Why are so many event businesses in trouble? The recession is only partly to blame.

Homogeny.

Because of the Internet, your customers can easily find lower-priced competitors faster than ever before. If you only provide generic event services that any other company can sell, you are a commodity. Take DJs for example, an industry full of copycats. Same song list, same equipment, same party favors, same everything. If the only thing that distinguishes one DJ from another is price then the lowest priced DJ wins the business.

The same can be said of caterers. Too many imitate and not enough innovate. As a result, the typical catering company’s proposal is almost indistinguishable from any other. Too many caterers let their customers control the quality and originality of their bookings. The majority of customers are too inexperienced at planning events to have the confidence to do anything original. Customers want to play it safe. So they imitate the last 10 parties they went to.

Therefore, most events are bland, generic and instantly forgettable. No one at the party needs to get your card because your service is invisible. You can’t stand out if you mirror other me-too event companies. You, as the event professional, have an obligation to your client into your business to be bold and memorable. If all you do is provide the same service that anyone else can, your event business is destined to fail.

Barbarians at the Gate

The barriers to enter the event services industry have never been lower. 10 years ago, a DJ had to invest thousands of dollars to build a music library. Equipment was more expensive, harder to find transport and required skill to operate. Now any knucklehead with an iPod thinks he’s a DJ. A song list is easy to pirate and play with a cheap laptop and inexpensive speakers.

Ten years ago, Event Planners would painstakingly build a Rolodex of high quality vendors. Now anyone can assemble there A- list of event professionals after a few hours on Google.

In the good old days, finding a good caterer took a long time. Advertising a catering business required a business address, a business telephone and an expensive Yellow Pages listing. Thanks to the Internet, almost anyone can throw up an impressive website for next to nothing.

Want to book bigger and better events? Download a free copy of “More Clients Now.”

Category Creep

Now that things have slowed down you see more and more vendors that used to specialize in one event service branch out into many. The florist now does balloons, invitations and party planning. Now the photographer is a videographer and books entertainment too. Event production companies are renting audiovisual equipment, selling staging services and are becoming destination management companies.

Stuck Off the Web

Most of event services professionals are clueless when it comes to online marketing. The companies that grew and matured in the last 10 years did so using antiquated marketing. They relied on print ads, Yellow Pages, cold calls. They depended on unsophisticated and unknowledgeable buyers. Just a few years ago, it was too difficult for the event shopper to compare vendors. Information was harder to come by. Now that has all changed.

To be successful in the event services business today you must have a powerful online presence. Today’s customers are shopping online. Today’s customers are comparing service providers. Requesting and comparing proposals from dozens of your competitors used to take days and now can be done with a few clicks.

To be successful in the event services business today you must have a powerful identity. You can’t afford to be fungible. A fungible event services company is exchangeable or replaceable in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind. You must invest in innovation and create a unique identity for you and your company.

Hard Act to Follow

If you’re not a hard act to follow, expect someone else to get all your applause. How difficult is it for a competitor to replace you? What unique value do you offer that is next to impossible to replicate? Now is not the time to imitate.

Create a strong brand online. In my free report, More Clients Now, I share with you 10 powerful, effective and free ways to get more customers. Whether you are a caterer, event planner, wedding planner, photographer, DJ, designer, makeup artist, decorator … if you are in the live event industry I urge you to download a copy of more clients than before your competition does.

Many people think that their business is slow only because the economy is bad. However, I have to tell you that a number of my associates are doing quite well and making more money this year than last year because they know how to market better than 99% of their competition.

You can sit and wait for the economy to get better or you can take action now to grow your event business.  Grab my free report, More Clients Now and take control of your future.

Be bold, the daring, be different. I wish you success.

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