Need marketing ideas - business guys.

[MegaPoke]

So, I am a hybrid portrait photographer and graphic artist. I do good work that my clients and peers agree is high quality and unique. Some is just good photography work, but some is 100 layer photoshop creations, where I put a client, or group of clients in some kind of digital setting that is either fairly seamless as a composite or is purposely surreal.

Regardless, I don't see a lot of work like mine on the internet and I don't know of anyone closer than Dallas (I'm in Tulsa) that does anything like it. The guy that OSU had this year doing graphics is similar, but he moved on to somewhere else. Not sure who has replaced him (not that I am looking to), but the point is there aren't a lot of options for stuff like this locally.

Here is my dilemma/opportunity.

Currently need to expand my pool. I am well branded in a small market (Bixby) but to continue to raise our rates to where they need to be, I have to expand our pool of clients. Currently to that end, I have an OSU intern who is a social media marketing specialist putting together a system for automating our social media stuff, and I am trading out services with a quality SEO company locally who I am confident can improve our (currently terrible) search results. Our organic ratings are high - 4.9 or 5 stars in all cases. I've just found that to continue to raise our rates and not lose total numbers of clients, I think I've hit a ceiling in our small town. We do a lot of work with the high school - everything from sports picture day orders to stadium graphics - but the cool stuff is highly discounted because booster clubs generally pay for it and they don't have the $ to spend on projects at full market value.

I also don't want to limit myself to schools as clients for the composite work. Currently, sports teams are my main client for these - along with senior portrait clients who want something really unique. But I see this as a much better fit for commercial applications and want to migrate my business in a more commercial direction, while raising prices and casting a wider net on the portrait side. I want to keep that business, but I don't want to be worried about being too expensive for the number of calls I get. I used to be able to convert 8 out of 10 inquiries into bookings, but after a few years of bumping up rates to control volume of business, I've seen that dip to 2 or 3 out of 10. Price is 100% the reason, and I'm OK with that - just need a wider net.

Also - I want to focus growing into areas of high income, where spending grown up money on high quality wall art isn't an agonizing choice that has to be financed.

The help I'm looking for is this...

What are some good ways to direct networking/marketing to the following two groups:

1. Commercial clients needing some combination of commercial photography, branding graphics wall murals, etc. as well as team and personal headshots What are the best ways to network with businesses that need stuff like this? Chamber? Or networking groups? Business to Business sales calls? any thoughts?

2. High income portrait clients. Are country clubs or HOA's a way to reach them? Just a few ideas I had yesterday while shooting some golf course houses for a contractor. How do you reach them? I have several clients I would call high income, but most are middle class suburban types. I love them, but I'm seeing a diminishing return on focusing on people like me. I already couldn't afford myself if I were a client. Need to find a way to keep growing.

 

[EvilPOKES]

For in-home style stuff, maybe reaching out to local realtors and realty companies like Chenowith and Cohen (sp?). They may be able to forward you to some clientele that would be interested in your work. Or, perhaps, use you work for home staging, demo houses, etc.

First thing that popped into my brain.

Also, maybe collaborate your work with screen printing, banner or vinyl printing people. They may have the tools for the sign itself, but not the artistic ability to fill the space.

 

[Dally1up]

If you are successful with what you are doing why not just expand out away from Bixby, Jenks, etc. I have told and shown several people in NW Ok about the unique services you offer and they are blown away. Parents, rich suburbanite and middle classers alike spend money on their kids. Your services cannot be duplicated.

 

[osu_orangestreak]

Buddy up with these people and maybe het some of your stuff hung in their showrooms.

http://www.houzz.com/professionals/interior-designer/c/Tulsa--OK

 

[EvilPOKES]

Buddy up with these people and maybe het some of your stuff hung in their showrooms.

http://www.houzz.com/professionals/interior-designer/c/Tulsa--OK

Maybe they could connect you to realtors or vice versa...full circle!

 

[davidallen]

Lousy answer... but move. You need a larger audience and you just won't snare it where you are now.

Houston, Dallas, SF, LA, etc... I have seen your work. You would be in demand and would get real recognition.

