I’ve talked a lot about taking advantage of the first quarter’s “down time” quality to analyze what you could have done better last year.  The quote I found from Steve Ballmer at Microsoft, seems a little ironic, considering the public’s attitude that Microsoft has often been out of touch.  Regardless, it rings true for everyone in business today.

“We can believe that we know where the world should go. But unless we’re in touch with our customers, our model of the world can diverge from reality. There’s no substitute for innovation, of course, but innovation is no substitute for being in touch, either.”

Are you in touch with what your customers want?  Or, are you providing what you think they need based on information that’s long since changed.  When was the last time you did your own informal survey to find out what your customers really want?  When you’re meeting with a client do you really hear what they’re saying?

When Bambi Cantrell asks a bride to tell her about her bridal gown, she immediately picks up two invaluable pieces of information.  First, the brand of the gown tells her how much the bride is willing to spend on something she feels is important.  Second, because Bambi knows gowns, the type and design of the gown will relate to the style of photography, being more traditional and conservative or more contemporary.

Then there’s Doug Box, who does a great demonstration about defining what you’re customers are really asking.  If a customer calls you and asks, “How much are your 8×10s?” What will you answer?  Most photographers just put a price out there.  Now, pretend you’re a baker and somebody calls and asks, “How much are your cakes?” 

Your answer is going to be preceded by a series of qualifiers:  “How many people do you want it to serve? What flavors do you want?  Do you want anything written on top of the cake?  Do you want it delivered or are you going to pick it up? Does anybody have a peanut allergy?  Do you want an ice cream cake or…and the list would go on and on.

Well, none of us are bakers, but  we know what to ask the person buying a cake.  Sadly, we sell short the customer we know best who’s calling for pricing on prints.   Why isn’t everybody asking all those same types of qualifiers?  Do you want just an 8×10 or did you know we have a special that includes other sizes?  How many 8×10’s would you like?  Does the image require any touch up – we have a terrific reputation for custom work.  Would you like a portrait sitting as well?  Would you like the image framed?  We have a full selection of frames and we’ll do all the work.  Is the image black and white or color?  The list of potential questions is extensive, but over and over again we too often fail to further qualify the customer and pull them into our entire “product line”.

Very few photographers, from commercial to children’s portraiture and everything in between, take the time to think about their product line.  Your skill set and the vendors you have available make up your “inventory” and thanks to technology, in the history of photography it’s the most extensive it’s ever been.

From the type of photography your skills allow to the thousands of techniques in Photoshop,  film vs digital and the hundreds of vendors offering you lab services, albums, frames, canvas prints, paper prints, slide shows, mixed media and hosting services – you have an inventory that beats Sam’s Club and Costco combined!   But, odds are you’ve never thought of them as your product line.

So, whether you’re headed to WPPI or programs like Skip’s Summer School later in the year, start thinking about the
diversity of the products and services you offer.  Before your next round of speakers take the time to visit their websites and look at the way they position their products and services.  Their programs will make a lot more sense if you know more about them. 

 Look at what everyone offers their clients.  When you walk into a program, the speaker you’re about to hear isn’t there just because they like to teach.  They’re on the podium because they’re successful and as trite and simplistic as it sounds, they learned a lesson from McDonald’s,

Would you like fries with that?