Branding Your Studio

Posted on September 8, 2008
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Rules of Packaging

Posted on March 6, 2008
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By (Guest Contributor) Alan Tyndell

Packaging must enhance the product appearance.
Packaging must increase the perceived value to the customer.
Packaging must protect the product and make it easy to transport.
Packaging of luxury products (purchased as a gift) must always enhance the perceived value of the gift. Packaging should NEVER lessen a product’s value or force a gift giver to make enhancements before it is given.

Luxury Items According to Webster

Anything contributing to one’s enjoyment, usually something considered unnecessary to life and health.

Something to Think About…

The vast majority of photographs are purchased for someone else.

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Packaging… the Ultimate Brand Statement

Posted on February 20, 2008
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By (Guest Contributor) Greg Stangl

It continues to amaze me how little thought many photographers seem to put into professional portrait packaging. The choice of packaging is the ultimate brand statement. Not only is your packaging the most visible communicator of your brand, it is often the chief emotional link between the consumer and your product.

Walk though any high-end department store and notice how packaging is used to compliment both the brand and the product. Perfumes come in beautifully fitted boxes, while makeup comes in little fitted cases complete with built in handles and a mirror.

By taking the time to carefully choose your final packaging, you can communicate with your client on a higher emotional level. And in portraiture, emotion directly relates to profits. Your choice of texture and color play an important part in this tactile and visual game.

In the food industry retailers and manufacturers are working more closely than ever to create products designed for contemporary lifestyles, based on the latest technology. This has resulted in an explosion in the market for ready to eat meals, a market in which packaging is playing an increasingly important role. Packaging is becoming an essential part of the value chain analysis, regarding food safety, ergonomics and flexibility. The better the packaging makes the food look, the better the chance of the product being sold.

The photographers choice of portrait packaging is really a silent salesman for their company and their brand. As the importance of packaging design becomes ever more apparent, studios need to go back to the basics to stand out from the crowd. Package design is as much a reflection of the times as it is functional. It may seem to be little more than a protective container, but as the external manifestation of a brand, its role is much more pivotal. I believe there two aspects to choosing packaging. First there is the physical function, which simply protects the product. Then there is the psychological function which is linked to consumer appreciation, and that is the one you have to get right!

Greg Stangl Photographer and Speaker
www.prospeak1.com

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The power of the idea of FREE

Posted on September 4, 2007
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Who doesn't like free? I am willing to bet that, as a consumer, you like to get free things. But the chances are, from a business perspective, giving things away for free is not something you want to do. As much as you may love this business, ultimately you are in it to make money. But it would be in your best interest to cozy up to the idea of free because the proper use of “free” can help your photography business make more money.

The trick is to realize that the idea of free is different than the reality of free.

Have you ever noticed that every As Seen On TV product comes with something free? This is not an accident. What sounds more appealing to you? That you get 6 deluxe stay sharp knives for $19.95 or that you get 1 deluxe knife for $19.95 and another 5 for FREE? You are getting the same deal either way, but somehow it feels better when you think you are getting something for free.

You can apply this same idea to your own photography business as well. Instead of just offering a photo in a folder, offer the client the same photo and tell your client that you will add the folder to the deal for free. The price does not need to change, just the way you present the package to your clients. For example, maybe its not 6 prints for $X amount of money. It‘s 3 prints for $X and the other three are FREE.

The idea of free can be used in other ways as well. One excellent way to use free is to offer a free gift when you first meet a potential client. A small free gift such as a small frame or a keychain that they can put a picture in will bring goodwill to the table. When potential customers are making a final decision about which photographer they will use, they will remember that your competitor asked them for money but you gave them a free gift. Will it work every time? No, but it will work enough times that those free gifts will make you more money than they cost you.

“Free” can also be used in up selling. When customers order two 8×10s, suggest that they order three so that they can get the fourth print for “free”. Another option could be to order three 5×7s, and receive all of the images framed in photomounts for “free”. Use a free item to entice people to spend a little more money (in order to get something for “free”).

