May 2012 Digital Dogbowl

The Five "P"s of Running a Successful Studio

No one knows for sure what lies ahead in this unpredictable economy, but now is a great time to review your studios' ability to separate itself from your competition. So to stand out in your marketplace, remember the five “P”s:

Product, Personality, Process, Promotion, and Price. Let's take a quick look at each...

Product

I've always felt that if you can make people look good and create great photos, your clients will be impressed and remain loyal customers – it’s that simple. Ask yourself these questions:

What is unique about your photographs?

Is there anything "different" about your shooting style?

Do you have any unusual photo skills you can market differently?

How is the level and "type" of experience you provide to clients?

Focus on what you do well and introduce fresh ideas along the way to spice it up.

Personality

It is not enough to deliver great photographs – you must also be personable and memorable.

I know average photographers who earn good money and get a ton of business largely because they are likeable. This factor really helps in this business.

A photography studio should be welcoming with genuinely personable staff. If you infuse personality into your photography studio, your clients will remember not only the quality of the photographs, but also the quality of the experience of being photographed.

Read more...

Hot Topics On The Forum

• Really??? "Every year a local photographer comes by and talks to me. He works full time as an engineer at a local laboratory. He is an amazing photographer and I truly admire his work. He said he walks by my studio everyday and wanted to know if he could give me some constructive criticism, I said "sure".... He said "you needed to take three photos our of your window right now." He says the eyes are way over done and they are terrible." D'oh!

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• My nonresponse…response "I did not send this...Just had one of those days and was sick of his whining. Parent wanted a refund on his sons portraits after he found out that he could have had them done for less money at the other photographers place and she told them I was too expensive...lets see how many of you can see what I was really trying to say:-) " $$$$

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• Minimum orders, print credits and other strategies "I've been working on updating our pricing, and one of the concepts I'm looking at is a minimum order. We don't get a *lot* of small orders, but I would like to eliminate them entirely if possible." Minimum?

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• Marketing Material Headache "I'm working on basic marketing materials for my studio - price lists, tips, guides, etc. I'm frustrated with trying to create them in photoshop. I find creating the text portions there seems clunky and difficult to align well.
  I want a simple, clean way to combine images and text that I can take to my printer. Any suggestions?" Marketing

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• Looking For Your Opinion "I'm going to hook up with a local biz who deals a lot with my target area. The man who owns the biz is in my opinion marketing genius. He is the most expensive in the town yet people who are normally pretty cheap (me included) knowingly will spend $1000 or more for the same product we could get elsewhere. Why - I guess because we fully trust him, want to go to him ... I don't know but I am as cheap as they come and I've been with him for a few years now and am signing on for a few more. Read more