Richer Image | Marketing and Strategy for Small Business

We've moved

2009-04-18T00:43:00.002+01:00

This blog as now moved.

Please hook up to us at http://blog.richerimage.co.uk

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Thank you for visiting us, we hope to see you at the new diggs!

How to lose a deal in 24 hours

2009-04-13T09:05:00.003+01:00

Procrastination: to defer action; delay: to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost.

Speaking from personal experience, the art of procrastination has certainly not been kind to my wallet.

A few times in the past I have had a business idea, or was aware of a potential interest in a product I could easily source and delayed making the initial phone call/email.

End result - someone beat me to the post. They made the profit, they started to build valuable business relationships, they enjoyed the fruits of further projects with these new relationships, they have the yacht. They, not me!

I procrastinated. They did not.

Now, I'm not talking about delaying my action by a few months, weeks, or days. I'm talking about delaying my action for one day, or sometimes a few hours!

I'm glad my habits have changed.

Nowadays , unless I am dealing with something really important, I make the calls or send the emails the second I become aware of an opportunity.

You really need to have this habit ingrained in your very being as well.

Remember, it's a big, bad, competitive world out there, if you have discovered an opportunity, it only stays an opportunity until it is uncovered by someone else (who doesn't procrastinate as much as you).

Procrastination - What does it mean and why is it bad?

2009-04-12T22:58:00.003+01:00

I'll tell y'all in the 'morrow!

Careful What You Wish For. It May Come True

2009-04-11T23:15:00.004+01:00

Promotions are always good for generating sales and many businesses carefully research the costs of a campaign before it goes live. However, this research tends to focus on "how much will this campaign cost me if it bombs"!

Nothing wrong with this attitude, even if your glass is always 'half-full'.

However, what happens if your promotion bombs the other way?

In other words, it bombs to stratospheric proportions and brings in more business you can cope with?

This happened recently to a business I know.

They run a successful small business and they have a nice website. On this website they offer you the chance to subscribe to their newsletter, and as an added incentive you get a FREE WIDGET (related to the products they sell) in return for your name, email, and address.

So far so good. This offer ran indefinitely (you'll get why I have highlighted this word in a bit), and they had a steady and manageable stream of registrants.

Cost per FREE WIDGET was circa 60p - a worthwhile investment, in return for a contact they could nurture a 'permission based' relationship with.

Now the bad news....

An innocent little post on a popular internet forum informed its members of the FREE WIDGET and suggested they took a look. 5 looked, 5 ordered and posted on their positive experience. Then 25 booked.

Then it went viral....

Two weeks pass, 5,000 registrants. A month 10,000. Two months, 40,000.

Suddenly, the dream turns into a bit of a nightmare. This firm now had a valuable mailing list, but at a cost - £24,000!

Remember, they had not received 40,000 orders, they have 40,000 names and addresses. Valuable long-term? Absolutely. Short-term? You may as well swap your Audi A4 for a phone book.

Luckily, this is a strong business, and they could cope with the impact £25k had to their cash-flow.

What though, if you couldn't? Upturning the company mattress for £25,000 could send you to the wall.

Underlying lesson here is to plan for the upside as well as the downside. Yes, budget for your campaign not doing well, but also plan for it doing better than you expect.

A good way round for the firm in question could have been:

Sign today for your FREE NEWSLETTER.
The Next 100 Applicants will enjoy a FREE WIDGET!

See what this does? It manages the upside of your campaign (and even creates a second 'call to action').

This method would give you the opportunity to catch your breath. After all, you can always extend your campaign if it goes well.

Local Sales Suffering? - Look further Afield

2009-04-09T16:00:00.005+01:00

It's inevitable some areas of the UK are suffering more than others. If you're in one of these areas, you have to work harder than others may do in order to achieve the same results.

Although there is plenty you can do by ways of marketing in your local area, why not look a bit further afield?

Why not export your products to Europe (or further)?

The current market conditions are actually helping you here. The pound has plummeted against the Euro, to such an extent, our European friends are treating UK exports as a kind of 'Bargain Basement'.

Before you go white with fear about export regulations, breaking into markets (literally) foreign to you, there are plenty of good people out there who are more than happy to help you.

