Getting Beyond The Discount Mentality

Getting Beyond The Discount Mentality - Photographers are an interesting breed. So many photographers feel there are drastic differences between them and the discount stores that offer photography. A professional is a professional, and anything else is just a snapshot.

Now ask the general public how they feel about professional photography. Most people simply can’t tell the difference. They don’t understand the difference between a professional and a discount studio. They only care about the final photograph, and how their child/family looks in the image. And the general public will accept almost anything if their child has a smile.

The only way they will ever be able to TELL the difference is if we educate them on what the differences are.

In previous marketing campaigns, the discount chains typically offered the stuffy backdrops – you know the ones: fake winter scenes, unrealistic beach scenes, and awful scenes including funny characters. They were simply poor quality, and people just didn’t accept the quality. Add to that having to wait in the reception area for up to an hour, and most people were willing to head in to any professional studio.

But all that is changing – quickly. Have you ever seen Target’s photography ads? The images are beautiful (for a discount studio.) I just saw Sears’ Studio ad in last week’s paper. They now offer a Portrait Study in which they photojournalistically take photographs of your child in study format, and place 9 images in a frame. Each of the images is in black and white, and focuses in on the details: the eyes, the hands, the feet and the smile. Why should they spend hundreds of dollars with you, if they can have something that creative for under $100? (It’s worth the wait, right?)

The difference between you and a chain store is the experience. What do you do to create an incredible experience – something they could never get from a chain?

I shop Target, and I shop Nordstrom’s. I like them both – for different things. But I know what the differences are, and what I’m getting at each store.

You need to create those same differences. At chain studios, you have to wait for the photograph to be taken – sometimes an hour or more. That’s not a good thing with an infant. You’re sold to by an employee making minimum wage – they don’t care about you, they’re just doing their time until 5 o’clock. You choose photographs at a desk, with people hurrying all around you. Then you pick up your order, and your images are delivered in a paper bag. Not much creativity – just photographs.

What can you do to set yourself apart? What experience can you create? What if you made the photography session into a party? Offer appetizers, snacks, and drinks. What props do you use to make your client feel special? How do you talk to your customer? Is your ordering process just a way to bring in the money, or do you dote on your customer, providing them with many ways to show off the memories created with these photographs? Do you provide the final images in a paper bag? Or do you wrap them up in the finest, hand-made packaging, and have the packaging be a true work of art?

Creating the experience takes a lot of work. But it’s what sets you apart from your competition. People will pay more for QUALITY work. Just make sure your quality is miles ahead of the mainstream competition.