But the best part of the story, a few people, so wrapped up in the celebrity world, might have missed.  Matthew talked about how he researches his clients.  In this case he found out that Aretha liked yellow roses.  He’d already been hired for the shoot, but the day before he sent her yellow roses!  She called him personally to thank him and the doors to her heart were open from that point on!

Now, apply Matthew’s philosophy to your own customers.  What if you sent them something special before you photographed their family?  What if you sent the bride’s mother flowers before the wedding?  What if you sent flowers, candy, etc. to any vendor who referred a customer to you?  It’s not what you send, but how it’s going to be interpreted, a stronger way of saying, “I appreciate your business!”

We all have so many choices in everything we do.  A customer making the decision to hire you had plenty of other photographers to choose from, but they chose you.  They’ve put their trust in you and here’s a great way to set the stage before you even walk through the door!

“It is your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude.”  Zig Ziglar

Almost 2 weeks ago we had a defective phone and took it back to the same Verizon store we got it from.  They couldn’ t get it to work and ordered a warranty replacement which they said would arrive at the store in a few days.  A “few days” passed and it arrived at the house with instructions.  Not only was there nothing I could do with the components, but we had to take it to Verizon to activate.  That was last Friday.

The staff at Verizon, couldn’t get it to work either and asked me to come back Saturday.  The next morning we returned to Verizon and they still couldn’ t get it to work and asked to return later that day. Three hours later it was back again – still  no phone, but they gave us a loaner and ordered ANOTHER new phone.  I was then told this particular model was “trash and they have a lot of problems with them” and if the next phone didn’t work, they’d replace it.

Okay, one more round…Tuesday the replacement phone arrives and it’s trip number five to Verizon to finally get another phone that works. NOT!  After 45 minutes Sheila was told this one was also defective!  But here’s the last straw and why I can’t get rid of Verizon fast enough.  They have NO customer service at the store level – we had to take the three defective phones and mail them back, per the instructions in the box.  The store personnel aren’t allowed to!  A replacement phone is being sent to us and I’m assuming it’s to the house again,which means trip number six to our local Verizon store to activate the thing.

When I called Verizon, after spending 30 minutes on the phone waiting to talk to a supervisor, I was offered twenty bucks to credit the time we’ve been without a phone.  I got a lot of empathy and “we understand your frustration”, but there was nothing they could do on the store level!  Verizon’s national customer service does not have the authority to be involved in decisions made at their stores!

So, we have an old flip phone as a loaner…Sheila had to drive to Fedex to return the three defective phones, since the store isn’t allowed to and we’re waiting for a new phone to be delivered tomorrow.  Over ten days, six trips to Verizon, three phones, several phone calls and at least six people with Verizon employee status who couldn’t do anything.

I know I’m not the first person on the planet to have a less than stellar experience with these boneheads – but now think about how easy it is for you to make your level of customer service stand out.  Every day, with every single contact, you have an opportunity to exceed customer expectations and you don’t need to wait for a higher authority to authorize a solution – it’s all in your power!

So here are some easy to remember tips:

1) Solve problems as quickly as possible.  I know there are times when you might have to do a little research, but whenever possible fix the complaint in the first round.

2) NEVER say “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do!”  There’s always something you can do and sometimes even the smallest thing will still be appreciated.

3) Don’t pass the buck.  Look, mistakes do happen and most people know that, but your customer doesn’t care if it’s the lab’s fault, the album company had a problem or even that Fedex or UPS made a mistake.  You’re the one they’re dealing with and you’re the one who has to make it right.

4) Don’t put any part of the burden to fix the problem back on your customer.  Whenever possible take full control and then be impressive with your solution.

5) Last but not least – don’t insult customers with compromise solutions that don’t have value to them.

Companies like Verizon are actually doing us a great service – they’re giving every small business owner an opportunity to look good and show their customers how great customer service really gets done.

The good news is that in our house we have some new expressions and I’m hoping you’ll add to my list:

“Kiss my Verizon!”

” I’ve got the stomach flu and was up all night verizoning!”

“I need to clean up all of Molly’s verizon before cutting the lawn!”

“Dinner at that new restaurant was terrible, it tasted like verizon”

Okay, it’s your turn – feel free to comment and add to the list!

