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

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.