Queensberry Connects


Posts Tagged ‘Economy’

The shortest day

June 25th, 2009 in Opinion by Ian Baugh


View Comments

Tags: ,

I see the Druids are celebrating the sun at Stonehenge, but Down South 21 June is the shortest day.

Not that we have much to complain about. We don’t even get frosts in Titirangi (loosely “fringe of heaven” in Maori) but it’s sure cold in the wind and shade. Early morning I rugged up and took the dogs down to the beach and thought that, even when the tide’s out on an overcast day in Winter, life’s not too bad.

Hopefully it’s the shortest day for the economy too.

The worst of Winter may still be ahead – the moneymen (and some of us) screwed up, and the consequences are still playing out … but Summer will come.

I hope not too many of us panicked, that we’re prioritising to save the farm.

And I hope as the weather improves we don’t forget Grandma’s advice. Wrap up warm in case the weather changes again … We didn’t need credit cards in our day! Just because some smart alec invents a new debt instrument doesn’t mean we need to use it. A bit like Photoshop effects really.

Cheers, Ian

 

People who like this post would also like:

  • Plan B: the sequel
  • Taking care of business
  • Photo front covers (easy-peasy)

    • Feedback 3: Your competition

    June 12th, 2009 in Opinion by Ian Baugh


    View Comments

    Tags: , , , , , ,

    More feedback on my email, Your next album company

    It’s hard to compete … We’ve seen a massive influx of photographers from Eastern Europe charging very low prices and supplying reasonable products.

    I understood the impact of this EU “migration” in British hotels and restaurants, but I honestly hadn’t thought about the impact on photographers (Jo and Kirsten will be shaking their heads!).

    Even so I feel that this kind of competition is always with us … in one form or other.

    The purpose of outstanding presentation is to add value to your photography. That’s why, whoever you use, your albums must help you stand out in the market.

    If you can’t think of five reasons why people should choose you, there’s probably only one: you’re cheap. Said differently, differentiate or drop your prices.

    But here’s the thing: if you agree with that sentiment, you’ve ruled out most suppliers in the market.

    Two final thoughts… If you’re interested I posted a series of emails early this year on dealing with the recession and album-based marketing.

    And as my last post demonstrated, QBY has exactly the same challenge.

    Cheers, Ian

    PS Comments invited!

     

    People who like this post would also like:

  • Feedback 2: Our competition
  • Queensberry webinar: How much are your images worth?
  • Albums to differentiate

    • Feedback 2: Our competition

    June 11th, 2009 in Opinion by Ian Baugh


    View Comments

    Tags: , , , ,

    More feedback on my email, Your next album supplier

    Changing to Queensberry is like changing my Ford Focus for a top range Audi … Not sure many people are going to cope with that.

    Depends what you mean by “many”. But certainly we never expect most people to choose Queensberry. Products that differentiate need to be aspirational (ie more people want them than can have them). That applies to your own “products” too, of course.

    In business, rather than ask how much something costs, it’s useful sometimes to ask how much it’s worth. And how it positions you in your market.

    There were 42 album companies at Focus this year … something must be going right for them all.

    Not necessarily. There used to be dozens of little oil companies, car companies and computer companies too. Right now the barriers to entry for digital book companies are very low. Things will get shaken out. And you didn’t even mention the very cheap press books you can buy from Apple and goodness knows where else.

    Many of the old UK companies make a very good living from supplying their legacy products.

    It didn’t pan out for Spicer Hallfield. My post was simply to suggest that you think twice before hitching your wagon to products or companies that may be in a long, slow decline.

    Cheers, Ian

    PS Comments invited!

     

    People who like this post would also like:

  • Albums to differentiate
  • Do you get it?
  • Feedback 3: Your competition

    • Feedback

    June 10th, 2009 in Opinion by Ian Baugh


    View Comments

    Tags: , , , , ,

    Prompted by the unfortunate demise of Spicer Hallfield, which was once the UK’s foremost album manufacturer, I emailed our list in the UK yesterday. The gist of my message was that their ex customers should think twice before choosing a replacement supplier – especially if their gut reaction was to look for someone offering a similar product at a similar price.

    My email generated quite a lot of enquiries for Sonya’s team, plus some feedback that I thought I’d discuss over the next few days. But let me start with the tough one…

    Someone called my email an “unbelievable bit of ambulance chasing”.

    Hmm, I’d agree if we were offering discounts to ex Spicers customers, or matching their prices for six months.

    As it is, ALL we offered was something to think about, which I’m personally happy to stand by.

    You can read what I said here. (And when we first heard the rumours, I touched on some of the same points here.)

    Cheers, Ian

    More feedback tomorrow.

     

    People who like this post would also like:

  • Dealing with complaints
  • In your customers’ shoes #2
  • Think twice about ads on your blog

    • Sad for them

    May 22nd, 2009 in Opinion by Ian Baugh


    View Comments

    Tags: , , , , ,

    Sad as it is, it’s no secret that one or two of the traditional album manufacturers in the USA and UK have had serious problems, and not just because of “the economy”.