PDN’s Virtual Event:  In addition to the trade show component, there are ten outstanding webinars, all free and all running about 30-40 minutes.  The ones I’ve been involved in doing so far have been outstanding.  Suzan Moody on SEO/SEM 101 for Wedding and Portrait Photographers, Judy Host on turning your images into Masterpieces, Laura Novak on branding and identifying your niche and Catherine Hall on relationship building leading into niche marketing.  Each webinar is going to offer a wealth of information and ideas you can implement immediately.

 This year’s full lineup includes (alphabetical order by day) on May 24, Skip Cohen (me), Doug Gordon, Gene Ho, Suzan Moody and Laura Novak interviewed by Dane Sanders. On May 25 you’ll hear Jim Garner, Jeff and Allison Rogers with Lisa Rodwell, Judy Host, Allen Murabayashi and Catherine Hall.

One of the amazing things about our industry is how you can be great friends with somebody and never really know how good they are at presenting a concept.  Yesterday I was involved in working on two of the webinars, Laura Novak and Catherine Hall.  I’ve known both photographers for a long time, but never really knew their presentation style or for that matter their message.

Laura brought in Dane Sanders and presented some outstanding concepts to help you think through how to build your brand, your mission statement and then an overall philosophy to keep it all growing.  Catherine, brought her experience in niche marketing with idea after idea on building your relationship with your clients, which opens the door for developing a strategy for targeting the high-end bride.

Both programs are a kick, but what hit me the hardest was that both have their success deeply rooted in relationship building.  We all talk about its importance.  I’ve written page after page talking about relationships with sponsors, clients and other photographers.  If you think about it, the true definition of Customer Service is just more relationship building.

I found a couple of quotes this morning that definitely hit the concept better than I can…

From Gandhi: A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.

And from the other side of capitalism, Ray Kroc,the founder of MacDonalds:

If you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.

Happy Friday everybody!  Make it a great one!

Today’s social media structure gives an unhappy customer incredible reach and has the potential to severely damage your reputation in the community.  David Ziser once commented that the younger the bride, the more friends she has who will be getting married.  He works hard to maintain great relationships with ALL of his clients, but his younger brides are even more important to building his reputation and business.

Now, think about the reverse of David’s comment and think about how many friends that same bride can influence if she’s simply unhappy.  Most of the stories I hear about, regarding unhappy brides, typically relate to their disappointment in the quality of the images or the coverage.  Some of this is fixable later on, some of it only fixable by the photographer becoming a better storyteller.

You may not be able to do anything with some of your old problem customers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work to keep building better relationships with everyone going forward.   Most important of all, remember that the majority of clients, if they have a complaint, it usually falls under the category of the photographer not meeting their mindset.

There’s an easy solution for that in the future – listen more talk less.  Restate to your client what you believe you heard them ask for.  Most important of all, at the very first sign of disappointment from a client – take a deep breath and then go to work on neutralizing the challenge.  Digging your heels in and taking a stand is rarely going to be the right answer from a customer service perspective.

I may have used this a while back, but Abraham Lincoln wrote:

Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality.  It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions. And the actions which speak louder than the words.

It is making the time when there is none.  Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things.  It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism.”

Be committed to your clients.  Be committed to the quality of your work and your images.  And most important of all remember:  ”It’s never to late to do the right thing!” (Walk the Talk, www.walkthetalk.com)

Relocation is the second highest stress producing situation, second only to death of a loved one.  Last year he moved from California to Pennsylvania with the only people he knew having the same DNA – not a person, business or even a street was familiar.   How many of us could literally take everything we’ve ever learned and apply it – and most important of all stay positive every step of the way?  I was so moved by what he’s accomplished (and his photography ain’t bad either) that I asked him if he’d do a guest post. 

We’re out of the “slow season” and into Spring.  If business isn’t coming together as quickly as you want to, check your notes from that last convention or program you attended.  Take advantage of new upcoming seminars, webinars and workshops. (Thomas told me he’s on the way to Sandy Puc’s workshop tonight – he never stops learning and networking!)  There just might be a few things you have yet to put into action – but most important of all – stay positive and look for ways to find the help you need!

