Ready to stand out from your competition?
Have you ever been to a place with phenomenal customer service? Maybe a restaurant or retail store came to mind. You were most likely in complete awe of the service you received that you were leaving positive reviews and wanting to tell all of your friends about your experience.
Don’t you want people raving about YOUR business because of the above and beyond customer service you bring to the table? I know I do!
Today, I’m going to share with you three ways you can amplify your client experience, making your business stand out from the crowd.
Let’s dive in…
1. Prep Your Clients
This is a simple step that allows you to enhance their experience, but also equips you better for your photography session.
Send your couple an intake questionnaire once they hire you. Ask details like the names of the people who will be present for the shoot. Ask if there is a special occasion as to why they are getting family photos taken, etc. Also, ask if they would like for you to put a style board together (talk about above and beyond service!).
These systems that you have in place for on-boarding clients, may take you a week to put together. But, once the systems are in place, your clients will be talking about these little details that make them feel like they are your only client. This will definitely help you stand out from other photographers too!
2. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
The day before your client session, take the time to send a personalized email expressing how excited you are to meet them. When emailing, make sure to provide them all the final details about the shoot (i.e. time and location).
Send a follow-up email after your session, too. When you’ve arrived home after a long day of shooting, you may be ready to prop your feet up on the couch. However, taking a quick second to send a follow-up email to your client about when they can expect their full gallery, sneak peeks and other buying options will go along way. (You can actually have this email already drafted so all you have to do is hit “send” when you get home!)
And, of course, anytime a client reaches out to you make sure to respond in a timely-manner. If you receive an email and you know you won’t be able to respond with your full attention until the next day, it’s okay to respond to the email saying I’ve received your email and will give your question(s) my full-attention first thing tomorrow morning.
3. Under Promise and Over Deliver
Don’t ever provide your client with an expectation or due date that you can’t deliver. I always recommend telling them a further out due date and then surprising them with an early delivery. We all like getting surprises, right? An early delivery of a full gallery is something I always love surprising my clients with.
Other ways you can over deliver are sending hand-written thank-you notes or sending holiday presents to past and current clients. Sending holiday cards is a personal favorite of mine because it allows me to reconnect with my clients. They know I appreciate and value them simply because I took the time to write their address on an envelope.
So, quick recap…
Three ways you can stand out starting TODAY…
- Prep Your Clients
- Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
- Under Promise and Over Deliver
I want to hear from you! Tell me how you are implementing these three key points into your business model. Think something is missing from my list? Shoot me an email, I’d love to hear what you would add to the list.
Tune into this podcast episode to hear a deep dive into this topic of standing out from the competition.
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