For Photographers

Can’t Get No Satisfaction

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The most popular web site in the world is, of course, Facebook. The site with the lowest customer satisfaction rating is . . . Facebook.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index just released its 2011 survey results for customer satisfaction of social media web sites. For the second year, Facebook is in last place. Since Facebook has almost no competition (yet), it has no incentive to be good.

But considering Facebook’s low user satisfaction, its current size dominance cannot be taken for granted in the future. For companies that provide low levels of customer satisfaction, repeat business is always a challenge unless customers lack adequate choices, as in the case of near monopolies. It is possible that Facebook’s gigantic user base in and of itself might provide a certain monopoly protection.

Since a photographer doesn’t usually have a monopoly on photography services in their area, the photographer has no choice but to provide good customer service. This is more important than producing super artistic photography.

Customer service isn’t just about promptly returning phone calls and delivering the pictures on time.

Good customer service includes such things as: understanding the customer’s photography needs, foreseeing and then addressing any potential problems before they become problems, making sure the delivered photographs meet the proper specifications for the required use, suggesting alternative ideas for the photography, and knowing how to properly use all your tools (camera, computer, software).

If customers are not satisfied then the photographer hasn’t done their job. Delivering only pictures isn’t enough.

 

Best Photographer Excuses

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When things go wrong, what are some excuses a photographer can use?

My computer crashed.

The lab didn’t print it right.

This is how all photographers dress.

The sun moved.

You can fix it in Photoshop.

No one told me it would start on time.

The picture is fine, the building is crooked.

It’s art. It’s supposed to be out of focus.

It’s not underexposed, it’s “moody.”

It’s called “negative space.”

It’s supposed to look like that. That’s my style.

The bride’s dress was too white.

It was subject failure.
(This was Kodak’s excuse when a Kodak camera or Kodak printer failed to produce a good picture).

I’m a photographer not a magician.

I’m a photographer not a plastic surgeon.

 

Let’s Make It A Date

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Sometimes a potential customer will ask a photographer, “What day is good for you?” or “When are you available next month?”

The photographer should never answer, “Oh, any time is good for me” or “I’m open on the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 20th, 21st, 25th and 28th of next month.”

Both of these answers suggest that the photographer is sitting around doing nothing. While this may very well be true, there’s no need to broadcast that business is slow. If a restaurant has no customers, something must be wrong with its food, right?
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About the About

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Most photographer web sites have an About Us page where the photographer writes something about their background. But this is often a waste of a web page.

First, potential clients don’t care about a photographer’s hobbies, where they went to school or what their dog’s name is. All of this is irrelevant to a customer who’s really looking for some indication that the photographer might be the answer to their photo needs.

Second, by talking only about themselves, the photographer leaves one person out of the conversation: the client.

Third, it’s just bad marketing. Every page on a photographer’s site should have some marketing value.
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Telling Not Selling

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Most photographers don’t want to be a salesperson selling photography. Many hate to advertise or promote themselves. Most don’t want to call attention to themselves by yelling, “Hire me!”

Photographers generally just want to go out, make some nice pictures, and then have a cheque magically arrive in the mail. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. You must show loud confidence in your business. If you’re not confident about you, then neither will the customer.

In the previous post, I wrote about advertising, marketing and being remarkable. In that post, it was suggested that advertising isn’t always the best option when marketing a business. But other forms of marketing are possible and even required.
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Remarkable Marketing

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Andy Sernovitz, a marketing guy, wrote:

Advertising is the cost of being boring.

If your customers won’t talk about your stuff, you have to pay newspapers and TV shows to do it for you.

Robert Stephens,  founder of the Geek Squad, made a similar statement:

. . . advertising is a tax you pay for being unremarkable.

Have you ever seen an ad for Google or Facebook? When was the last time you saw a Starbucks TV commercial? How often does a pro sports league like the NBA advertise its product?
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List of Ingredients

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Many years ago, professional photographers would often state that they used Nikon, Hasselblad or Sinar cameras. By pointing out that they used these highly-regarded brands, the photographers were hoping to be seen as being more professional than photographers who used other camera brands.

If a commercial client knew the photographer was using a Nikon, Hasselblad or Sinar, that client would be more confident that the photo assignment would be a success.

“Ingredient branding” is when an ingredient or component of a product or service has its own brand identity. An ingredient brand adds its own brand value to a business, product or service. Ingredient branding can help differentiate and elevate a business or product from its competitors. This can influence customer preference and help support higher pricing.

Well-known examples of ingredient brands are Gore-tex, Intel, Teflon, NutraSweet, Shimano, Lycra, Kevlar and Dolby.
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