I recently did a poll of local and national DJs with an easy question. If you could choose one after a booking would you take a £20 tip or a review of the service? Only 1 DJ who responded chose the tip. Jokingly he was Scottish but it demonstrates how important to service providers getting reviews is. It's a huge challenge demonstrating to prospective clients that we are as good as we claim and often the words of previous clients is the best way of proving this.
We also like to receive the reviews in one place so we can direct people to them easily. We have chosen Facebook for this as it allows you to see who has left the review which we feel demonstrates that these reviews aren't just made up. We also love a lengthy review that tells US what you liked about the service. Sometime a single sentence saying "Andy was a great DJ" is a nice boost to the ego, but the review should say why you thought Andy was great. Was it that he kept in touch, was it the choice of songs on the day, was it the quality of the sound and light?
The reviews as mentioned are also very useful for our development. We don't expect 5 stars every time and were always open to feedback if you think there is something that could be improved on. So reviews are great, but what we are really aiming for is Recommendations.
Each year we spend a great deal of money on advertising to get new clients and to create visibility of our service. Its kind of lost money as advertising only had a short window before you have to do it all again. It also takes a lot of effort as you have to know if your marketing in the right places, create posters and flyers, this list goes on.
However once you have a core of clients who recommend you to their family, friends, work colleagues and even on social media, work comes in without the cost and effort of marketing. This is why we try our best to impress clients and treat them as royalty. We need to leave a lasting impression. I personally love recommending people and have a pool of photographers, bands, singers etc who I know do a good job and regularly pass on their details.
Andy P