The “Editing Software” Marketing Model
A solid marketing plan is like using editing software. When you import a photo into your editor, it’s usually a whole whack of sliders that you are tweaking - some in larger amounts and some just a touch, to bring a photograph to your final signature style/ brand look. Even if you’re applying a one-button preset (yours or something you purchased) and do nothing further, that preset can affect almost every single element of the image - from the basic exposure panel down to the colour calibration options. Even the one-click affects many sliders.
A singular marketing strategy - like relying only on the price of goods and services - is akin to importing a photo and using one slider. Your cost of business tells you that you need to adjust your “pricing” slider. So you push that slider up. Then, you can’t find clients or the ones who inquire ghost you. Panicking, you pull that slider back down. You might resume a trickle of business, but it’s at prices that you didn’t want and weren’t sustainable for you. If we reference back to editing a photo, when was the last time you made only one adjustment to one slider, like sliding exposure way up and seeing it’s too bright, then pulling it down and it’s way too dark. And thinking that doing it this way will get you to a final photo that is amazing. I’ll say, probably never.
Your business is the entire editing panel. If your “pricing” slider goes up, any number of other sliders must shift as well - increase or decrease, for a pleasing result that reflects your signature brand and attracts your ideal client. It all has to work together, and you can’t just adjust one in a vacuum and expect magically that the result will be the same as modifying multiple elements. If you take a photo and add 2 stops of exposure, what do you have? An unusable product. What happens if you lower by 2 stops of exposure? Also an unusable product. It’s crazy-making to think that this back and forth will get you anywhere!
I’ve upped my “pricing” slider. What else might change?
Facebook mommy group or Local buy/sell slider
You likely have to decrease this one, because many of the people posting in these groups are deal-seekers or are encouraged by others who push that cheap service is sufficient, or there is a myriad of cheap photographers hijacking every ISO post.
Action: Stop wasting time advertising here and look for alternative places where your ideal client may be at.
Brand development slider
You may have to bump this one up. Your brand tells people who you are, what you stand for and what your promises to them as a service provider are. The stronger the brand, the more money you can command because people pay to be associated with brands that match their values and lifestyles. If you want to command more money, then the brand needs to reinforce that investment.
Action: Check out this article on branding and figuring out your ideal recipe.
Workflow and organization slider
You may have to bump this one up too. People who pay more for services usually have an expectation of professionalism, ease, convenience. Think concierge services at a 5-star hotel versus the desk clerk at the 1-star hotel.
Action: You may need to create or revisit policies, contracts, payment means, and you may want to address service-oriented client touch points such as wardrobe guides, courtesy reminders, offers for initial consultation, gifts or thank you cards, etc.
The “Yes” slider
You likely need to dial this one down considerably - like recovering blown highlights! You can also look at it like increasing your “No” slider. You have to be more discerning about the clients you take on - attracting and having space for the right ones means only saying yes when it’s right, and otherwise saying no.
Action: revisit and fortify spots like your website where non-ideal clients may be getting through, to avoid awkward breakup speeches. An article here.
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Don’t fall into the trap of being one-dimensional in your business - it doesn’t serve you to do so. A business has interplay of so many elements that it’s shortsighted to focus only on the price of something.
Take a look around your own home environment. Pick anything - even as banal as your dishwasher. When you look at it, do you remember the price you paid? Maybe, if you got some crazy deal, but you think about it in terms of how well it washes your dishes, how quiet it is, the design and aesthetic to make it look like a showpiece and blend flawlessly into your kitchen. And if you think back to when you bought, the sales person didn’t just quote a price, they mentioned all those benefits! (Conversely, if it’s lacking these things, then you may recall going cheap on it and being reminded every day, which is why you don’t want to be that!)
When people look back at their photos, what will they see? What they paid? Nope. They will see smiling faces, candid moments, love, connection, nostalgia. Your marketing strategy needs to have equal parts of that considered. Never make it about a price tag.
Let’s really bring the point home. Import or choose a photo now in your photo editor. Then push the exposure down all the way and take a hard look at this. Black. Nothing. You don’t want a void like that! If this is your pricing slider, then you’ve just slid your way down into a dark cave. Now, take that same photo and tweak sliders to make a kickass photo that you LOVE. Consider the fact that those sliders all worked together, price included, to create that image. Take that same approach and if your business and marketing sliders are balanced just right, you won’t only have kickass images, but a kickass business!
If you’re looking to kickstart your marketing journey, do a “Present Vision Board” exercise. It’s a process of self-discovery that will inform your business model, branding and give you some marketing clarity, available on my products page. It’s a powerful process that taps into your subconscious and can really surprise you! Read about my own personal results here.
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