week, that it really elevated my game and showed me just how much I'm like, how much I'm capable of like, how much I'm capable to like of achieving in such a short, in such a short period of time. So, yeah, I'm just absolutely exhausted. This weekend there were other responsibilities I had to tend to and that's just the DJ life, right, I mean. For for those of you who are just like me and not doing it full time yet, you have a lot of other responsibilities.
Ilia:So today's episode is about following up with your clients. Following up with your clients. It's extremely important and it proved to be important in any business I was a part of, and I have a list of points that I wrote down here and some honorable mentions towards the end, because I like doing that. You can't really put everything in one list. So number one is building strong relationships. Following up shows that you care about your clients beyond the initial booking. It helps you build long-term relationships which can lead to repeat bookings or referrals. A simple check-in after an event shows appreciation for their business, creating a positive, positive, lasting impression.
Ilia:So it's honestly important to follow up with your clients before, during and after, so communicate with them all the time Now, don't drive them crazy, but make sure to find a good time to follow up with them before, during and after. So before would be to set expectations and to make sure you're on the same page. During, make sure that everything is going according to the plan and they're happy, because you don't want something to snowball and then after, which is really what. Following up is what I meant in the beginning. That's how this episode started. I was thinking you know what. This is really important. Let me talk about it. But at the end, the event is over. You'll go up to them and you'll make sure they're happy and everything went well. But after the event and I'll tell you later when it's important to follow up with them as well, and it's again all about building a strong relationship with your clients.
Ilia:Number two is ensuring client satisfaction. Follow-up allows you to gather feedback, ask clients questions like was the music selection what you hoped for or is there anything we could have done differently? It shows that you're committed to delivering the best service and resolving any issues post-event helps maintain a strong relationship, even if things didn't go perfectly and, by the way, I had a couple moments in my gig where, you know, things could have gone better, but because of the way we communicated, they were extremely happy and they didn't even notice certain things that I noticed. Obviously and that happens a lot you think, oh, they're going to notice it for sure, and even if they did, they may not care as much as you do. But again, depends what it is. Number three professionalism and reliability. Regular communication shows professionalism and reliability. Regular communication shows professionalism. It reassures the client that you're organized, reliable and invested in their event.
Ilia:Now take me personally. If somebody works for me or with me, I'm not difficult to deal with. As long as you follow what I asked you from the start and why I'm paying you, I'm not going to expect anything more out of the ordinary. I tell you from the start this is why I'm hiring you and these are mistakes I'm willing to let go, and these are things that you cannot do. Can you take the job? And it's important to me to know that the person that I hired is invested in my event, in my cause and what I'm doing. So you should feel the same way.
Ilia:When somebody is hiring you, whatever they're doing is likely a very important event, um, and even if it's not very important, even if it's not a wedding or something very important, um, and it's just like a party or something, it's still important to them. So you need to show that you actually care, um, and you care and you really should care, not just act like you do. And timely follow-ups, like confirming details before the event, reduce the risk of miscommunication and help manage expectations on both sides. It's very important. Number four it's very important. Number four opportunities for future gigs.
Ilia:When you follow up after a successful event, you can subtly position yourself for future gigs, mention upcoming events or your availability for other types of parties, which I did, and it actually worked very well in my favor, and clients who feel valued are more likely to recommend you to others or hire you again. And that's what I was going to say. It was pretty funny. He said the groom said I'm not planning to get married again and I laughed and said I hope you don't. I hope you guys stay together. We laughed it out, but he said if anyone else is getting married, I'll definitely recommend you. And I said hey, I do all kinds of events, not just weddings. He's like yeah, anything, anything, we have your information. And we spoke a few more times before they left. They were definitely a very nice couple, very nice family. Both sides were just amazing. It was just such a pleasure working with them, celebrating with them, and I mean, why shoot yourself in the foot? Speak to them.
Ilia:Number five creating a referral network. Ask satisfied clients if they know of anyone else who might need a dj. So we're kind of tying it into the other point. This can naturally extend your network and generate leads. Offer a small incentive for referrals, such as a discount for future events which encourages word of mouth marketing. It's just, it's like a beautiful recipe, all these things that I'm telling you right now, if you actually do it and again, you may not be a natural at first. You know it's easier for me to talk to people than the next person. I just that's one of my skills. I just that's one of my skills, uh, but um, it's just. Even even on this podcast, like even though I'm good at public speaking and just coming up with stuff on the spot, this was hard for me. This was something new, this was something that I was nervous about, but I was like you know what I want to do this. So I did it and I learned, I got better and I'm still obviously improving and same with what you're doing. Your business requires you to do this if you want to get somewhere. If you want to get somewhere, you know, like you want, you don't want to just remain small. You want to actually evolve and expand.
