Keeping a client costs you far less than trying to attract a new one. It makes sense to keep your existing clients happy by giving them a reason to keep doing business with you or to refer their friends to you.
Competition is fierce, and there are new photographers entering the market all the time who are willing to give their services away for next to nothing and charge pitiful prices just to get the deal. However, this is negatively affecting the photographic industry as a whole as it lowers the perceived value of photography in the minds of customers. The photographers who charge a small fee just for their time and happily hand over the CD of fully edited digital negatives are, in my opinion, setting themselves up for working harder than they need to.
If we want to keep ourselves self-employed doing what we love to do, then we need to work together to keep the standard of photography high. Consumers have become wise with the accessibility of the Internet; it has made it possible for the average consumer to get rock bottom prices on goods and services. When it comes to photography, this is not necessarily a good thing; people have lost the appreciation for good quality and wonder why they complain bitterly when things don’t turn out like they expect. Competing on price is a race to the bottom and who wants to win that war?
Quality Counts
For longevity purposes, we all need to provide a quality service with quality products and stop cutting corners just to grab a few bucks.
The truth of the matter is that most startup businesses won’t make it past the first three years. If you want to be one of the survivors, then you need to put in more effort in creating lasting relationships with your clients. People buy from people they know, like and trust. How you gain trust from someone is to show them that you care. Just like offering hand written notes is a much more personal way of thanking a client for placing their trust in you.
As a boutique business, their investment will be more than the average vendor so you need to keep them “in love” with you to avoid the dreaded buyer’s remorse. Always referring to each person by their name goes a long way in showing you are paying attention.
The second most important thing to remember about a person (after their name) is their birthday. No matter how old, each one of us likes to be appreciated on their birthday. As Dr. Seuss says, “A person’s a person no matter how small.”
Keeping an accurate database of your clients will help you pick out the list of upcoming birthdays so that you can send them on time. You can include a voucher/coupon/gift certificate to give them an incentive to do business with you again, and including a current promotional idea or offer will give them a reason to call.
Surprising mom with an extra gift goes a long way in spreading the love. Busy moms with babies and young children have very little time to do things for themselves. Provide a little something in the form of play date cards with mom’s contact info, or an extra set of wallets with your info on the back. You may want to include a special offer or coupon for both the referring mom and the new friend as an incentive that gets them talking. Once you have a client, you need to do everything you can to keep them so they stay “in love” with your brand.
So believe in yourself, you are worth it. Don’t doubt your dreams. You can do what you love and be paid for living it!
Mimika Cooney is widely known as an international award-winning photographer, published author, and writer for Artsy Couture – a professional photo printing company that caters to photographers of all skill levels.