I 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

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