Ilia:Number six collecting testimonials and reviews. After a successful event. Ask clients for testimonials or reviews. Positive feedback on your website or social media can help attract new clients. That's extremely important because most of the times when I get new clients, they're asking hey, can you show us some reviews or some validity to what you're saying right, you're saying you're a good DJ, you're saying you can do this, this, this and that, but can we see some videos, some reviews? So make sure you actually have something prepared right. Set up a camera, make sure they're okay with it. If they're not totally okay with it, ask them if you could tell them you need to take some promotional material. So far, nobody has ever told me no, and it's actually going to work in their favor in the end too, which I'll get to that. But make sure that you actually have a footprint online with previous clients and whether it's reviews, videos make sure you do that. And if you don't collect those reviews, then it kind of seems like you've never really DJed to them, sometimes because they're like, okay, well, you only have three reviews, but you've been a DJ for what? 10 years? Are you sure you've been doing this for 10 years? You may not get a chance to prove it to them with your skills right, and you can even create a short follow-up email template requesting a quick review, making it easy for clients to share their thoughts, posting a quick review, making it easy for clients to share their thoughts.
Ilia:And that's not how I do it, but maybe I will in the future, and that's something I saw online and I thought I'll write it down, and you know it was for another business, but it actually works really well for this one as well. It's the general thing you should be doing. What I do is this so I'll walk up to the client and I'll say, hey, how, how did everything go? You know, oh, like time flew by, whatever small talk, and how did everything go? Is there anything you'd like you'd like to tell me? I, I hope you enjoyed everything, but please, please, honestly, tell me if there's anything I could have done better.
Ilia:And then, uh, they'll say, oh, you know what? Everything was perfect, except the music was a bit loud for half the night, a bit too loud. We couldn't hear each other speak. But if you're on the dance floor, that was good. But for those who weren't on the dance floor, just wanted to speak, it was really hard for them to hear each other. They had to step outside, um, and then you know you could say something to save yourself, kind of not really blame someone, but everything is your own responsibility. But you can say hey, it was quieter earlier. You're right, and I did change that because I got several people walking up to me telling me it's too quiet. You know what? I should have checked with you. So really, here you're, showing that you were doing that to make it better for the guests, but you kind of maybe dropped the ball a little bit.
Ilia:You should have spoke to them, asked them or maybe follow up, like actually go and double check, right? Hey, I just raised the volume, like what do you think? And go, stand there and listen. Every once in a while you should go and check out, you know the audio and see, and go stand there and listen, right, every once in a while you should go and check out you know the audio and see how it sounds to others, right, because unless you have a monitor, it's really hard to tell how it sounds. And then also the monitors, usually a small speaker, the two big speakers or however many you have, are pointed at a crowd and they're in front of you usually or to the side. So, yeah, it's extremely important to speak to them and double check that you actually are on the same page.
Ilia:So, after you ask them that and they give you an answer, you can then say something like this so, first of all, if you didn't like their answer and they really didn't like the way that you DJed or whatever. They had too many complaints. Don't bring up a review. You don't want them on that page. But if you think that they're going to give you a good review and there's no way to know for sure, but if you think they're going to give you a good review, you can then bring it up. You can then say something. So I kind of feel it out Okay, they're generally happy, or like they're extremely happy. They have one point that they mentioned that was like just because they wanted to say it and I'll say that's awesome, I'm so happy that this is how you feel, and I may not say anything about a review, but then I'll say, hey, I will follow up with you guys after the event, just so you know. If that's okay with you, I say, yeah, sure, but I don't tell them exactly when, and that's because I want to create some suspense and I want to show them that I care to follow up right after the event. So a day later I'll leave them alone for maybe one day and I'll follow up the next day, or maybe it'll be the day after the wedding.
Ilia:It depends on how late we finished and how tired everyone is and what their plans are. Sometimes you know what they're doing. Some of them are going to like an after party at a hotel, or they're staying up all night, so, and then I'll speak to them about the review on that phone call or email or whatever. Right, usually it's a phone call, it's an email than a phone call. Um, so I, I, I, I subtly follow up by sending an email first, given, you know, giving them a moment to kind of respond to it. Give them, like a few hours. If they don't respond to it, I will give them a phone call If they respond to it, but our phone call is still recommended based on the situation. I'll call them anyway, right, and that's how I ensure good client relationships.