These are Import & Export Agents. Many of them are self-employed and sell on behalf of a number of companies to buyers they already have a relationship with.

Therefore, you don't need to break into a new market, because they have already done that for you. They can also help you with any regulations you would have to adhere to.

And best of all...

They mostly work on a commission only basis!

Sometimes they can be a bit tricky to find. Most old-school guys (the one's with years worth of contacts) have yet to embrace web 2.0 so it's not just a case of Googling them or checking them out on Linked-In.

Best bet is to ask your local wholesaler or business link. Alternatively, if there is a trade-fare on near you soon, they tend to be milling about there and often pop their cards on notice boards.

If this fails, drop me a line, I know a couple.

The underlying message here is - you have to play your hand as best you can.

Your product is much cheaper to European buyers right now than it was a few months ago. So in effect, you have a sale on (a sale which actually doesn't eat into your margin).

Does your company offer the Mac experience?

2009-04-08T16:37:00.001+01:00

I had a conversation about iMacs today.

I switched to Mac at Christmas and ever since I have shouted from the rooftops on how everyone should get one.

Sure, I have problems with Mac. For instance, there are compatibility issues with Windows users and some of my favourite apps (I call them apps now, not programs) such as the truly fantastic infranview, are now not available to me.

But I don't care.

I don't care because my Mac makes me feel special. I am now part of a tribe who knows something PC users don't. (I don't know what this is, to be honest - maybe it's just a state of mind!!) To the extend that I know feel it is the PC users problem, not mine, that I cannot use Microsoft Access!

Why do I feel this way though?

It's not just the fact that my Mac always works faultlessly (kiss of death...), if I spent the same amount on a PC, I could crank up the RAM, etc, so it should work just as fast.

It's the experience of owning a Mac that is the real difference. The store is nice and modern, the staff dress cool, the box it comes in (one box) makes you feel cool as you walk to the car park. You get home and open the box (a box that just has the nicest, silky finish), and then you pull out your new Mac. Just three pieces including the mouse and the keyboard, and one plug. You even get a 'special cloth' to clean your screen!

You plug it in. Your away.

PC's just don't offer this.

My last laptop was a HP. If I saw someone with a HP, I wouldn't think of starting a conversation with them regarding our shared make of PC. However, it's a different story with Mac users.

And from these conversations I have with fellow Mac users, I've discovered that they feel exactly the same as I do. I don't know how many Macs are sold via recommendation, but I'm willing to bet the amount is way in excess of the PC counterparts.

So. The question to you is this...

Taking the assumption that your product or service works as it should, do your customers feel special. Do they feel they have entered a whole new world, one which they readily talk about with everyone they meet?

p.s. Just in case you're wondering, I have no affiliation with Apple products!

A Shift in Direction

2009-04-07T22:38:00.000+01:00

You may have noticed this blog is about to change track.

I often get asked on how to best market a new product, business or service. I love this type of work and I want to share my experiences and ideas with you all. There's a new website to be launched in about a week - www.richerimage.co.uk - that will go into everything in more depth, but I really want this blog to stand on it's own two feet!

With regards to the free photography franchise, this will move to a new blog once the new site is up and running.

Free Franchise - Web Design Update

2009-03-26T20:06:00.004Z

Just to let everyone know, I have started the re-design and the new site will be

much cleaner
easier to navigate
easier to book!
fit in with everyone's pricing structure (provided a £25 booking fee is acceptable)

Should be up and running in a few days!

Booking Fee Commission

2009-03-26T19:56:00.005Z

Thank you to everyone who has provided me with valuable feedback on my 'Free Franchise' concept.

One query that kept on cropping up was 'How do we know the lead has come from you and how do we pay you the commission?"

The simplest solution (to the portrait side of business) to this query I can think of is:

Client reserves a booking online for £25.
I then forward them a voucher for £25 giving them your location and contact details
At the same time I contact you to confirm the clients' purchase and forward their contact details onto you.
You then contact the client (or they contact you), arrange a time, do the shoot, ect...
You don't have to worry about sorting commission for me since the sale of the voucher (the equivalent to most studio's booking fee) would settle matters my end
You're then free to up sell to the client.

