SkipCohenUniversity
  • Home
  • SCU Blog
  • Our Podcasts
  • About Us

the SCU Blog

Assignment 102: "Who you gonna call...Ghostbusters?"

1/16/2023

1 Comment

 
Picture
Murphy's Second Law
"Murphy was an optimist!"
by Skip Cohen

It's Marketing Monday, and with IUSA kicking off at the end of the week, it's the perfect time to ensure you've got things covered when you're out of town. But we're going to go even deeper into the topic - what happens to your business when something unexpected interrupts?

Before today is over, whether you're joining so many of us in Nashville or not, set things up, so you've got coverage for your business when you're not available.

  • Phone calls are a top priority! What do you have in place if the phone rings? Potential clients who call you need an immediate response. If they are interested enough to call, then give them prompt fulfillment! Returning voicemail is fine, but check your messages multiple times each day when out of the office.
  • Email response time - make it as fast as possible! Out-of-office responses are acceptable for communicating why you're away, but they do nothing to instill confidence in your target audience. Again, you want to respond quickly. If you can't check your email every hour or two during the day, set up a system for somebody you trust to follow up. So many of you are sole operators, but that doesn't mean a family member or friend can't keep an eye on your email.
  • Template email systems: What I hate about them is how many of you just don't respond in a timely basis. I've had photographers take weeks to get back to me - in fact, one missed a fantastic opportunity to have their work shared globally, all because they never checked their incoming email via their website!

Emergency Backup

If we've learned nothing else from Covid, we all should recognize that it can strike anytime. That can be devastating for a photography business with commitments to weddings, events, and client sittings. And while every consumer understands, if there's an event you were hired to cover, then you need to find somebody to fill in.  

  • Draw from your network: All of you have other photographers you're friendly with and respect. But most of you have never had a conversation with them about coverage in an emergency. Remember, this goes both ways - you should offer to cover for them if needed, just like you want them on your list.
  • Join the local guild! Whether it's a PPA chapter or a local group with no affiliation - get to know all the artists in your area. We're an industry with a history of watching each other's backs and have more photographers in your network is so important.
  • Who's covering your business? Whether your spouse, another family member or a close friend, who has all your passwords and business information? Who can sign checks and handle a necessary payment? Who have you trained to understand your business?

Owning a business today is a continual fire drill. Like those fire drills, we did in school as kids, or the active shooter drills in today's schools, don't wait until you're in crisis mode to start planning what to do next. It's so easy to take the time now and have a plan in place...just in case.

And there's one more side benefit - if you're headed to IUSA for example, you can be more relaxed and enjoy the convention if you know your business is in good hands when you're gone.
1 Comment
Norma Grieve link
1/19/2023 06:33:34 am

Never knew about Murphy's second law.
As always, pinpointing just what needs to be done. Great tip to offer to cover for another photographer. Thank you!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Click to check out Platypod's Holiday Promotions
    Picture

      Sign Up for Our Newsletter!

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter

    Our Partners

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    "Why?"

    Check out "Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog. It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're over 100 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

    Categories

    All
    Beyond Technique
    Business
    Customer Service
    EDU10
    Excire
    F64 Lunch Bunch
    Faculty
    Fast Food Friday
    Guest Post
    Humor And Sarcasm
    In The News
    Lessons Learned
    Lighting
    Luminar
    Lumix
    Marketing
    Mark's Corner
    Mind Your Own Business
    Miscellaneous
    Motivational
    One Step At A Time
    Photodex
    PhotoShelter
    PhotoTexting
    Platypod
    Podcasts
    Profoto
    Sales
    Search
    Skylum
    Social Media
    Sunday Morning Reflections
    Tamron
    Tamron Recipes
    Technique
    Throwback Thursday
    Wedding Photography
    Westcott
    Why?

Categories​

Business
Marketing
Technique
Sales
Fast Food Fridays
​

Podcasts

Tamron Recipes 
Beyond Technique
Why?
Mind Your Own Business
Pro Photographer Journey

 Partners

Tamron
PhotoTexting

​Lumix

Marathon Press
​Platypod
©  2019 Skip Cohen University
  • Home
  • SCU Blog
  • Our Podcasts
  • About Us