The business side of photography
Here’s a fantastic example of a company using editorial content on its corporate site. Alfred Dunhill, a British company that sells menswear worldwide has a number of very compelling videos on its web site. Some of these videos are related to its products and some seem to have no connection whatsoever.
Does editorial content help sell product?
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– From the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
This January 28th is the annual, international Data Privacy Day, also known as Data Protection Day. The date commemorates the 1981 signing of Convention 108 which deals with privacy and data protection.
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While shopping for a pair of winter shoes recently, the ones that I liked most ranged from $99 to $199. All of these shoes looked good and all were comfortable. Which one to choose?
Most of these shoes had only a simple price tag attached. But one pair had a twelve-page booklet attached which described how the shoes were made. These were the shoes I bought (for $179).
When a customer asks something like, “What’s your price to do four business headshots?”, this is a good indication that the customer is shopping price. This is not the time for a photographer to act like a price tag. Instead the photographer should be a booklet of information.
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Virgin’s Richard Branson once mentioned the importance of building a company based upon principles, not policies.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a policy is a definite course of action. A principle is “a moral rule or belief that … influences your actions.”
Let’s put it this way: a policy explains “what” and a principle explains “why.”
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A customer may directly or indirectly tell a photographer that their price is too high. When this happens, the photographer has to understand why the customer is saying this.
A customer may say the photographer’s price is too high when, in reality, the customer is undecided or confused about the offer. It’s easier to say, “it’s too expensive” than “I’m not sure how I can benefit from this photography.”
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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.
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?