“My name is Forrest………..Forrest Gump”

I have tried writing this blog post a few times but did not know how to say what I wanted to say.  Sensing the frustration starting to set in, I turned on the television and one of my favorite movies of all time was on (If you haven’t seen it in a while, rent it this weekend – it’s a classic!)……Forrest Gump. I put down my laptop, grabbed something to drink and watched Tom Hanks in one of his best roles ever. It got to the part where Forrest was training with the Army and then it hit me. 

I have built my photography business just like Forrest Gump – built the Bubba-Gump Shrimp Company (I just don’t make as much money).  He did it……I did it by listening to what people say and then just putting it into action.

I love the line from the movie where the drill sgt. asks Forrest why he put his rifle together so fast? “GUUUUUUMP! Why did you put that weapon together so quickly, Gump?” And Forrest responds, “Because you told me to, Drill Sergeant.”

That is my secret…………..sure, maybe I am not an industry leader but listening to the advice of my peers at conventions like WPPI and then acting on that advice has made my business grow at an incredible rate over the last year and I am not talking about growth in an area where I have been open for business for years. I moved across the country 9 months ago to a place where I did not know one person….not a friend…..not a vendor……..only my wife and 2 little boys. We literally started from scratch.

I took every little thing that I learned at WPPI the previous year and I put it into action. I sent handwritten letters to the major vendors, I bought booths at bridal shows, I donated my time and photography to local charities. Basically, I networked like crazy and treated the few clients that believed in me like gold. I just did the simple things that our industry leaders tell us to do every single year.

Kevin Kubota suggested sending handwritten notes to clients……I did that. Mitche Graf taught us ways to cross-promote with other vendors……I did that. I sat and listened to the best in the business and then I did what they told me to do……..and by doing that, I booked 34 weddings for 2010 in a place that is 2781 miles from where I was living 9 months ago.

I spend very little time on the photography forums but when I do log on to offer advice or ask a question I am amazed to see people with 25,000 forum posts complaining that “Uncle Bob” and the recession are the reasons for their lack of business. This is just an excuse.

Think about how many vendor contacts you could make, or new client meetings you could get, if you spent all of that time and energy away from the forums and working on the personal side of your business. Get out there and earn your business. There is business everywhere and there are clients who want to hire you no matter what you charge, but you have to find them.

Listen to the advice that you hear every year from the best in the business, put it into action, and your business will grow…..it really is that simple. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Thomas Beaman

I’m a huge fan of WalkTheTalk.com and a number of the different books they publish on customer service, leadership, communication etc.  It’s ironic that this morning as I was trying to think of a topic I ran across the TWO-PERSON-RULE from their 1999 publication, 180 Ways to Walk the Customer Service Talk.

“Adopt the TWO-PERSON-RULE.  Never make a customer talk to more than two people in order to resolve a problem.  If you’re the second person to deal with the customer, you “own” them.  Either solve the problem immediately, or get a phone number and a convenient time to call back.”

I realize most photographers are on their own and rarely have the luxury of more than one other person to help solve customer problems, so let’s modify the TWO-PERSON-RULE.  If you’re a solo operator, make it a point to solve customer problems with the second phone call.  Don’t go back and forth over the customer’s issues.  Listen to their concern, empathize and if you can’t solve the problem right there, call them back within 24 hours with a solution.

Also quoted from Walk The Talk…

“Complainers are GREAT!  They give you the opportunity to fix their problems and keep them as customers – instead of saying nothing and taking their business elsewhere.”

Okay, so I didn’t believe him and hit Google.  The actual count, according to Snopes is 37 to frown and 22 to smile!  So at least we can all be accurate when we use the expression it takes more work to frown than to smile…

It’s pretty trite for a Sunday morning blog and at the risk of sounding like I’m trying to be SNL’s Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy…think about the response you get with a smile and a little laughter.  It’s the number one biggest secret in great customer service – just being able to empathize with your customer.   The angriest of customers can be headed towards being neutralized with a smile and a little kindness.

We all know the customer isn’t alway right and your customers know that as well, but so often they’re only looking for somebody to listen to their concerns.   One angry customer today has the power to influence thousands of other people in forums, blogs, tweets and wall posts.  You don’t have to give in all the time, but you do have to listen.

