Go on Offense!
Thursday, Sep 04, 2008
Hey everyone, Josh here, my dad asked me if I would fill in tonight, apparently he is tired from all the golf he played today! Anyway, I was glad he asked me to because I want to share something with you that I have learned working at the studio for the past few years. I have learned the importance of going on offense! What do I mean by that? It’s simple, always be on the offensive when it comes to keeping your clients informed. I don’t think there is anything worse than a client calling you asking where their order is. If you know an order is running late, simply pick up the phone and let your clients know about it. Here is a great example from a situation I encountered a few weeks ago. I had helped a client pick out a frame for their wall portrait and ordered it that day. Larson Juhl Frames usually takes about 3 days to get an order to us. To be safe and to set expectations, I told them it would be a week. When the frame came in 3 days later, I called the client to let them know it came in early. Give yourself some time with orders, it is better to over deliver! Anyway, the client was excited and came in to pick up. They noticed some slight separation at the corners of the frame. I of course agreed, apologized, and re-ordered the frame. About a week later another frame came in with the exact same problem. My first reaction was not to call the frame company, but to call our clients. I pretty much told them that their replacement frame arrived and I am not personally happy with the results of the re-order. I also told them that I was going to personally go down to Larson Juhl’s assembly warehouse in Seattle to oversee the joining. Long story short, it took about 3 weeks for all of this to get sorted out. After they picked their print and a correctly joined frame up, the dad thank me for all my hard work in dealing with the matter and he appreciated the follow-up phone calls. I guess my point of this story is that more affluent clients expect this type of service and thoroughness ALL the time. It is just in their nature. So next time an order comes in from the lab wrong or it is taking a long time for an album to get back to you, pick up the phone and let your clients know that you are handling it. It is these little things that will set you apart and attract the more affluent clientele. J.H. -PS.- The Affluent Program that my dad gave to the SPPA on Tuesday (see yesterday’s blog) will be a FREE webinar for all Monthly Mentor Members, we are setting the date right now! We are excited to share it with you!
Characteristics of the Affluent Buyer
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2008
I am sorry for not posting a Mentor Minute yet this month; things are crazy at the studio! Not to mention I was out of town last weekend and did not get home until last night. I actually went straight from St. Maries, ID to Seattle Pacific University in Seattle yesterday to give a program to the Seattle Professional Photographers Association. The program was on marketing and selling to the affluent. This is a program that I have never done before and it was nice to finally get all of my thoughts out and down on paper. Today I am going to share with you a portion of the program. So what are some characteristics of the affluent buyer? If you intend to market and sell to these types of people, you need to take into consideration their needs and wants. They are as follows: (1) They travel extensively for business and pleasure. (2) They dine out more than at home. But keep in mind, entertaining at home is an important part of their lifestyle! (3) They participate in at least 3 sports- They are more likely to golf, ski, or have a boat than any other demographical group. (4) 77% of them are married compared to only 53% of the general population. (5) They are more likely to use the internet to research products or services. (6) And lastly, they strongly identify with the Republican Party 50% of the time versus 29% in the general population. For all of you Monthly Mentor Program Members out there I have some great news! I have decided to give this program, the same exact one I just developed for SPPA, in the form of a webinar for FREE in the coming weeks! But there is a catch; it is for Monthly Mentor Members ONLY! Just another way it pays to be a Monthly Mentor subscriber! For you none members out there, go to Join the Monthly Mentor and see what hundreds of photographers in 5 different countries experience every month! If you sign up this week, shoot Josh an email at josh@mystudiomentor.com and he will even throw in a back issue for FREE! Thanks everyone for your patience the past few days, we are back on track now! B.H. –P.S. I almost forgot! We are posting a new print critique today and a new image of the week…check them out!
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