protimps

How to Stand Out in the Market Place

Strive to find your own voice and your own message. I know we are all selling the same commodity, with our own style of shooting as the only way to differentiating from one another, but if we avoid cannibalism by not copying what all the other photographers are doing and by doing something totally different, totally outrageous (yes, going through the phone book and calling people cold is considered outrageous in my books...could you do it?? I'm not suggesting that we use that as a marketing strategy but as a source of inspiration, a guide post, a virtue, ultimately asking ourselves: do I have the guts, determination, discipline and willingness to stand above the crowd and not look like everyone else in my field?)

So how do we do this? Where do we start? Simple, take the basics and work from there. Your offers and packages in all your services should be exciting. Never boring, Start with your basic menu of services. If you are an "a la carte" photo studio then get off your high horse and create packages at different levels. Thinking is hard work so make it real easy for clients to understand what it is you are offering them. And please, don't forget the golden rule: make all your offers speak in terms of how they will benefit the client (not an ego massage for you).

Look at everything your studio stands for. Is it unique? What are the benefits of dealing with you and your studio? What areas can you improve? How about your personality? Your shooting style? Your skills? The studio smells? Your staff? Attitudes? Everything is a potential area for improvement and could be polished with that extra sparkle that you could call your own, not a copy of what you saw at the photographer’s convention last month. Inject big and small ideas. Infuse personality into all your marketing, your personality.

Why do you think Wendy's used Dave Thomas in their ads? Simple, sales went down when they stopped using him. He was a lovable, believable human being. Not a cold, corporate and sterile message like most ads out there. When you stop being a cannibal and stop feeding the same message over and over you start the right path to marketing.

You won't find the answer in any textbook. However you can follow guidelines. The biggest job you have in your studio is that of being a marketer. A strategist first and foremost. Your life and your business depend on it.

I was once asked if location was important for the photographer. My answer was and is that location is a very, very small factor, unless you are building a franchise mall type studio and plan to expand it. This type of store depends on location to a much larger degree. If you focus on location only and make it your primary strategy without making your product, service and marketing your main plan, you are creating a very weak business structure.

Be grounded, realistic and focused on what is important and deserving of your attention and efforts. Your success depends on it.