July 2008 - Garvan Rigby, MD of Star DJ's- Latest DJ Trends
Star DJs is in business over 12 years now. What changes and trends have you seen happen over the last year or so?
One trend I have seen change compared to 10 or 12 years ago is the amount of full night weddings that are being booked where our key wedding specialist runs the full night’s entertainment instead of having a band and DJ. We will plan, organise and run their whole wedding entertainment for them for the evening. It is great for keeping the costs down if you are on a tight budget or are having a smaller wedding of less than 100 people. However I won’t take away from the fact that if people have a good sized budget and are having larger weddings then a great band before a professional DJ works great for the night also.
What about bands, friends, ipods and photographers who are now offering to ‘do’ DJ?
This has not really affected our target market at all. Most of our customers know that hiring a DJ is different than getting a member of the band or one of their guests to “do” DJ. I know a lot of great bands who will not try to DJ. Bands know DJing is a different talent and they want to be 100% perfect at their talent in the same way we do. It is extremely hard to program and entertain at a wedding and to keep the floor moving by mixing the right song in the right way
at exactly the right time when the mood is right. This takes years of experience to learn. Sometimes people are being sold a DJ but they are not getting an actual DJ who has the experience to run their event to a high standard. As a recent customer told me she “didn’t want the drummer DJing and the DJ singing!”
As one of the leading companies in the business what sets Star DJs apart from others?
There are good DJs out there, but our key difference is that we are innovators, and we strive to be one step ahead of our competitors.
We introduced Platinum DJ full day weddings to Ireland a number of years ago where we plan and run the full day’s entertainment and music. Now a lot of other DJs and companies have followed suit.
It’s the same with insurance; we introduced full cover at events a long time ago yet some people hire DJs and bands without cover to this day. We also introduced a stand by DJ on call at weekends for peace of mind. We upgrade our booking systems, equipment and music all the time in order to guide clients through the initial enquiry right up to the delivery of the entertainment on the night. We continually improve our value for money and service for our clients and have regular meetings with our DJs on trends, ideas and music along with customer service.
Your reputation in the wedding world is great value for money. Why do you think your clients are so pleased?
Our clients are always so happy because they know we put them first. We follow up on every event afterwards and we receive great reports and testimonials from our clients, which can be seen in our office and on our website. Our recent post-event survey of past clients for the last 6 months of 2007 came back extremely positive for us. We are by no means the lowest priced in the business but 99% of our previous customers said our service was either excellent or good value for money. 79% of these people said we were excellent value for money. Furthermore 83% of customers rated their Star DJ as being “much better” or “better” than other DJs they have used or heard about in the past.
What do you think client satisfaction comes down to at Star DJs?
I think most people realise that they get what they pay for and although we might be a little more expensive than some others, when they see the quality of our service, efficiency of our office and standard of our DJs, people realise that its money well spent. I for one put an average of 6-8 hours prep and consultation into a wedding before I even arrive. Does the “DJ” from down the road do that much preparation prior to each event? We are very particular in which DJs within our company perform at weddings. We have over 100 DJs at this stage in Star DJs doing regular events for us each weekend at parties, clubs, bars and hotels but only 9-10 of our DJs specialise in the wedding market as we realise the high standard and niche talent required for weddings.
Finally, what single piece of advice would you give to somebody when hiring a professional DJ to run their wedding entertainment?
The key words are; professional and peace of mind. I have said it time and time again. Do not hire a friend of a friend who is a hobby DJ that may or may not show up! Every week we get a call from somebody the day before or worse still, on their wedding day having been let down by a friend of a friend who decided he was not going to be there. Just last Saturday night, I got a call from a venue where they did not hire a professional DJ and he never turned up leaving 200 guests with no entertainment. Please hire a professional no matter whom or what company they are from, but just make sure you get a booking confirmation in writing. I am passionate about this point because it can ruin a wedding and I hear of the horror stories every week.
You can contact Star DJs by:
Phone: 01 4604500
Fax: 01 4604505
FREEPHONE: 1800 7827 35.
Email: info@stardjs.ie
Website: www.stardjs.ie
Unit 9, willow business park, knockmitten lane, dublin 12
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