What do you think?

Free Franchise for Photographers

2009-03-20T17:50:00.005Z

As some of you will know, I am soon about to be launching a Free Franchise for photographers looking to take advantage of any leads my website - richerimagephotography.co.uk generates.

The basic concept I am thinking of is:

• Leads get passed onto a photographer who covers a particular area and a particular field of expertise.
• Should the lead convert, I then take a commission.

This, I feel is a fair business model that provides no risk to you, the photographer.

However, I am aware that further terms and conditions will have to be in-place to ensure everyone involved has a clear understanding of how the system will work.

This is where I would really appreciate your input. To be blunt - this service has got to work, first and foremost, for you, the photographer.

My thoughts on the matter are...

1) Each photographer enjoys exclusivity for their area provided they apply a minimum standard of service. Namely:

They contact the customer within 24 hours
They are members of the SWPP or can demonstrate their competence behind the camera
Any dispute over the quality of work is to be between the Photographer and the Client (i.e. no come back on me)
Portfolio Images would need to be supplied for the website

2) An agreed Commission structure:

£25 for a portrait session
£50 for a Wedding up to £699
£100 for Weddings between £700 - £1,499
£150 for Weddings between £1500 -£1,999
10% for Weddings over £2,000
Corporate - £10%
Events - £10%
Schools - £10%

3) Each Franchise will cover an area and category. A photographer is welcome to cover more than one provided it is part of their 'core' business

Studio Portraits
On-Location Portraits
Maternity - Studio Based
Maternity - On-Location Based
Boudoir - Studio
Boudoir - On-Location
Events
Weddings between £700 - £1,499
Weddings between £1500 -£1,999
Weddings over £2,000
Corporate
Food
Architecture
Landscape

In short, that's it. I want to keep everything simple and rewarding for everyone.

Please let me have your thoughts by the comments link (or email me direct).

Also, and just to let you know, I am putting together prices for prints (paper, acrylic and canvass) so you can order them through us as well. However, I will leave this side of the service to up to you - your decision whether to, or not to, use this service does not affect your franchise in anyway.

I am also putting together a subscription service giving all sorts of marketing and sales advice. Again - up to you whether you use it or not.

Thanks, look forward to your comments

A Change in Direction

2009-03-19T23:18:00.002Z

A bit of a change in direction for me. For the better, and hopefully for many others.

My workload has changed somewhat. The dreaded 'Crunch' seems to be lifting and my phone has starting ringing again.

These days (I'm happy to say), I am doing what I do best - helping business with their new projects. I'm really enjoying getting back into the swing of things. Getting new projects off the ground is my niche - and I'm in a variety of projects ranging from a new way for businesses to source their legal services through to sourcing new suppliers of groceries to export to North Africa.

It's fair to say, no two days are the same!

So what's going to happen with the photography?

Well, the website is front page in Google for most of it's keywords. I'm thinking that other photographers can take advantage of this.

Need to put some thoughts together.....

Gift Vouchers

2008-12-02T16:57:00.003Z

Launched our Gift Vouchers today!

Why not treat someone?

Vouchers are valid for all of our Portrait Photography service in the West Midlands and also for our 'Pimp My Photos' service.

City Nites Internal Photoshoot

2008-11-26T14:22:00.004Z

I had the pleasure of taking some internal photographs for City Nites the other day. City Nites, specialists in luxury serviced accommodation. They provide short and long stay suites for both leisure and business travellers who want more from their stay in Birmingham.

It took me back a bit doing this shoot since it was a while since I did any internal corporate photographs in Birmingham but it was just like riding a bike! I was happy with the results but most importantly, so was my client who kindly gave me some recommendations!

Job’s a good’un!

Our first post

2008-10-24T23:48:00.005+01:00

Hi, welcome to our first post.

This blog is launched in connection with my brand new website - Richer Image Photography that offers portrait, wedding and corporate photography for the West Midlands and surrounding areas.

Along with photography, we also offer marketing and promotion advice [new start-up's are my niche], logo designs and a 'Pimp My Photos' range that offers 'Photoshopping' to the masses'.