Posts tagged Nightclub

One of the things I became aware of when deciding to go about the photography as a business, was the need to get my profile raised, and to build a bond of trust with clients. How do you go about doing this with customer number 1? They have no reference point whatsoever, they cannot ask your previous clients, and your portfolio doesn’t necessarily have the type of work you want to do. What do you do then?

For me, an opportunity came around with the nightclub. They were wanting to offer a part time job, but I wanted to have my business. So I had sat down with the assistant manager to discuss what they needed from a photographer, and it became apparent that they still hadn’t actually decided whether or not they felt a photographer was actually needed. So I had decided to offer a couple of nights completely free. By doing this, I was able to let him see the quality of the work I can bring to him as a client, but also demonstrate that I am prepared to make him feel like he is getting the better end of the deal.

The outcome of it was that he really liked my photos, and could demonstrate to head office why they needed a photographer. Being able to offer this as a service rather than a new employee made his life simpler. Paying an invoice each week is simpler than hiring, training, all the general HR fluff etc….

Extending beyond the previous post, whenever a fight does happen, and I get the shots, I don’t wait until the following day to process these particular photos. Even though it is invariably 5am by the time I’m ready to actually sleep, I will take the extra 10-20 minutes to get the photos of the fight and related shots across to them that night. This way, they have the photos ready for when they get back into work. I’m pushing myself a bit to make the client appreciate that I understand their needs.

Finally, I am also uploading all the photos from the nights onto the clubs Facebook and Bebo pages (I have NDA’s in place to cover the fact I have their passwords). This is something I don’t *have* to do, but I offer to do. Why? Because this is something that takes them a lot of time to do, but not a major amount of time for me to do. My IT department is more flexible than theirs, so I can use tools to speed the process.

The golden rule here is going the extra mile makes the customer feel like they are getting the better side of the deal. Anybody who is scared at this thought shouldn’t be. Customers are the lifeblood of any business. And the only thing better than customers, is repeat customers! So why should you not make the customer feel like they are getting the better side of the deal? It should never be to the point where the client is saying to themselves “I can’t believe they’re giving this stuff away!”, but to the point where the client thinks “I really am getting value for money!” The other aspect to going the extra mile is that if you are prepared to do it, and your customer knows you do the extra work, it makes it harder for them to find another photographer for the same amount or cheaper, who will do the same degree of work.

Naturally this business model doesn’t work for every type of client. But almost as valuable as repeat customers, is a very good reputation. So even if the client is likely to be a one time customer, that does not mean that they are permanently forgotten about. In the age of Internet we live in, anyone can post defamatory comments about you on places you have no control over, but so can anyone post glowing comments about you. So try to treat every client as if they are going to be repeat customers and be prepared to go the extra mile for them, even if they aren’t their ability to provide good praise is worth the extra time you take on them.