The story so far…

January 20th, 2009 in Marketing by Ian Baugh

Tags: Budgeting, Calculator, Competitors, Economy, Income Streams, Increase Profits, Password, Reputation, Time

Follow the links for “the story so far” in our series on the recession…

Yes, times will be tough for a while but you shouldn’t assume the sky is falling. It makes no sense to sacrifice your business and market reputation to survive the short term challenge.

Instead you may need to pull your horns in and find ways to prosper while others decline. A good place to start is by analysing your budget and business model, and we have a spreadsheet to help with that.

Most people react to the threat of declining sales by saying, “I’ve gotta cut my costs”. Everyone needs to work out their own figures, but your own personal income is probably your biggest “cost” by far. Do you want to cut that? Go figure.

Your actual job costs (eg albums and printing) are likely to be less than a quarter of sales. Cutting them may really mean short-changing your clients, a dangerous strategy. And your asset replacement and overhead costs are probably just as significant. Take a lesson from farmers, who know that bad years are a reality. They put their cheque books away until the good times return, but meantime they take care of the farm!

If you are your own biggest cost, it follows that your time is your biggest asset. What could you do with it? Maybe get out from behind your computers, look for stuff you’re doing for little or no return and become a marketer instead.

The good news is that most reactions are knee-jerk. Most of your competitors won’t be thinking about adding value – they’ll focus instead on slashing their prices and/or their costs.

So, how can you add value (for your clients) and profit (for yourself)?

A good place to start is with the realities of the wedding and portrait market.

One thing the recession hasn’t changed is that professional photography is totally open, with inexhaustible supplies of new competitors. The Weekend Warriors and the Art School Graduates, all with fancy cameras, many with the ability to use them.

What’s worse, these enthusiasts may be offering prices a tenth of yours. And as fast as they go out of business, a new lot take their place, coming over the horizon like the enemy in an old John Wayne movie.

It’s got a bit tougher, but the challenge is the same: how do you make a decent living in a totally free market like this?

Here’s a clue. In thirty years I’ve personally come across only one up-market wedding photographer, with a long-term career, who didn’t depend on albums to showcase his wedding photography.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that many studios use albums because everyone else does, but they don’t understand why.

So how does it work? How can albums increase your profits?

Please email Nigel for the password, then click here to read on.

Cheers, Ian

PS Queensberry’s logical album-based marketing strategies have been used successfully by our clients for many years. Whether you’re new to professional photography or just want a reality check, we’d love to hear from you.

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Yes, but…

Time is money

January 16th, 2009 in Marketing by Ian Baugh

1 Comment »

Tags: Budgeting, Economy, Out Sourcing, Recession, Time

We’re all sailing in rough waters, we’re all getting tossed about. The question is, who’s going to make it to port, you or your competitors? I absolutely agree with Nigel. When things are quiet it’s a great time to be working on your marketing. But are you too busy?!

I hope we agree by now that by far the most important cost in your business is you,and therefore…

The most valuable ASSET in your business is YOUR TIME.

That fact should be at the forefront of your mind, and yet most people ignore it. Even if you’re quiet it’s too important to ignore. You’ll never earn $100 an hour by spending your time on $20 tasks.

Consider this. For many photographers each wedding occupies a week of their time – often a long week. Think of the benefits if you could get it down to four days! Some photographers can do a wedding in three: think a day each for pre-shoot (to secure the booking), shoot and post-shoot.

How’s that possible? Here are two scenarios (based on my spreadsheet – email me if you’d like a copy)…

masc

The only difference between them is that in the second, instead of doing it themselves, the studio is paying Queensberry to design the album, colour-correct and retouch the images and assemble the finished book. Obviously the cost will vary depending on how much retouching is requested.

Assuming no associated cost reductions or extra bookings, my income could drop under the second option, so what’s the appeal?

Well, the 500-plus hours I’ve saved. That’s a quarter of a year! And look at the impact on my earnings per hour.

What could I do with that freed-up time?

I could work on my marketing to book more weddings.
Or I could develop a whole new income stream. Portraits maybe?
Or I could hone my golf/surfing/gardening skills, or go home early.

Let’s be clear, you could end up polishing your images less under my second scenario. But you need to look around at your competitors. Right now, are you getting paid for all the work you do? Or doing it for nothing? Another approach might be your next marketing challenge: to find a way to get paid for what you now do for free.

Cheers, Ian

PS I suggested your income would drop under my second scenario, but maybe not if you’ve been hiring someone to do your “production work”, or you use your new free time to drum up some new business.