    It’s hard for everyone when a company struggles, hard for their staff, hard for their suppliers. Harder still when you know the people involved.

    Hard for their customers too, who’ve spent a lot of time getting to know their people, understanding their systems and foibles, making bookings with couples who will expect one of their albums…

    So why have they been in trouble?

    Because companies like Queensberry started eating their lunch.

    It’s easy to see, when the world changes, that previously successful 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 the market associates the new world with their new competition – and because their clients generally don’t want to change either.

    Unfortunately, when faced with needing to find a new supplier, many people look for someone offering a similar product at the same price. They could be hitching their business to another dying star…

    Sad for them, good for Queensberry clients.

    Cheers, Ian

    PS I first published this accidentally and I’ve edited it a bit since. Reading it back it still sounds a bit harsh, and it’s not meant to. I just wanted to make the point that this may not be the best of times to resist change. But many people do, and (indirectly) that’s good for our clients.

     

    People who like this post would also like:

  • Feedback 2: Our competition
  • Feedback
  • Interview with: Darlene Hildebrandt

    • The end of the party economy

    May 18th, 2009 in Marketing by Ian Baugh


    View Comments

    Tags: , ,

    If you’re finding this year tough, and you’ve said, or thought, what’s wrong, I’m not doing anything different… right there may be your problem.

    Just as things changed when you switched from film to digital, or PC to Mac, or Nikon to Canon, things have changed with the end of the party economy…

    Have you heard how much the Las Vegas convention industry is suffering because it’s not a good look for corporations to go there to “party” when times are tough?

    This is probably not the best time to be selling party souvenirs. Your work needs to be significant, worthwhile, to survive the end of the party economy.

    As I read Johanne’s longevity post last week it struck me that’s exactly how he and Jo present themselves. Telling stories about relationships intended to last forever, through albums and imagery designed to do the same… Creating treasured possessions that celebrate significant events, so they can be enjoyed, reflected upon and shared forever…

    Cheers, Ian

     

    People who like this post would also like:

  • Selling my album on longevity
  • “What a swell party…”
  • The dream salesman

    • I don’t have time

    March 25th, 2009 in Marketing by Ian Baugh


    View Comments

    Tags: , , , ,

    Darlene raised another good point about my album-marketing posts. (I’d suggested that you split the wedding sales process into two stages, the process of booking the wedding and the process of selling the photographs. Stage 2 comes after the wedding, and often involves showing your clients an album you’ve pre-designed, or even designing the album with them then and there.)

    Darlene’s point was that I was promoting pre-design, but my advice was no help to photographers who have “no time to do that”.

    She’s right, but I can’t see what can be done about it. Pre-design requires the ability to edit the design, and for that you need the designer in the room!

    In a nutshell, that’s why we sometimes describe PJ Remix as a sales tool, not a design tool.

    On the face of it people who “don’t have time” to design their own albums run the risk of leaving money on the table. It’s worth thinking about this:

    • If you’re contracting out your album design, do it so you can get back to “shooting pictures and selling them”, where the profit is.
    • If you’re designing your own albums, treat it as design job and a sales job.

    Of course Stage 2 (selling the photographs) could be just that, a sales session to encourage your clients to buy more images for their album, but I wouldn’t assume it will save you much time. And you won’t have the ability to show them what their album could look like.

    Cheers, Ian

     

    People who like this post would also like:

  • What are we actually selling?
  • Pre-design: the power of suggestion
  • Keep it simple – our design Service

    • They don’t have the money

    March 24th, 2009 in Marketing by Ian Baugh


    View Comments

    Tags: , , ,

    In my posts a couple of months back about album marketing I suggested that you need an entry-level price that doesn’t scare people. That prompted Darlene to tell a good story…

    “If a bride has a Mercedes budget and your prices start at Ford, she won’t even come look at you. I’ve seen that in action with some of my clients.

    “One guy from a rust-belt town was charging $1500-3000. He told me, ‘I can’t sell your albums – they’re too expensive and I can’t get $5000 for a wedding round here’.

    “I told him he’d be surprised to learn, then, that one of his competitors (20 minutes away) was using Queensberry albums, his packages went from $4000 to $10,000 and a good half of his weddings were in this guy’s town.

    “The brides with money didn’t consider him because he was too cheap. So he assumed there just wasn’t any with money there.”

    Cheers, Ian

    PS Darlene added, “I personally discount many people’s initial budget because they just don’t know what photography costs.”

    True, but … whatever their misconceptions (too high or too low) or how you price yourself (too high or too low), if you get it wrong they may never call you. You need to constantly evaluate your prices and packages to ensure they’re delivering the results you want.

     

    People who like this post would also like:

  • Yes, but…
  • Interview with: Darcie Siiteri
  • One happy couple

    • Yes, but…

    March 19th, 2009 in Marketing by Ian Baugh


    View Comments

    Tags: , , , , , , ,

    First, a big thank you for the feedback we’ve been getting (BTW, interesting how much of it comes off-line!). A long-time Aussie friend phoned me and said that posts about increasing your sales by pre-designing in PJ were all very well, but he was having trouble getting the booking in the first place! A mate of his, a top-flight photographer, told him that if he could get a couple of thousand for the image files on DVD he should take it and be grateful. He decided to try that tack with a well-heeled lady enquirer … and the most she would pay was $1500. He turned her down.

