Many of you are probably entering your busy season – weddings, high school senior sessions, and family reunions. Here’s a question for you…
What is one simple thing you can do during the next several months that will help you generate future business?
Keep in mind, your busy season not only generates income, it also puts you in contact with a lot of people! Don’t let that opportunity slip by without doing something to capitalize on it. The reality is, it doesn’t have to be complicated to be valuable.
- In addition to basic contact information, consider capturing one or two bits of personal information about your clients. Here’s the key…before you get swamped, decide what information you could use for future marketing. A good question to ask yourself might be, “Looking back, what is one thing I wish I knew about last year’s seniors? Wedding couples? Families?” Then ask intentional questions this year during your sessions and appointments. Make notes and get the information into your database as a marketing plan or custom field.
- Get parent info for your high school seniors, including their email address! Enter them as family members for now. Later you can spin off the parent into their own client record. Send targeted marketing emails offering grad cards, family promotions, etc.
- Use a custom field to record a senior’s college plans or vocational interest.
- Define a specific follow-up marketing plan that you can mention to your clients now.
- Christmas Cards – “Would you be interested in sending out a Christmas card this year?”
- Seasonal Sessions – “We’re thinking about doing some photo sessions at the Arboretum next year. Would you be interested in doing a family session there?”
- Special Events – “Do you have any special occasions coming up this year? Family reunions? Big anniversaries? Anyone expecting?”
- Start keeping track of how new clients find out about you. This is such an easy thing to ask! You’ll find that tracking your lead sources will help you know how to invest your marketing dollars next year.
These are just a few ideas to get you thinking. The point of this article isn’t to overwhelm you with all the things you should be doing! Our goal is simply to encourage you to intentionally implement one simple thing this year and see how it pays off going forward.
What are some of your ideas? Feel free to share an idea in the comments.
Excellent post. You got me to thinking in a new direction.
This is a great bit of help, that if employed, would make the studios using it a lot of money! If you put a portion of that specific income toward your monthly Spectra maintenance plan, Spectra would end up not costing you a cent!
We definitely ask “when was your last family portrait.” Is the best way to “code” these prospects in Spectra to create a Marketing Group (like “Hot Family Prospects for Fall 2015″) and then to put them into that group?
Another simple thing you can be doing during your busy season is to ask your clients for referrals! Many studios forget to mention their referral program until the end. Start with your first contact with your client and get them excited about “what’s in it for them”.