Ilia:What I could also say is, if they're really happy and sometimes they'll offer it themselves they'll say, hey, yeah, we loved it. And, by the way, do you need a review? We'll, we'll review, we'll, we'll give you a five-star review. It's a no brainer. Say, yes, here's my website or here's where you're going to review it. Or, hey, I'm going to send you once I get home, when you have a moment tomorrow, on next weekend, whenever you can. I'll be really happy if you leave me a review. I even told them hey, if you don't mind, add a photo. I really liked that photo we took together and that's why every event I take a photo with a client if it's appropriate. So far it's been always appropriate. We did a photo booth photo shoot and then we did like a with a cell phone and then the photographer also took a few photos of us. So I sent them all those photos in an email and I said you know, like I have some amazing reviews on my website and I'd love I'd love it if you added another, another review for me. So that's another way of me saying hey, can you give me a five-star review without saying? Can you give me a five-star review without saying can you give me a five-star review? I think this is golden advice for anyone who doesn't know how to approach the situation.
Ilia:So, number seven uh, closing the loop, a follow-up after the event uh, completes the client journey. Uh, it's a professional way to thank them for their business, ask for feedback and remind them that you're ready for the next event. And that's really what we just spoke about. But I kind of wanted to to explain that this is. This is where the last stop is for me. Me, like I said, I still will, you know, do like a kind of an intricate follow-up. I ease them into it. So an email, and it's important what you write in the email I gave you a few examples and then a phone call, almost always, if necessary, or a text or something. In my case, they always won't talk and I never forced them into it or make them feel uncomfortable. Obviously, if it makes no sense, it makes no sense. You don't do that, but in my case it's always been welcomed. So that's it for those seven pointers, from start to finish, from building strong relationships to closing the loop, and now for some honorable mentions.
Ilia:I just want to get into a bit of detail. So a personalized touch, that's number one. Number one is a personalized touch. Personalizing your follow-up can make a huge difference. Mention specific moments from the event, like a special song request or a unique interaction to show you were fully engaged and attentive. This level of attention can turn one-time clients into repeat customers who feel a personal connection with your brand.
Ilia:Now, I kind of touched on that earlier. That's why I said I'll talk about later about a few of these points, because they all come up here in the honorable mentions. That's the extra that I like to add up. Add on the email I sent them had some information about the event, some, you know, like how I feel, how they feel things. That happened, right, and it's a very short email but, like, I found the right wording. You know, a few paragraphs, very short paragraphs, right, easy for them to read, instead of one chunk of text and it's all there. It's elegant, right, the delivery is just perfect and it shows them that even after the event is done, it's such a pleasant experience dealing with me, right. That's what I'm trying. I'm hoping that's how they feel, right, and, like I said, this level of attention can turn one-time clients into repeat customers because they felt a connection with your brand. They felt, wow, nobody's ever done this to us or with us. This is such a different experience and that's how I feel.
Ilia:When somebody gives me that experience with their booth, wherever we go, or someone we hired, right away I reach into my pocket for a tip and I say, yeah, you know, like I'll, I'll see you again in the future. Definitely we will. We will be speaking again because I mean, why not? Like, I found the person I'm going to hire for all my events or all my needs, for the whatever that was, um. So have a personalized touch. Don't just act like a robot with everyone. Do what everyone does. Do like.
Ilia:Remember, remember certain parts about your clients, certain things about your client. Remember funny things that happened. For example, I'll give you an example. I bumped my laptop and the song cut off like the, the USB like just like kind of disconnected, and it was a slow song, it was all of me and it was crazy. I'm like, at that moment, like I felt my head heating, heating up like, like, like it was like a thousand degrees Cause I was so nervous, like out of nowhere, like I was so happy running towards the laptop to do something. Somebody requested something, and I do that.
Ilia:Sometimes I walk to the dance floor or like aside to the table If I see that they're like they want to talk to me, but they don't know how to approach me. Like you always have to communicate with them, you always have to look at the crowd. It depends on the event too, but in this one it made sense and it was really cool because everyone started singing, like at a show. You know where something happens to the mic and you can't hear the singer. Everyone, like at a show, you know where something happens to the mic and you can't hear the singer everyone started singing. It was absolute. I'm happy it happened. It was such a nice moment and everyone loved it.
