Gigging Advice - Why Reviews Matter?

In this video we will be talking about reviews. 

Why reviews matter?

When was the last time you bought something online?

I bet you read some type of review on that product? 

Well the same goes with booking entertainment. As part of the sales process, potential clients will view your media, check availability and your price. If they are happy with everything there will be one more thing that they will do:

a: Want to see you perform live or 

b: want evidence to prove that you are as good as your media and write up says you are.

People, especially brides may want reassurance before they book entertainment for their big event.

Sometimes it can be bad manners to invite strangers to gate crash an event that you are performing at, so having positive, genuine reviews will give the potential client evidence on how good you really are and help sway them in your favour to make a booking. 

Did you know that a survey by brightlocal found that two thirds of customers form their opinion of a business after reading just 4 reviews. 

Word of mouth

Have you ever heard of the term word of mouth marketing? It really is the best form of marketing

However, As the years move forward, the next generation of clients have been born with the internet and what's happening? No one speaks to anyone anymore!

You probably have noticed that young people will enquire via writing a message or email rather than actually calling you. The same thing is going to happen with word of mouth marketing and the digital equivalent to a word of mouth recommendation is having positive, genuine review.

BookEntertainment has a reviews section built in to every profile and we will ask your customers to provide you with a review after every booking. BookEntertainment will also give you the chance to ask previous customers for a review to help give you a head start. This way not only will you have positive reviews, your profiles will appear ahead of others when customers filter by star rating.

How to get positive reviews?

Now you know that reviews really do matter, i'm going to give you some advice on how to always get a positive review.

Keep in touch with your client before and after the event - Something a simple as contacting the client before their event will reassure them that everything is ok with the booking.

Especially with wedding bookings, an email a few months before the gig date, confirming all details and asking if they need help with anything will give your clients peace of mind. You can also contact the client after the event to wish them all the best and ask them to write a review.

Arrive on time - Make sure you plan your travel well so that you arrive at your gig on time. If your running late due to unforeseen circumstances, call your client straight away and explain the situation.

If its a wedding, call the manager of the venue or the wedding planner if you are running late as the bride and groom generally won't be contactable on their big day. 

Etiquette on the gig - I shouldn't really need to tell you this as its just good manners. Don’t get drunk or let musicians/ staff get drunk, be polite and don't go near the buffet unless the client asks you. Again this is just good manners

Presentation - Make sure you present yourselves in the best way possible. If you need to load gear, try and wear a dark polo shirt and black trousers with a dark coat - don't be arriving at a gig in gym wear. How bad would it look if you are dressed in a neon tracksuit to load gear into a wedding. You could brand up your loading in outfit with your logo etc.. for extra presentation points. 

On stage make sure you and your musicians or staff are presentable and dressed appropriately for your type of event. Finally make your gear nice and tidy, velcro or tape down loose hanging wires and always keep backup essential items like a spare amp, leads mic’s etc..  just in case something breaks during the performance.

Flexibility - Sometimes events run late and as an entertainer you have to just deal with it. You may rock up at a gig only to find that the full event is running 2 hours late. If you use a contract you are probably entitled to perform only to the set times in your contract. 

But really? Is the risking your reputation worth it? I have heard horror stories from clients who have booked a bands for their wedding and their wedding ran behind by an hour. 

The band where booked to play for 1 hour and 30mins and because the wedding ran late the band only played for 20mins and refused to play any longer. You need to work with your client and try to compromise with late running events. Would you rather have a great review on how you where really helpful or a bad review because you where black and white with a contract?

Put on a good show! - If you are genuinely talented at your profession or you if your an event hire pro - put on a great service then you should have no problem whatsoever at getting great reviews. 

But if you can talk the talk but can't walk the walk and your show is rubbish then it doesn't matter how nice you are, it's the entertainment business and you will get bad reviews. Don't over sell your act to avoid disappointed customers - There more on this at the end of the video.

All these steps will help satisfy your client and turn them into a raving fan! If they don't give you a review straight away, don't be scared to reach out to them after the gig and ask for a review.

Why fake reviews don't work?

Since the dawn of the internet, people have been trying to be something they’re not. Unfortunately some musicians, bands, DJs entertainers and event hire services are no exception when it comes to playing this game.

Most of us have read product or service reviews online and have probably noticed fake ones! Despite the anonymous nature of reviews, clients are smart and can usually spot out non genuine review. Maybe you are tempted to add some fake reviews? Well they don't work.

Firstly, research from the wall street journal shows that purchase likelihood spikes at 4.5 stars. That's right 4.5 not a perfect 5 stars! That's because potential clients like to weigh the pros and cons and make their own decision. They don't care if there are a few negative aspects about the service as long as their own needs are fulfilled. Reviews that are always 5 stars seem suspiciously too imperfect.

Second, too many fake glowing reviews can then cause bad reviews in the future as clients will have over inflated expectations. If your show or service is not up to the standard in your fake reviews then the client will be disappointed and will leave you bad feedback in the future. 

Finally, it's just the wrong thing to do. Buying fake reviews is unethical and does not help you truly improve as and act in the entertainment industry. You should provide media, write up and reviews that allow the client to make the right choice and have clear expectations. If those expectations have not been met, maybe you should watch my video on how to price your act up and listen carefully to the value section.

How to deal with a bad review?

Its every acts nightmare! A blotch on your record that could potentially turn customers away! It will eventually happen at some stage no matter how good you are, because you can't please everyone. 

But Don't let the negative review just sit there, you have the power to respond and if you respond the right way, you can turn it into a positive!

Look for commonalities:

• Firstly it's important to note that not all client feedback is beneficial. Taking each and every review into consideration may actually harm your service. 
  
• When you start reading through reviews, start by looking for any themes or repeated complaints. The most common word in negative online review is “disappointed”. 
  
• This implies that client had higher expectations of your service. Once you have identified the patterns, figure out what aspect of your service is causing the the issue with your clients.
  
• Upon determining which aspect of your service needs improvement, brainstorm solutions and weigh up the outcomes. 
  
• For example if you are getting complaints that your band members or staff are causing issues then consider setting policies, providing extra training, speaking with them or ultimately replacing them.

The most important thing is to learn from the negative feedback and don't take it personally.

The next thing to consider is responding quickly.

• Respond to complaints quickly and in a professional manner. When client go to the trouble of submitting a review they expect an answer fast.
• Make sure you thoroughly read all the reviews people post about your service and don't let anger and frustration take over.
• Let cooler heads prevail. Apologise, if need be and say sorry for their experience and explain how this is unusual to get bad feedback. 

Offer your client a goodwill gesture to show that you actually care, this could be a partial refund, a gift or if applicable money off their next booking.

Fake negative reviews

Finally in the last section I mentioned fake positive reviews, sometimes you can get malicious fake negative reviews. For whatever reason, people may decide to leave you a malicious negative review. The best thing to do about this is report it to the administrator of the reviews service that you are using.

Explain the reasons why the review is fake and justify why you want it to be removed. While you wait for the administrator to sort it out, reply back to the malicious review and state that you haven't done business with this person and believe the review to be fake.

Summary

• Customers will look for reviews of your service to help them make a decision to book
• To get positive reviews, consider things like communication with the client, punctuality, etiquette at the gig, presentation of your show, flexibility with timings and the quality of your talent
• Don't be tempted to use fake reviews as you will get caught out
• If you do get a bad review, use the information to help improve your service and turn the negative into a positive 
• And report malicious negative reviews to the administrator

Let's hear what your thoughts are by leaving a comment below

Happy Gigging!

Keith