Do you see your photography business as your job, your company, your business or do you go to a level above that and see it as a brand. A lot of people associate a brand with big business, but I believe smaller businesses can benefit from a brand based approach and look for ways to establish and build your own brand.
Establishing Your Brand Values
There is nothing especially difficult or magical about building your brand. I think a lot of it revolves around attention to detail. A good place to start is establishing your brand values. When trying to come up with your brand values one starting point is working out what you believe to be your customer's requirements. To do this take some time and note down what you think will make a customer buy from you.
Although price is important in my view it is not one of the main drivers. If you example you are looking to buy a new camera you obviously do not want to pay over the top, but at the same time you are not going to head off and buy the cheapest camera from a company you have never heard of. So keep this in mind when you are putting your brand values together.
What Makes Your Customer Buy?
If I was looking for a photographer there are three factors I would weight very heavily when making my decision.
Building Trust
If a customer can feels they can trust you they are far more likely to buy from you. All the time you can maintain that trust they are likely to remain a customer. Trust is the first thing I would look for when buying goods or services. I believe this to be true of most customers. After all if you do not come across as being honest then you will lose that all important element of trust. Ironically if you set your prices too low people may start to question your integrity, wondering if you are looking to simply make a quick buck with no consideration for quality.
Add Style and a Touch of Class to You Brand
Next up I would be looking for style, class and panache when it comes to the quality of the photographs I wanted to buy. This would be no different if I was looking for a picture to hang in the boardroom, an advert for my latest product launch, a family photo to hang on my wall at home or for my wedding photography. I want the photographs I buy to stand out from the rest, so I would be looking for a personal style, certainly with a touch of class and a dollop of something a little different to what I could get down the road. This doesn't mean I would be looking for something extremely modern or arty, but for me at least something that subtly suggested quality.
Customer Satisfaction Equals Long Term Clients
Finally I would be looking for total customer satisfaction. This may mean something different to different people. For example this might mean delivery on time, to the agreed quality and nothing more. Others may look for something a little silkier, such as discussing options over a glass of wine or coffee. If you go down this route, ensure that the wine is of suitable quality and the coffee not only tastes spot on, but it is served in stylish cups. Using Venture as an example, many photographers tend to turn their noses up at them, but have based a large part of their business on customer service and have done very well out of it.
So there you have a possible starting point for building your brand. Obviously you may have your own ideas you brand values. Whatever they are the key point is that they fit in with your customer requirements.
Next up I will be looking at building your brand.
Find a Deal
Related Sites and Feeds