“Free” can also bring new customers to your studio. This is a method frequently used by the mega studios to draw in business. Giving out coupons that offer a free sitting, a free print, a free photomount or even just a free consultation will attract attention and new clientele.

To a consumer, the word free harkens to mind getting something for nothing. To a business, free is simply a mindset. It is a way of presenting the same product or service in a new and better light.�

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Using your studio’s website for free advertising

Posted on August 28, 2007
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Advertising through links Now that you have a website, you can start making it work for you. The nice thing about having a website is that it allows you to link to other people and more importantly, they can link to you.

Setting up link exchanges on the internet is almost as old as the internet itself. As a matter of fact, this is part of what made the internet so powerful in the first place. And you should take advantage of this power.

On your site, set up an area called “Other Services You May Be Interested In”. Then set out to find those services for your customers and visitors. If your studio does bridal photography, than focus on bridal services such as catering, DJs, halls, wedding gowns and tuxedos. If you do mostly family photography, look for local sites that have activities that families would enjoy.

Now that you have this list, contact each one of the owners of each site. Tell them that you are a non-competing business in the same field and that you would like to link to their site from your site and in exchange, you would like a link from them. Not everyone will agree but some of them will. Whether or not you link to the sites that do not agree to link to you is up to you, but certainly make sure you link to the ones that do.

By doing this, you are gaining access to the other site’s visitors. It stands to reason that if someone is looking for a wedding gown, they may also be looking for wedding photographer at some point in time. If a person is visiting a family oriented establishment, like a playground or a museum, chances are they might also be interested in having a family portrait created.

Getting links from other business is not the only source of links you should consider. Do you belong to any organizations or associations or does your community have a Chamber of Commerce? Many times these organizations have a place to list their members or community businesses’ websites. Sometimes, the websites for these groups are where a potential client will start their search for a reliable service.

You can also get free local listings from search engines. Both Google and Yahoo! have local services that allow you to add your studio business and your studio’s website.

There is always the possibility that your customers have websites as well. These days, many people keep personal blogs. If your client was happy with your service, ask if they will mention you and link to you from their blog in exchange for a small free gift. Many (but not all) will be happy to do so and in doing so will be telling their friends and family about you.

If at all possible, have your link listed with some text about the services that you provide or a special offer. Consider an offer for a free framed 8×10 with every session or a complimentary print in a photomount. Incentives like this will further entice people to click on your link to learn more about your studio.

Use your website to reach as many potential customers as you can. Reach out to companies and help them do the same. Make sure your studio is well represented on the world wide web.

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Do you have a website for your studio business?

Posted on August 21, 2007
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Do you have a website? That is a very important question in this internet age.

If you do, good job! You are up to speed with how customers in the 21st century are shopping and looking for services. If you do not have a website, it may be time to give some serious thought to doing so.

More and more people are using the internet to find what they are looking for. As a matter of fact, the Millennials, those born between 1980 – 2000, have probably never used a phone book to find information. The internet has been around for as long as they remember and as far as they are concerned everything worth looking at is on the internet. Since the Millennials are the age group that contains the bulk of today’s Senior and Bridal market and will soon be entering the Child and Family portrait market, the question is, are you on the internet? Are you worth looking at?

Getting a website can be overwhelming for people who are not computer savvy but it does not have to be. Getting your own domain name can be done for as little as $9 and many domain companies, such as GoDaddy, offer hosting for as little as $3.99 per month. Many times, their hosting services come with easy to use “website wizards” that allow you to create your own website with little effort or knowledge. In less than one day’s worth of work, you can have your own website. If this is still a bit too overwhelming for you, then ask around or talk to friends. Chances are someone you know, knows someone who can make you a small site for just a few hundred dollars.

So, what should be included on your website? First you will need a home page. On this page, you will want to have basic information about your studio, where you are located, what kinds of photography you specialize in and how to contact you.

Another page to consider having is a photo gallery with samples of your work. This will allow your potential clients to see ahead of time what your style is like.

