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| Great Member Articles | |||||
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| Thriving or Surviving By
Rick Trummer, M.Photog.,Cr, F-WPPA, F-SCPA |
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It’s a couple of questions I get every time I visit another studio “Is every studio having problems and are sales down everywhere”? My answer is always the same, “no”! Why is it that some studios are thriving and some are just surviving or maybe even drowning? There are many answers to that questions and I hope the following will give you some hope and at the same time give you a kick in the pants to work harder and smarter than you have ever before. |
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First, let me clear up a few things that have bothered me over the last two years since I have switched jobs… I have had the unique opportunity to be a studio employee, a studio owner, a corporate photographer and manager as well as a representative of a color lab. I’ve seen and heard a lot. We had photo terrorist twenty years ago, the digital age just made it easier for them to pick us off. Computers and cameras are cheaper, education is all over the Internet and every person thinks they can do the same work we do based on photographs they have seen. The amateur shooters doing this year's ago just didn’t have the same equipment that we were using. However the facts are still the same as they were twenty years ago…they don’t know how to use that equipment and if they do your not doing everything you can to educate yourself in this industry. Today, our clients are much like we are, afraid. Afraid that they can’t pay the next bill, afraid that their retirement won’t be enough, that gas prices are to high and afraid of a war that we don’t see an end to and they are afraid that they don’t have enough money to go to a professional for their cherished moments. So what happens, they get a family friend to do it, their mom or dad or a relative and they are putting us out of business. Is it any different than us walking into a discount store to pick up some clothing, groceries or other products we need? Did you use your local hardware store or did you drive to the Menards, Lowes or Home Depot right away to pick up your hardware needs? Did you walk past two other stores before you walked into a Wal-mart to pay a little less? Did you call your professional electrician or plumber before you did it yourself? Did you get your hair cut from a single store owner or a chain haircutting place? If you’ve done any of these things your doing the same to those small stores and businesses as our clients are doing to us, saving money! What makes us so special that we have a right to scream and kick our feet? We need to be doing a lot more to compete and we need to be doing it better. It’s not that people don’t want to spend money, but if they can’t see the difference in your work that mom’s why pay the money. Clients have always wanted to pay for quality, but are we giving it to them? So let me give you some insight from the studios that are thriving… First…they don’t over shoot and sit in front of a computer for hours and hours trying to color correct, retouch and edit just to make a buck. When Lee Larsen and I were together years ago every week we would go over the proofs we had and figure out how much money we wasted on bad shots. You learn in a hurry how you can save money; get it right in the camera. Now, we consider photography as free because you don’t pay for extra shots, but the problem is you spend more time working and editing instead of working smart. You think your time is free in front of the computer. Good, successful studios have great workflow systems in place and shoot less to produce time for more sessions and additional work that makes money. Shooting more doesn’t produce more money, work smarter not harder. Second…keep up with the education, your competition is. They make time to go to every event even if it has nothing to do with their business at hand. I learn from just the conversations that are going on around the room. You can learn something from a commercial photographer even if you don’t do commercial photography. Go see that wedding program; maybe they know something that you don’t. It’s scary the things you don’t know that you don’t know. Don’t feel that photographers talking about services you don’t offer have nothing of value for you. The successful studios are learning from everyone. Find time to read, watch and buy DVD’s on new techniques, learn something new everyday of your life. It’s amazing to me that our conventions aren’t more well attended, there are great programs here in the state and you don’t make time to visit them in your backyard! The successful studios make time and attend at every opportunity. Third…just because you have been in business for thirty years doesn’t make clients come to you automatically. I see this everyday; the studios that have been around for a while assume that the business will always be there; this is not the case. New ideas in marketing should always be invited in. Not everything will work, but remember Walt Disney declared bankruptcy seven times before he became a billionaire. Learn from failure, understand that every plan you have won’t be the best, but except it and keep trying. One marketing piece won’t do it, send multiple pieces on every promotion you have and don’t be afraid to try something new. How old are the prints on your wall? Do they change with the seasons? Are they new and exciting? Do you change them every year? People like to look at new things not something that has been in your studio for the last five years in the same spot. Old displays don’t create excitement, and for goodness sake, put yourself everywhere. Make deals with local stores, display work at malls, and try something different. It will pay off in the long run. Fourth…don’t be complacent in your work. It’s o.k. to hold on to the old masters school of thought, but your competition is looking at fashion magazines of what the kids want and getting new ideas. Incorporate the new school of thought with your old world school of thought and again, don’t be afraid to try something new. There are so many cool templates, actions and other hot items on the market, try something new every year and move with the industry. Market new and hot photography all the time and always try something that no one else is doing. Copying the photographer down the street will get you nowhere, because by the time you figure out what they are doing, they are trying new things. Be proactive, not reactive. Fifth…customer service, we talk it, but do we do it. The successful studio are doing it, going the extra mile for all of their clients. Little bonuses that make every customer feel special and cared for. Think of how you feel when your treated well, you go back for more. As Doug Box say’s “You want your fortune 500”. That’s the 500 hundred customers that will make you a fortune. Those customers need to be treated like kings and queens and it shouldn’t matter that they spend $100 dollars or $1000.00, treat everyone the same, you don’t know who your $100.00 customer is talking to, it could be a $5000.00 customer. Folks, we are in a battle, a battle to keep our livelihood growing and thriving. Don’t take a backseat to anyone and anytime, it’s time to take prisoners. You are the only one that can do it, it’s in your hands. Get off the sidelines and get back into the game. It starts today… |
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Print Challenge for 2009 - "Loose Ends " 1.
The Challenge will have a new theme every year. The theme is also the
title for all entries. A large part of the judge’s score should
include how well the entry fits the theme.
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