Ilia:And then, you know, I fixed it and I restarted the song from that chorus not from the very beginning, but from the chorus and, like you know, I faded into it and it was just beautiful and it made things better, and that's you need to know how to fix those kinds of things. And I don't even know how. I knew that. It just it was instinct. So, yeah, sometimes I'm like maybe I'm not as much of a beginner as I used to believe, because it has been a few years after all, right, a couple of years. And why I say two to three years, like just under three years? Because I took breaks. I why I say two to three years like just under three years? Because I took breaks. I took breaks. I didn't practice in the very beginning almost at all. So you know, that's why when you ask someone, oh, how long have you been singing for, how long have you been playing guitar? For People kind of like stop sometimes and they don't know what to answer, because they bought a guitar like 15 years ago and then they messed around with it for a couple of years and then they left it and they came back to it so and then like at some point I just stopped being a beginner, right it just it's just funny how that happens. So have those moments kind of noted down and you can mention it. So I mentioned it and I know they're going to have a good laugh and it's going to kind of create that personal feeling with them, without me even being in the room, wherever they are reading that email or I'll say it on the phone or something. So that's just one example, like a real example. I mean it just happened like 24 hours ago.
Ilia:Number two timing is everything. The timing of your follow-up matters. That's what I was saying. I'll talk to you later about this because it's coming up. So the timing of your follow-up matters. A quick follow-up the day after the event shows that it's priority for you. It's a priority for you, but not rushing. It gives the client time to decompress and reflect on the experience. So go ahead and follow up right after the event, a day after, if it makes sense. You know, like I said, they might be up very late and maybe you should give them an extra day, but within 48 hours you should definitely follow up. If you're not sure if you should call, text them, text them the next day and then call them the day after that. But feel it out, some people might, might take it as you know you're being too much. So it depends on, again, you should know your client and uh, so that's really important.
Ilia:And for longer term follow-ups, weeks or months later, it can be as simple as a checking in message to stay on their radar without being intrusive, because, again, you have their phone number, you have their email, doesn't mean that you're their best friend now and now. You should be messaging them every holiday. So I make it a habit to message my clients once or twice a year and that's enough, like twice is more than enough. I have two clients who I message maybe four or five times a year because we're very, very close and I'm checking in like hey, is this happening? Like just hey, just letting you know I'm getting really like booked for this month, just letting you know if this is happening. I need to know soon, right? So again and that shows them how, like wow, he remembers that that's that's when his birthday is, or that's when this is happening, or that's when we go on vacation, you know, and he may be free around that time, but we may not be like, I just know their schedule, I know everything about them that I need to know in order to give them a good service, and it's important to do that because they'll remember you and they'll give you more work, and it's really awesome where you can get more work from the same person. You already have a rapport with them and it's easy. You know them and you know what they like and it's just honestly like it does not require as much work as it would if it was a new client. Right, repeat clients are usually way, way more fun and easier to work with because you already have a relationship and a set of standards and expectations.
Ilia:Number three offering additional services. When following up, it's a great time to mention other services you offer, like lighting, emceeing or sound system rentals. If they had a good experience with your DJing, they might consider you for their next event full package. So remember how I told you when the groom said oh, if there's any other weddings, I'll let you know. And I told him oh okay, well, I do other parties too and they already know about all of my other stuff, because I told them what I do and I told them like kind of gear I have for different events and kind of packages I have and everything. But again, if it didn't come up yet, then do it later and if you have nothing else to talk about, then at least mention that. So this is especially useful. This is especially useful if your client is hosting multiple events like weddings, corporate parties or holiday celebrations. One of my clients actually was. He said that hey, my company requires a DJ twice a year and that was a birthday for his girlfriend, that I was DJing at a bar. But out of that gig I got a couple other gigs. So I got one corporate event for his company and then I got another private event for him but like for his family members, someone else in his family. So it's definitely useful to do that.
Ilia:Number four client loyalty programs. That's something I like to do. A follow-up can be an opportunity to introduce a client loyalty program. Offering a discount or special package deal for repeat clients can create a sense of exclusivity and drive loyalty, highlighting that they are a valued customer through such programs, can lead to ongoing business online. That shows you that, hey, if you help our business, we'll help you know, we'll pay you or we'll give you certain like special, you know offers. You need to do that too. So if you're going to get them working for you, technically bringing you business, you got to find a way to match what they're doing for you. So if you know that money is tight for that family, offer them a serious discount for the next event. Because here's the thing Sure, you're discounting 10%, 15%, which is quite a bit, but at the same time you're getting an extra $1,000, $2,000, $3,000.
Ilia:And then, likely, now that another member in that family or a group of friends hired you and now they're seeing you again, likely someone else will and someone else will and someone else will, and it happens Now. It didn't happen to me personally yet, but I've seen it happen to some bigger DJs, people who've been doing it for more years and stuff like that. People who've been doing it for more years and stuff like that. I just didn't have that client yet who it just like snowballed into, like so many people from that same family or friends I had, like I said, the one that had a corporate also, and then another family member, but then that's kind of that's kind of where it ended, right, and from time to time we still chat and, and you know, he knows I'm there and the other one who hired me knows I'm there too. But it can really become something consistent with time.