Another important page to have is a list of your services, packages and pricing. What services do you offer for what kinds of photographs? What do they get with their photographs and how do you package their photographs? Are you including framing, mounting and folios or are these a separate charge or will they only be getting a CD? And how much will all of this cost?

A testimonial page is another page to consider adding. Do you have some heartfelt and positive comments about your studio from previous clients? Get their permission to use those comments on your website. Letting potential new clients know that you have satisfied clients will help them feel better about choosing you.

In the end, what you ultimately put on your website is up to you. The important thing is that you realize how powerful an advertising medium the internet can be. In the next article, we will talk about how you can use your website and the internet to spread the word about your business for little or no money.

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Detailed Information in a Client Profile

Posted on July 31, 2007
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Reaching in the mailbox Now that you are keeping basic profiles on your clients, it is time to move on to keeping more detailed records. There is no set list that anyone can give you on what to put as extra details for your particular clients. It really just depends on your particular client set.

If you are creating family portraits, then it would be a good idea to note the children’s names and ages in a client’s profile. If you are doing Senior Photography, then noting the school the Senior is attending might be helpful. For wedding photography, noting the date of the wedding would be a good idea, and will give on a head start for contacting the couple on their anniversary.

But really, anything could and should be added to a client’s profile. Don’t be afraid to add anything you can think of to a profile. Try to think of client profiles as an extension of your memory. If you were to see a client on the street and you happened to remember that the client had a daughter, would you ask that client how his daughter was? Of course you would. Client profiles just help you to remember small details like that.

As stated in the article about basic profiles, when a customer comes in for a repeat sitting, be sure to review the client’s profile so that you know as much as you can about the client. Repeat customers will become even more loyal if when they come in for their annual family portrait, you know the names of all their children.

But detailed client profiles have uses beyond just being a friendly photographer who appears to have a memory like an elephant. Detail client profiles are an excellent way to augment and extend the marketing of your studio.
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Say a family comes in for a sitting. Their oldest boy is 15. They leave happy with their purchases and you make note of the children’s ages. Two and a half years later (when their son is now 17 1/5), a short note or postcard will put you back in front of them just in time for Senior pictures.

Taking wedding photos? A postcard a year or two later may just get you taking the first photographs of the precious little baby girl they now have.

A yearly postcard and a friendly reminder that “Jane, Jake and Susan will only be this age once” may turn a portrait every five years family into an annual customer.

And, as always, detailed client profiles can help you with how you package and present your photography to the client. If you noted that for the last sitting, the client bought a brag book for Grandma, you can present this right at the start as an option. If you noted that a family’s eldest child attended a school with blue and gold as its colors, you can have a folio or photomounts wrapped in the appropriate colors ready for their younger sibling to choose from at their Senior session.
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Detailed client profiles are a way to turn one time customers into lifetime clients.�

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The Basic Information in a Client Profile

Posted on July 24, 2007
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Meeting with clients In the previous article, we talked some about building a client profile. We touched a little on what can go in a client profile, but what is the bare basic information you should have about your client?
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The basic information you should have about every client you serve is Name, Address, Phone Number, Dates of Sessions and Products Bought. Email Address is helpful as well, if your client has one.

The very first time a client enters your studio or you do a sitting with them, have them fill out a short profile. Just ask them for the basic facts that were listed above. Let them fill in the information for which they feel comfortable. This information is the start of your client’s profile.

Come up with a system to file this information, either on the computer or on paper. The next time you need to work with this client, pull out the profile and familiarize yourself with them and their last session. Use this information to anticipate what they might want in this sitting and how you might be able to offer them more.

Having basic information about your client is essential to marketing yourself in the future. Building a database of names and addresses of former clients allows you to reconnect with these clients at a later date. Sending out a postcard every few months helps your customers keep your name fresh in their minds.

Keeping a list of what your client’s bought can help you anticipate inventory needs for prints and photo packaging. If many of your clients requested black photomounts for their photographs, than you know that this is a popular item. Yes, you may have a hunch that this is the case if you don’t keep these kinds of records, but keeping detailed client profiles lets you turn that hunch into hard facts. This in turn helps you to avoid ordering the wrong types of products.

