If you prefer to listen than read, please check out our new webinars on album-based marketing: how to sell albums, and why, and for how much. – Cheers, Ian
Full disclosure. I’m with Queensberry, you know that, and we’d love your business.
At least three of our competitors (that I know of) have gone out of business in the last year, and you can be sure we ask ourselves why.
They say you don’t know much about business until you’ve gone broke … but that’s too glib for me. It’s tough for everyone out there right now.
And yet you need to get past your feelings and start asking questions. What happened? What’s happening? How can I avoid becoming a casualty myself?
And I’m not talking about the album companies here – I’m talking about photographers like you.
Because if you chose a vendor whose products aren’t what people want to buy, you can be sure that the impact on you won’t be good (just to be difficult I’ll turn that proposition on its head in a moment).
Album makers play an important role in most studios. You spend a lot of time getting to understand their systems and foibles. You get to like their people. You probably take bookings well in advance for their albums.
Right there are three powerful motivators to stick with them.
And yet the “no change” option could well be a mistake.
It’s no surprise the traditional market leaders have been struggling. New competition, including us of course, has revolutionised the industry. In fact there have been at least three “revolutions”:
• The shift to digital photography and online solutions;
• The shift to handmade bespoke albums that allow photographers to design albums that truly suit their photography; and
• The press book / coffee table book phenomenon.
When the world changes the old companies find it very hard to change with it. It’s hard to let go of the old world because they were successful in it, because many of their clients don’t want them to change – and because the market associates the new world with their new competition.
I think most people reading this would agree: if you’re still showing outdated traditional product it’s past time to check out something new.
Which (surprise) brings me back to Queensberry.
Heather and I built our business over almost forty years by helping our clients to succeed. Our mantra was, we don’t make albums, we help our clients sell their photography. The next generation run the show now but what we believe remains the same…
• Outstanding presentation adds enormous value to your photography
• Using the same albums as everyone else reduces the value of your photography.
In practice, not many photographers agree with those statements. In the face of price pressure and work stress they’re opting for shoot-and-burn or cheap press books.
There’s a certain residual glamour to “shoot-and-burn” – but substitute “You can have the negatives” and you know you’re in danger of becoming a bottom feeder while your clients whisk the files you’re so proud of down to a kiosk somewhere.
And unfortunately for coffee table books, what was unimaginable a decade ago is now commonplace, as you can tell from the number of start-ups and labs getting into the game … and the downwardly spiralling prices … and the fact that any amateur and part-timer can now design and order the books themselves for very little money. How to differentiate yourself with press books is a very interesting challenge!
The point is, we believe that the way to succeed is to stand out from the crowd, not to join it. Be different. Once you join the crowd all you have to compete on is your price.
We’ve never tried to sell to everyone.
We’ve always said that if you aspire to the high end for your photography, it’s a big mistake to sell in the same albums as everybody else.
Our latest album, the Musée, reflects this. It’s our most exclusive product, designed for people who want only the best: beautiful photography, discerning design and the best materials in a product that requires the highest level of artisanship to produce.
I’m the first to say that we aren’t for everyone, but that’s the point of Queensberry, really, and great for our clients.
If you do get what I’m saying, and you’re willing to take the first step, we’ll go the extra mile for you.
We are the only company – the only company – that can offer you decades of experience in customised album creation and lab services of the highest quality, not to mention our own in-house IT team (they created Photojunction and innovated the business system that enables us to work with you “as if we’re local”). We offer the best customer service in the industry, and no middlemen. You always talk directly to us.
Just as important is that our albums can’t be mass-produced. Our albums will always differentiate you.
Your next step may depend on how well you know us.
If you’d like to see what people think of us click here.
Maybe you’ve seen us at a trade show and just need this prompt to get started. If that’s you, why not join Queensberry now.
Maybe you’d prefer to find out more without obligation. If so, please contact us for more information. We’d love to hear from you.
See my articles on coping with the recession and album-based marketing in our Knowledgebase (you’ll need to login).
You might also like to check out our photographer blog, Queensberry Connects. Read Nigel’s client interviews or Johannes van Kan’s perceptive photographer’s point of view. Check out the albums we feature on our consumer blog and Facebook.
Whether you get what I’m saying, or disagree with every word, thank you sincerely for reading this far.
We love the wedding and portrait industry. This is a time of great opportunity for the brave, and we wish you every success in the future, whether that’s as part of the Queensberry community or not.
But I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t end with a comment and a plug!
• It’s a lot more crowded at the bottom of the market than the top, and getting more so…
• Scroll up a few paragraphs and click on a link to take action now. We’d love to make contact.
Very best wishes
Ian Baugh
Queensberry
PS Our next release will take us in directions you never expected. I hope you’ll stay tuned.
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