    OK, this is life in the real world.

    Reality #1: Go back to my post about how much you need to charge. 2000 Aussie dollars is probably not going to sustain your business unless you can shoot a LOT more jobs. On the other hand, as my Dad used to say, it’s a lot better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick … and like those airline seats, your Saturday is valueless if you don’t use it.

    Reality #2: If you become known as the guy who gives them the image files I reckon you’re done. Now you’re lined up against all the weekend warriors who’ll do it for a few hundred. My friend is rightly proud of his photography. Financially and professionally that’s a really bad place to be.

    What to do? First, don’t listen to me. Well listen critically anyway! You need to respond to your own situation, your own numbers, your own psychology. But a few thoughts.

    1. Most of my friend’s weddings are from out of town. His chances of meeting clients are little or none. His website reflects his good taste, but I can see very little photography and no albums. Nigel would say, “You need a blog.” I agree, and I would display all the albums I sell on it, maybe the way we do here. Alternatively, Steve Sharp is one of New Zealand’s top professionals and he told us how he did it here.

    2. My friend sells a QBY album with every package. But that album is expensive, and maybe it should be an up-sell. You have no idea how it hurts me to say this (!) but many of our clients offer a cheaper album alternative, or offer packages with no album at all. Have you read my articles on album marketing strategies, especially the one on entry-level packages (please contact Nigel for a URL and password)?

    3. The airlines offer cheap seats when the plane’s empty. If Air New Zealand think they can sell a seat for full price you won’t see it on grabaseat. Maybe there’s a lesson there. Maybe you’ll only take bookings for certain packages a few months before the date, so you don’t sell your Saturday below budget unnecessarily.

    4. Remember you have two bites at the cherry, pre-wedding and post-wedding. Just because her limit was $1500 pre-wedding doesn’t mean she won’t be prepared to spend more afterwards. But will you get the up-sell if you’ve already given her the crown jewels for $1500?

    More questions than answers here, maybe, but something to chew on I hope.

    Cheers, Ian

     

    People who like this post would also like:

  • They don’t have the money
  • Commercialising something you love: Jerry Tomko interview
  • Case in point

    • I love a good story

    March 16th, 2009 in Marketing by Danny Bay


    View Comments

    Tags: , , , , ,

    noshI don’t like long posts, and I’m always at Ian and Nigel to keep ‘em brief so I apologize. This recent post prompted Ken to comment and me to respond with this, my longest ever…

    Ken asked whether our industry’s main challenge wasn’t “crap photography” but competitors with stupid pricing, for example, “2 photographers, hi-res images and Queensberry with 60 images for £1500.”

    Ken suggested that people like that shouldn’t last in business but they keep coming back…

    So I presume that if in fact they’re surviving, they’re probably a high volume, low margin outfit – possibly with healthy post-event sales techniques. And that model works great for some people, so more power to them, but there are certainly other ways to skin the cat.

    Consider mainstream grocery stores, based on volume, low margins and impulse purchase techniques. They’re very successful in New Zealand, as everywhere – formulaic, calculated and, did I say, successful?

    But boutique grocery stores are popping up all over Auckland. To name a few: Farro, Nosh, Sabato and Huckleberry Farms.

    Their model is different and it seems to be working.  The product isn’t actually that much different – a little, enough anyway – but the big difference is their story (see seth godin).  When I walk in I notice their story straight away. Abundant tasting stations, very knowledgeable staff, grass-fed eye fillet, guilt-free eggs and the illusion that I am personally both successful and a good cook (the latter is unquestionably not true). They tell me that story, and I like to hear it because it makes me feel good.  And the story ends at my place when I cook for my friends, who compliment me on the meal.  Little do they know that the mushroom sauce was pre-made ;-) and the pasta was hand made, just not by me!

    I’m sure the same can be applied to a wedding photographer, as there are plenty of people who won’t want a studio that shot 300 weddings last year.  Those same people, maybe like me, are looking for (or are receptive to) an alternative story.  My suggestion is to find one that’s true to you and run with it.

    For example, on our most recent NZ tour I met a photographer who is developing his story and it’s different.  Ben Marden lives ‘off the grid’ in a remote part of Australia and powers his home and studio with solar panels and wind turbines – something he thought would be ‘off putting’ for his clients when he first moved there.  Instead his clients are impressed at how progressive he is and how wonderful it is to be more sustainable. Now it’s a feature in Ben’s story… and it has nothing to do with packages or shooting techniques or price points.

    Thanks for reading. I’ll go back to the bat cave and get programming.

    Danny

    PS I got this off Ben’s site: “The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run and if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.” - John Ruskin

     

    People who like this post would also like:

  • Teaser
  • Sad for them
  • Oh what a night

    • « Older Entries


    Back to top