With businesses, you go to the same places because you like the service, you like the people and they take care of you. They greet you with a smile. That’s how people want to be treated, with respect. That’s what I tell my employees.. customer service is very important.  Magic Johnson

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.  Mahatma Gandhi

Now there’s a great example of how much fun the Internet can be – where else could you find quotes from Magic Johnson and Gandhi that say essentially the same thing?  Happy Sunday everybody – make it a great one!

Personally, I’m in the second school of thought and it’s about diversity, but with a logical connection to your core business.  You should never stop working to build the main concentration of your business, but there are some terrific opportunities out there that are too often missed.   For you non-wedding photographers, my apologies this morning, but weddings make the easiest example for “Continuity Marketing”.

Continuity Marketing is nothing more than a ten dollar word for finding new products to sell to your existing customer base.  Camera manufacturers have been doing it for years. Once you’ve bought the camera body, there’s a long list of lenses and accessories you’ll need to keep building your stash of gear.  Seasonal sales, special kits and rebates are just a few of the tools they use to get you thinking about adding more to your equipment list. 

Well, switch applications and think of a wedding the same way.  If you did a great job on the wedding then why not be there for all the other important events?  If the bride and groom loved your work a few years ago, why not contact them today and remind them your second greatest love in photography is babies?

Let’s assume you’ve been a wedding photographer for the last five years.  Between brides, a few bride’s maids and the families you probably have a couple hundred names and addresses in your data base.   Unless you really screwed up their wedding album, these people know you, they know your work and the trust level with potential clients is already established.

There’s a great line that goes – screw up a portrait shoot and you can always re-shoot it, but mess up a wedding and you need to leave town!  So, assuming all of you have lived in the same location for the last few years, then think about the winter slow season, with only a month left, and do a  mailing to your past brides and their mothers.

Why is Mom in the mailing as well ?   Because women make an estimated 98% of the purchase decisions when it comes to professional photography for children, family, pets and weddings.  Very few people are thinking about photography right now, so you’ve got the spotlight all to yourself.

Dear _______:

I hope this letter finds you and your family doing well.  I really enjoyed meeting your family and friends at the wedding and find it hard to believe it’s been ___ years since I saw all of you.

I know you’re familiar with my wedding work, but I’m not sure you realize my second love in photography is photographing families, especially children on location.  There’s a wonderful look and feel to portraits of kids when they’re photographed in their own environment with their favorite toys, pets or friends.  Plus, I’ve just added a whole new line of frames and albums that are perfect for displaying family portraits.

Now, add in a special offer that’s running for the next 30-45 days and close with all the warmth and gratitude you displayed when you delivered their album.   And, if you don’t like my approach, that’s fine, write something else, but the key here is to take advantage of the slowness of winter and create some business opportunities that might help even out the peaks and valleys!

Slightly modifying a quote from Robert G. Allen, author of “The One Minute Millionaire”…

No matter what your product is, you are ultimately in the education business. Your customers need to be constantly educated about the many advantages of doing business with you…and taught how you can make never-ending improvements in their lives.

“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?

1) His crew was terrific – great personalities, careful with loading and if they had a question they asked.   In the end everything was delivered to the right room, saving time later on.

2) They showed up exactly when they said they would and finished right on time.

3) We had a major crisis with an armoire that wouldn’t make it up the stairs.  Rather than give up, they called Tony himself.  He was on another job, 12 miles on the other side of town and dropped what he was doing to get over here and help.  When we determined that the piece would have to be taken apart slightly to get up the stairs he offered to have his guys come back the next day.  He was not going to give up and refused to just leave us hanging without a solution.

So, I started to think about the incredible service from Tony the Mover and his crew as it applies to our industry.  You’ve got one goal with every client – to exceed expectations.   It’s really that simple – everything you do in providing great service, great images, designing a great album all boils down to this one fact: 

If you exceed your client’s expectations the doors for future business directly from them or from referrals will continue to come your way.

It’s Customer Service 101 and the only regret I have with Tony the Mover is that he’s local!  Sure wish he’d been around for some of the bigger cross country moves in my life – even better, I wish he’d train the slugs at AmeriCarrier in California!