Business Breakthroughs for Photographers, Part IX

A.I. Image from Adobe Stock

by Skip Cohen

"Business Breakthroughs" are all about ideas to help you fine-tune your business. They're all about more ways to break through the chaos of reaching your target audience. And, since it's Marketing Monday, here's a checklist to help you raise the bar on customer service.

​Too slow in your follow-ups? How's that working for you?​ Anyone who contacts you, whether they're a client, potential client, vendor, or associate, judges you on your response time, together with the accuracy of your response and your perceived sincerity.

Phone Calls: How quickly do you return a call to a client? Many years ago, Gene Ho, a wedding photographer in Myrtle Beach, told me how his system works in responding to clients. If he's on the road and unavailable, an assistant catches the message and texts Gene or gets back to the potential bride directly. Often, his studio has locked in the client before his competitors even open their emails.

Checking Your Email: Things really do get lost. Remember to check all your email boxes. Some of you not only have exclusive business email addresses but are also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. Messages can sit there for weeks with many of you. Also, don't forget the "other" box on Facebook messages. Plus, check your spam folders. Remember, people will always assume the worst when you don't reply promptly.

Email Templates on Your Website are meaningless if you don't check them regularly. Also, give people every possible way to contact you. I understand if you work out of your home and don't want to publish your address, but you can still give them an email address and phone number. What's most important is how quickly a potential client gets a response.  

Customer Service Problems/Challenges: Do you resolve challenges quickly or let them drag out? The key to great customer service is to handle each problem as quickly as possible. It's so easy to build a strong reputation. When there's a problem, all you have to do is call the customer and say, "The buck stops here. How can I help?" Then, kick back and listen.

Appointments: Are you always early, just on time, or a few minutes late? There's a story I heard years ago about author Tom Peters. As the story goes, he was speaking to a room full of airline executives and arrived ten minutes late. They were aggravated that he wasn't on time. He stepped up to the microphone and said, "By all of your standards, this was an on-time arrival." Every client has to feel like they're your most important account.

Product Deliveries: Are you early, on time, or late? Nothing beats delivering early and exceeding client expectations, but few things can hurt your reputation more than having a client wait longer than anticipated.

Your Attitude: This is a tough one for all of us. It's hard to be upbeat all the time, especially when you're flat-out trying to catch up and the phone rings.  Remember one easy pointer I was given years ago...if you smile on the phone, it comes out in the tone of your voice. The same goes for face-to-face meetings. Occasionally, I meet a photographer who forgot how to be happy. It seems so basic, but we all have to be a little Hollywood when dealing with some of the challenges of running a business. It's like the old Ban deodorant commercial:  "Never let them see you sweat!"

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A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us.
We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it.
He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him.
He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.
Mahatma Gandhi