Ilia:Now staying memorable. Number five staying memorable Very important. Send something memorable along with your follow-up, like a custom playlist from the event or a short recap video with highlights from the night. This is not only to keep you in the client's mind, but also creates a sentimental connection. It's a way to offer more than just DJ services. It adds an extra layer of value to their event experience. So that ties into what I said earlier, with a personalized touch. Like I said, I told you I send them photos of us together, right, so I'm kind of like putting it all together elegantly. But I also and what I said earlier, earlier that I'm going to mention why the video is actually good for them too.
Ilia:Some clients don't have a videographer, sometimes don't even have a photographer. They, the family's taking videos and photos for them and, um, I'll never get it like, unless it's just a serious money issue. I'll never get how, like, at least hire someone like friend or someone like you know or have, have them make that your wedding gift for you. Get them a hundred dollar gimbal or something and tell them, hey, like, try to get as nice footage as possible, right, and like you'll be doing that the whole wedding. Um, I don't know something, right, just get, get your memory, get your memories. Like, get them, get them on footage, get footage for your memories. Like, get them on footage, get footage for your memories.
Ilia:Now, what I do is I tell them hey, you said you were okay with me recording your entire event. So the way it's recorded is behind my shoulder it's really showing me and then showing the entire dance floor and a bit around the dance floor. But, um, I can, I can share highlights from that for you. Uh, because it's it's a pretty, it's a pretty cool uh video to have, right, um, and then on top of that, I between tracks and um, you know, especially if I have an assistant with me, I'll take videos and photos and stuff like that. And they're very nice, it's a nice camera, it turns out really nice. So I'll spend some time, I'll maybe edit a few photos. I'll make sure that I'm sending them only the stuff that I'll want to get, and then I send all of that with a Dropbox link. Now they don't have to get all that at once or load it in an email. Now they can load the Dropbox link or Google Drive link and I'll send a little set of instructions in a notepad or an email and explain to them how to access it, and that they can download only what they want or view it. The link is going to be good for a very long time. So, yeah, that's what it's all about Create an experience for the client, build a relationship, remain in their hearts and minds.
Ilia:So following up with your clients is a very important part of your business. It's a way to ensure that the relationship continues past that event. So you're not cutting ties just because the event is over, and return clients usually bring more business with them. So word of mouth that's usually when this happens because they're coming back to you. There's a reason why they're coming back to you and if anyone's ever going to ask them for a DJ, they're likely going to recommend you and sometimes, without even somebody asking, they'll say oh, you should check out this DJ at my last event or at my wedding, and maybe they just want to show off, maybe they just wanted to just, you know, enjoy showing a really cool clip. That in turn, created an idea in the other person's mind. Hmm, maybe I could use them. Hey, do you have his phone number? You know?
Ilia:So there should be absolutely no reason for you not to follow up with your clients, whether you want to keep them or not, for whatever reason. It's always important because I actually never even went over that. Always important because I actually never, I actually never even went over that. If, let's say, you don't want to keep the client or you don't think they'll, they'll want to have you for the next event. Yeah, maybe don't start calling them after the event but, um, at the end of the event you can discuss. You know what, what, what could have gone better? Uh, based on the experience, you can personalize kind of some sort of some gesture, something that will make them feel better. If you could, maybe don't offer your business again if you know that they don't want to hire you again, but try to lessen the blow, try to do something instead of just walking away, because they're going to be talking about this. So you better just not ignore your clients.
Ilia:Now, this episode was mostly about people who want to return business from the clients and things went well. But this is important to remember even when things don't go well, make sure you speak to your clients. If you think they're going to be nice about it and they would actually want to discuss this with you on the phone, sure go ahead. Likely, this is not going to be the case. You have one chance right after the event. You can discuss things with them, apologize, offer some sort of resolution and, who knows, maybe because of that they'll give you another chance, or maybe because of that they'll forgive you or whatever it is.
Ilia:You lessen the blow. Usually that works. Or maybe because of that they'll forgive you, or whatever it is. You lessen the blow. Usually that works. But for everyone who wants return business because things went well, follow this guide, follow this video, everything that or this audio, whatever you are, whether you're watching this or listening to this, this is going to seriously elevate your business and make your life easier, because when you have return clients, you already know. You already know who they are, what they like and they know you. And it's not new. You don't have to build that relationship all over again, and even if it's someone from the family or a friend, likely you were already in the same room together before or they know quite a bit about you and it's just a more fun interaction in some cases. So that would be all for tonight. Thank you very much for joining another episode of the Clever DJ. See you in the next one, stay safe. See you in the next one, stay close.