For Customers

Expert Impression

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I was reading an article offering marketing advice for 2014. The piece included tips and predictions for the upcoming year from 14 “marketing experts.”

Of these 14 people featured in the article, only six seem to have professionally produced business portraits. But only two of these photos are of good quality and only one looks recent.

The majority of these “marketing experts” are represented either by a poorly exposed, poorly focused snapshot of themselves or by a picture of a picture of themselves (which suggests that they don’t even have a headshot).

With such a disregard for their own business image and apparently no knowledge of the marketing value of photography, how much credibility would you extend to these “marketing experts”?

A marketing expert who doesn’t have a professional business headshot is like a plumber who doesn’t own a wrench, a chef who doesn’t have a knife or a photographer who doesn’t have a tripod.

A professional business portrait is the simplest, most common and most effective marketing tool for making a positive first impression, creating trust and building credibility.

 

More than meets the eye

Many photographers charge a minimum fee for their location work. This minimum might range from a couple hundred dollars to much higher, depending on the situation.

Before you scream “Unfair!”, keep in mind that most tradespeople and some other types of businesses also charge minimum fees.

Locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, furnace repair, moving companies, carpet cleaners, etc., all have minimum fees just for showing up at your front door. This minimum often goes up on evenings and weekends. My locksmith charges a minimum $90, my plumber has a $140 minimum. At a newspaper where I once worked, to get a technician to come service the film or print processor cost a minimum $600.

Businesses charge minimum fees to help cover the time and cost of travelling to the customer’s location, setting up equipment (if applicable) and providing at least a minimum amount of service.
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Is It Worth The Trouble To Smile?

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Every real estate agent knows that a friendly face on a lawn sign or billboard will attract more attention than anything else, except perhaps a picture of a baby.

Every politician knows that a professional business portrait helps build trust. No matter what scandal a politician may have been involved in, a good portrait will be a positive influence on voters.

The marketing power of a well-done business portrait can benefit anyone.

A business headshot with a smile builds trust, indicates friendliness, confidence and politeness, and suggests that you are smart and competent. It has also been shown that smiling can increase your customers’ satisfaction and can even help you live longer and be happier.

Is it worth the trouble to smile?

Yes it is, especially in front of the photographer who’s making your new business headshot.

 

Choosing Less Satisfaction

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Would you:

— Buy a pair of shoes based only on price?

— Buy a book based only on price?

— Decide on concert tickets based only on price?

— Choose a restaurant based only on price?

— Plan a vacation based only on price?

Why would anyone choose a photographer based only on price?

A 2013 study by J.D. Power looked at customer satisfaction with North American car rental companies. A key finding was that customers who chose a car rental company based on lowest price were the least satisfied.

This parallels a similar 2013 North American hotel study which found that consumers who chose a hotel based on lowest price were also the least satisfied.

Would any customer be satisfied with the lowest-priced photographer?

 

When is the price of photography expensive?

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“Aren’t your photography prices too high?”

Compared to an amateur photographer, a Craigslist photographer, or an inexperienced photographer then I certainly hope that my prices are much higher than any of those.

But I’m not expensive when compared to a photographer with similar experience and knowledge.

I quoted $1,560 for a job last month that required eight business headshots. A few days later, someone from the company called to let me know that their project was cancelled. She said that she had received quotes from four Toronto photographers, including myself, and all were within $300 of each other. Unfortunately, she continued, “My boss budgeted only $500. I told him it wasn’t enough!”
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Underspending Is Overspending

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Charles Mortimer was the CEO of the former General Foods from 1954 to 1965. During this time he doubled the company’s sales and tripled its earnings. Mortimer’s background was in marketing. He was once quoted as saying:

The surest way to over-spend on advertising is not to spend enough to do a job properly. It’s like buying a ticket three-quarters of the way to Europe; you have spent some money, but you do not arrive.

If you replace the word “advertising” with “professional photography”, the saying would still hold true.

When a company seeks the lowest-cost corporate photography, that company is shooting itself in the foot, or more accurately, in the wallet. When spending on photography for business marketing, it’s not what you pay that’s important but rather it’s what you get.

Cutting corners and paying just enough to get ineffective or low quality business photography is a form of overspending because you’ve bought a ticket to nowhere.

If a job is worth doing then get someone to do it properly. – anonymous

 

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