{"id":868,"date":"2011-08-25T15:01:13","date_gmt":"2011-08-25T15:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/morephotos.net\/photoblog\/?p=444"},"modified":"2011-08-25T15:01:13","modified_gmt":"2011-08-25T15:01:13","slug":"back-to-business-chapter-5-how-to-get-repeat-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/morephotos.com\/back-to-business-chapter-5-how-to-get-repeat-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to Business Chapter 5 ~ How to Get Repeat Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Success Series for Modern Day Photographers<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

image courtesy of worradmu<\/strong><\/a><\/h6>\n

In last week\u2019s edition, A Guide To Photography Trade Shows<\/a>, we talked about the major trade shows and the importance of getting involved in them to get ideas and give your photography business a boost.\u00a0 We learned some of the pluses and minuses of different shows so that you can choose which show(s) are right for you.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been talking a lot about getting new business lately.\u00a0 Another important part of running any service business is getting repeat business<\/strong>.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to make a living off of a bunch of one-off\u2019s, especially in an industry that is becoming increasingly flooded with Pro-Sumer competition.<\/p>\n

I recently received a call from a concerned photographer (we\u2019ve been at this a long time and try to offer ideas, support, and anything else we reasonably can to our clients).\u00a0 He was perplexed that his past clients were being lost to new competitors due to lower pricing, even though the quality was nowhere near what he offered.\u00a0 If you\u2019re in the industry, it\u2019s easy to relate to this problem.\u00a0 We hear it from photographers more and more lately.\u00a0\u00a0 On the positive side he\u2019s still doing very well and luckily had the foresight and the time to address this before it got really bad.\u00a0 Then my mind went right to the most important things about getting repeat business; simple principals always work the best.<\/p>\n

The first thing we talked about was the customer experience.\u00a0 Every time an order goes out in the mail or is picked up at the studio, it needs to be accompanied by a big THANK YOU NOTE, and a call for action (asking them for more business).\u00a0 You need to let the customer know that you\u2019d be honored to serve their photography needs in the future.\u00a0 Remember that all of your clients have friends and family, and that marketing to an existing client and their connections is infinitely easier than drumming up new business and the cost is usually pennies on the dollar compared to prospecting or advertising.<\/p>\n

The second thing we talked about were more specific ideas on messages to include in orders or return emails from orders that would strike a chord.\u00a0 I mocked up a couple for him to think about (of course he\u2019d put his own spin on it). The key is to be genuine.\u00a0 Remember what got you into photography \u2013 why is photography so important for you anyway?\u00a0 The other thing I tried to take care of in this note was the cost of the photo, let\u2019s say they bought the photo with a little reluctance on price – talking about the memories the image will hold, and putting into perspective with a real life quote from your experience will help.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n

Dear Michael Connors,<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate your business and our hope is that these photographs will be cherished by you and your future generations.\u00a0 I went into the photography business after seeing my grandmother\u2019s emotion when showing me her photo albums \u2013 seeing what these photos of loved ones meant to her hit a nerve with me.\u00a0 She would not have sold her images for all of the gold in the world.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And that is when it hit me, that I can make memories for families that last many lifetimes.<\/p>\n

We would also like you to know we are a full service photography company offering Weddings, Family portraits, Children, head shots and much more.<\/p>\n

So with that said we are including a gift certificate for a family portrait.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have the need for it, we\u2019d encourage you to pass it on to friends or family who may.<\/p>\n

We would be honored to serve you again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dickerson\u2019s photo group<\/p>\n

Memories of people we love is what we hang on to, Dickerson\u2019s Photography is here to document these memories.<\/p>\n

(Ask them for their business and the just might give it to you!) Don\u2019t ask and they probably won\u2019t give it to you.<\/p>\n

Example 2:<\/p>\n

Dear Michael Connors,<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Thank you!<\/p>\n

We appreciate your business and our hope is this photograph will hold memories for generations. We at Dickerson\u2019s Photography have serviced our community for 25 years and are honored every day that our community (you included!) supports us!<\/p>\n

We would also like you to know we are a full service photography company offering weddings, seniors, Family Portraits and much more.<\/p>\n

We have enclosed a gift certificate for a family portrait session,<\/p>\n

We are at your service\u201d,<\/p>\n

Dickerson\u2019s Photography<\/p>\n

So those are just examples but you get the idea.\u00a0 Something from the heart goes a long way with customers in getting repeat business and showing where your values are.\u00a0 Simple gestures like this are very important and will keep you on top if you stick to them.<\/p>\n

Someone new to the game with a $600 DSLR does not have the advantage of marketing to existing customers.\u00a0 Don\u2019t miss the opportunities that are right in front of you.\u00a0 You need to separate yourself from the competition.\u00a0 Business owners with marketing minds, even beginning photographers, will take a look at the competition in their area and find the weaknesses of competitors.\u00a0 Savvy folks will always find them.\u00a0 Sure up your game and stay on top of your business so your weaknesses can be learned from and turned into strengths.<\/p>\n

Mike Connors | MorePhotos<\/a> CEO | Connect on Linkedin<\/a><\/p>\n

Drew Warner | MorePhotos Marketing<\/a> | Connect on Linkedin<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Success Series for Modern Day Photographers image courtesy of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[108,105],"class_list":["post-868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-back-to-businss-by-michael-connors","tag-how-to-get-repeat-photography-business","tag-photography-business-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/morephotos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/morephotos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/morephotos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morephotos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morephotos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/morephotos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/morephotos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morephotos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morephotos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}