by Skip Cohen

We're all in the same place these days, often feeling buried in special Black Friday, Cyber Monday and pre-holiday sales. However here's one you absolutely should not miss!  It's time for you to check out the quality Marathon has put into their Bella Art Prints.

I've written a lot about the Bella product line in past posts, including Bella Art Albums. I've been in their plant and watched prints being produced. Over and over again I've been impressed with the consistent quality that Marathon puts into everything they produce, especially the Bella Art line. In fact, check out the short video below from SPTV I did over a year ago about Bella.

Here's my point this morning - you've got a one day shot with a Cyber Monday special and 50% off on Bella Art Prints. This is your chance to check out the product yourself and at the same time help build stronger profitability. All of you have orders you're working on with your clients for December. Just click the link above to get started and discover what Bella and Marathon can do to help you build a stronger business.

Marathon's giving you a way to achieve what should be your number one goal in building a stronger business:

                                                    Always exceed client expectations!

Intro by Skip Cohen

I found this post in Marathon's blog archives and the timing couldn't be better to share. The fourth quarter represents one of the busiest times in seasonality for photography. As a result, many photographers find themselves in an order fulfillment frenzy throughout the remaining six weeks of the year.

As you send out orders for the 2016 holiday season, remember the impact professional packaging can have in the perceived value of each shipment. Packaging is important, especially to the target audience for most of you - women. I've probably shared this so many times in the past- women make 98% of the purchase decisions when it comes to hiring a photographer!

This archived post might be a few years old, but every point is still relevant. Even better, Marathon is a great source for your packaging needs! Click on any one of the three products below to check out their packaging products.

Every order is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your professionalism. Use professional packaging and elevate the perceived quality of your prints. If you don't send them out with respect, nobody else is going to do it for you!

How important is the packaging in which you deliver portraits and other photographic products to your clients? When you consider the majority of photographic purchases are either initiated or entirely controlled by women clients, then the answer is clear: Packaging plays a huge role in enhancing your studio’s brand! Smart marketers know that women are influenced by packaging that pays attention to these key elements:

Color
Research shows that color palette preferences of women are decidedly different from those of men, and the psychology of color—how it influences moods and feelings—is something that every marketer should take into consideration when developing key branding pieces such as business cards, websites, brochures, marketing cards, and packaging.

Shape
Women are known to be attracted to packaging that has appealing physical profiles, such as shape and size. These two elements are sometimes key to the functionality of the packaging, which has a definite impact on women consumers; women typically are concerned about how products can be safely and easily transported.

Novelty
Who doesn’t like to unwrap a package? Women certainly do, so when packaging has pleasingly interactive qualities, such as luxurious ribbon, artfully designed bellybands, deluxe tissue, and eye-catching stickers, each item adds a layer of anticipation to the process of receiving the photographic product.

Detail
The fact that attention to detail is important to women, the addition of decorative bag tags, bellybands, ribbons, and even charms, elevates product value in the mind of sophisticated consumers.

Emotion
Whenever a transaction results in an emotionally satisfying experience for the client, he or she becomes more likely to return for additional sessions and to refer clients to your business. Personalized packaging, such as the addition of a session image used as a bellyband closure or to adorn a shopping bag, is just the kind of gesture that creates a positive emotion which adds significantly to the success of the client’s experience with you.

Image
Artfully coordinated packaging materials support the kind of positive image building that defines and adds meaning to your business brand. Extending your innate creativity to creating packaging that attracts you ideal consumer is well worth your time.

As the holidays approach, there’s no better season to create imaginative packaging. By advertising that “all gift portraits include custom gift wrapping,” you’ll be adding value to your product, and you’ll be all set to conclude future sessions with style!