Let’s have a chat about the client experience in your photography business! As a photographer, do you provide your clients with an elevated client experience? When your clients make the decision to invest in your business, they are not just paying for your end product (the photos) and your service (your time). They are investing in the experience of working with you! Clients who work with small creative business owners are more likely to invest their dollars in an overall process that makes them feel special and cared about.
Think about this exact scenario in a different light. Let’s say you frequent a specific nail salon in town. You know what type of service they provide, and the total cost. But today, you are going to try a new nail salon. This nail salon charges an extra $20 for a manicure than any other location in town. But, when you sit down in their lush, private atmosphere, you are immediately met with a glass of champagne and some light appetizers. That ‘extra’ $20 is an investment in the experience they are providing you with! You leave this nail salon feeling elevated and as though you’ve just returned home from a girl’s trip.
You can elevate the experience of your photography business in order to provide your clients with an experience that makes them want to pay a premium fee, just to work with you! In order to do this, it takes fine-tuning a few of the key steps in your overall process.
For starters, each step of your process should be custom-tailored to each client! If you’re thinking ‘but my business relies on systems and processes!’ Don’t worry! Systems and processes are still highly encouraged. I personally use Dubsado to make sure my overall process runs as it should. Sign up here for 20% off of the only tool I literally could not run my business without.
However, you can still custom tailor the systems and processes that already exist in your photography business in order to serve each client on a more personal level. Here are 4 Steps to an Elevated Client Experience in Your Photography Business!
Before you sign a new client
The client experience you provide through your photography business begins long before that lead hits your inbox or that contract is signed. Your client experience begins on your website, social media, or by your referrals and word of mouth. Yes, your past clients are often the largest part of the client experience! Your past clients will not refer you if they didn’t leave their experience wanting to shout your name from the rooftops!
Working on your client experience before you sign a client begins with having an elevated brand & website. (looking to elevate your brand or Showit website? You can contact me here!). It also takes a defined brand voice that works to let your clients know you are the right person to fulfill their needs. How about your social media channels? Are you showing up consistently, even when you feel like no one is listening? If your potential client is a savvy buyer, they are going to check in on you through those channels before they hit the contact button!
During the lead and sales process
How easy is it to book with you? Is it a slew of back and forth emails? What about the total of your investment? Does your client have to hunt and peck to find the starting cost of your investment? Having an easy consult booking process and creating a beautiful investment guide is going to make your new client feel relaxed for what’s ahead, rather than dreading it. During the period of time between inquiring and the date of your initial consultation meeting, your new client should have their hands on your thorough investment guide. This will allow them to read through all of the information they need to feel good about what’s to come.
Pro tip: I recommend having a hidden page on your website in order to present a new client with your pricing! You can read more about that in this post!
What does your booking process look like for your initial consultation? Is that another disaster of link sending via back and forth emails? Using a system like the Dubsado scheduler will make life easier for both you and the potential client. Ditch the mile-long email threads and make it easy to find a time that works for you both. Simply send your new lead a link to your scheduler so that they can easily select an available time that works for them
During Your Time Together
Once you have onboarded your client, communication is key! Make sure that you are communicating effectively with your client throughout the entire process. If you are aware that there will be a lag in communication due to upcoming scheduling, send them a note every now and then to check in. Ask how they’re doing and see if they need anything before you get started. This is another great step to set up in your client process through Dubsado workflows!
Never overlook the impact of a small gesture! Small gestures go a long for elevating the client experience in your photography business! Client gifts are a great way to let your clients know that you are there for them. Send a Starbucks gift card to their inbox to kick off the countdown to their wedding or your first day working together! How about delivering flowers to congratulate them? Your clients will feel like they are the only ones in your universe! Looking for something even more exceptional? Carefully curated boxed gifts are also available through Box Fox!
Not sure what to send your client? Take a look back over their initial questionnaire to discover their likes and hobbies!
Other small gestures that won’t take up a lot of your time or money include: tagging your client on social media to welcome them to your business or community, bragging about their engagement session online, and publishing a blog post about their wedding day at the end of your time together!
After Your Time Together
Your time with your client has ended, now what? Stay in touch! Share more photos of your client(s) on your social media channels in the coming months! A year after the date of their wedding, share photos from their wedding day and tag them to wish them a happy first anniversary! In our highly digital world, it’s more important than ever to take every opportunity to make your client feel loved and appreciated.
Greeting cards are another small but impactful gesture to keep in touch and let your clients know how appreciated they are. Christmas cards or Birthday cards are right at the top of that list! Be sure that your client questionnaire includes a field for them to enter their birthday.
Are you following your clients on social media? Continue to congratulate them when you see them sharing wins or anything exciting happening in their life! Those small details really make your clients feel like they matter to you. They show your clients they are not just another customer to a big company that doesn’t know they exist.