In this internet age, many people are now communicating via email. Ask your customer for their email address and if it is okay for you to occasionally email them with offers. As long as you have permission, don’t be afraid email your clients every few months.

Once you get the hang of collecting basic information from your customers, you will want to start collecting more detailed information. In the next article, we will take a look at why detailed information is just as important as the basic information.

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Building Client Profiles: What Do You Know about Your Clients?

Posted on July 18, 2007
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Family with picture frame When a client comes in for a session, what do you know about them? Do you know their name? Their children’s names? The last time you did a sitting with them? Do you know their address? How they came to use you as their photographer? When their birthday is? What they last bought from you?

While this may seem like a lot of information, knowing these kinds of facts about your customers is a practice called “building a client profile”. A client profile is a database of facts and information about your clients that will help you strengthen your relationship and anticipate the needs of your clients. The more you know about your clients, the more you can figure out about how you can best address their current needs.

On their client profile, fill in the basic facts, like name and address. During the first sitting, mentally take note of any fact that you can. Children’s names and ages, graduation dates or any small details that you think may be of importance to your client. Add them to your client’s profile later on. Also make note of anything related to the sitting, such as the client’s preferred sitting style or anything that either pleased or displeased the client.

After you have completed work for your client, add to their profile any information about the order. What sizes did they order, how many of those sizes did they order? Did they order just for themselves or for family as well? What kind of packaging did they want? This sort of information belongs in the client’s profile.

Too much information? Not at all. The more you know about your client, the more you know about what they might need from you and, ultimately, about what kinds of clients are the ones with which you’ll wish to work.

Use the information in your client’s profile to help you build a better relationship with them. To you, these may be business motivated steps. To a client, these are personal touches that separate you from everyone else (especially the faceless discount, department store studios).

In the next article, we will talk about the very basic information that should be found in a client profile. This information will help you start building better client relationships.

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What is an Upsell?

Posted on June 29, 2007
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In the world of sales, there is a concept known as an upsell. Really, it is a very basic concept. It is getting the customer to upgrade to a more expensive item.

When you go to a fast food restaurant and they ask you if you want to Value size your meal, which is an upsell. When you go to buy a TV and the sales staff shows you the new HD TV (that just happens to be a few hundred dollars more), that is an upsell.

The art of upsell is something that has been practiced for as long as people have been buying things. Knowing how to properly use an upsell technique can help you make more out of the sales to your client.

Rule #1 – Don’t present the upsell until after the client has agreed to make a purchase

At this point in time, you already have the client’s business. Offering an upsell before you have a commitment to purchase can make you seem too pushy, which could cause you to lose the whole deal.

Rule #2 – Upsells must have a no-thought benefit

It is best if an upsell seems to offer more than the cost so that the client does not need to think very long or hard on the upsell. It seems like a no-brainer, less than a dollar for almost double the fries and drink is a pretty good deal. Of course, those extra fries and drink costs fast food restaurant pennies.

If the cost is too high or you don’t present a benefit, your client will stop to think about the deal and is more likely to say no.

Rule #3 – The client must have a need for it

Don’t try to upsell something that your client will never use. The best upsells are things that your clients might want. If they are buying photographs for themselves, offer a slightly larger package for just a few dollars more so that they can give some prints to their extended family. If they are buying an 8×10 print, ask them if they would like to have it framed. Think if what you are offering is something you would want if you were in their shoes.

Rule #4 – State the benefit first, and then ask

Don’t ask the client if they want the upsell right upfront. State the benefit first. “That photograph would look absolutely lovely in a frame. Shall I show you our framing options? I can offer you a reduced price on the frame since you have already decided to buy from us.”

Upsells are a great way to make a little extra money out of every order from a client. And photo packaging is an excellent upsell to offer to your client. For a minimal investment on your side, you can make a few extra dollars every time you sell a package. �

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