 

[PTaxPoke]

Lousy answer... but move. You need a larger audience and you just won't snare it where you are now.

Houston, Dallas, SF, LA, etc... I have seen your work. You would be in demand and would get real recognition.

You could facebook advertise in Tulsa, OkC, and Dallas for the type of client you are seeking. For the out of town places you would have set days where you go down and do all the pictures for clients that setup. Say like a Thursday and Friday. Then you can do the photoshop work from home base, and have Skype video meetings or iPhone video meetings if need to with client. Can have finished product shipped to the client. That way can expand your market, but don't have to move.

 

[Alpha Poke]

Dude, if you're closing eight of ten you don't need advice.

Sounds like you you need to staff up to take advantage of a sales pimp that doesn't relish being a sales pimp.

 

[OSUIvan]

I have a friend that does high end AV and commercial AV, he has a group that meats once a week for drinks and they talk about how they can help each other with referrals. They usually only have 1 person from a particular industry, I can see if they have a photographer like you in their group if you'd like to consider joining them. My buddy is a big music guy (plays the drums) so you two would get along great I think.

Just let me know if you want me to ask him.

 

[MegaPoke]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

For in-home style stuff, maybe reaching out to local realtors and realty companies like Chenowith and Cohen (sp?). They may be able to forward you to some clientele that would be interested in your work. Or, perhaps, use you work for home staging, demo houses, etc.

First thing that popped into my brain.

Also, maybe collaborate your work with screen printing, banner or vinyl printing people. They may have the tools for the sign itself, but not the artistic ability to fill the space.

This is a great idea. Realtors make up the bulk of my organic "professional headshot" business, so that would be a great follow up with about a dozen or so people I have worked with.

If you are successful with what you are doing why not just expand out away from Bixby, Jenks, etc. I have told and shown several people in NW Ok about the unique services you offer and they are blown away. Parents, rich suburbanite and middle classers alike spend money on their kids. Your services cannot be duplicated.

Thanks man. Love hearing stuff like that. As far as expanding out from Bixby, that's what I want to do for the portrait stuff at minimum. South Tulsa and midtown have more than enough high income targets to grow into - the question is how?

Buddy up with these people and maybe het some of your stuff hung in their showrooms.

Thanks! Great idea. I have a client who is an interior decorator and we've done their family portraits and one of their sons' weddings, but so far haven't figured out how to monetize this relationship with their client base - which is exactly who I want to get. $$

Lousy answer... but move. You need a larger audience and you just won't snare it where you are now.

Houston, Dallas, SF, LA, etc... I have seen your work. You would be in demand and would get real recognition.

Thanks, and I get your idea, but moving probably isn't an option at this point. Single mom in her 70's, kid in school, two others starting college. Pretty deep roots here for the next 10 years or so. Right now I need to move locally/regionally beyond the one large suburb I thrive in. Plus, this is a business where I can market certain things nationally and travel. Really comes down to how do I let people who could benefit from what I do, find me? Obviously SEO is potentially huge here, but direct referrals and networking are too.

You could facebook advertise in Tulsa, OkC, and Dallas for the type of client you are seeking. For the out of town places you would have set days where you go down and do all the pictures for clients that setup. Say like a Thursday and Friday. Then you can do the photoshop work from home base, and have Skype video meetings or iPhone video meetings if need to with client. Can have finished product shipped to the client. That way can expand your market, but don't have to move.

I've dabbled a bit on promoted ads. Haven't seen a lot of results as compared to just organic referrals and leads generated through clients' private facebook pages. That's basically all we've done to this point and it's kept us busy and growing, but to keep expanding my rates and control how/where we grow, I've got to get a wider net out there somehow.

Dude, if you're closing eight of ten you don't need advice.

Sounds like you you need to staff up to take advantage of a sales pimp that doesn't relish being a sales pimp.

I WAS getting 8 of 10. It's more like 2 of 10 now, which is fine IF I have enough inquiries from qualified clients who aren't price shopping. Value of photography is subjective, and it's not hard to find people who like what I do. But it does get harder to find people who want to pay grown up money for what I do compared to "good enough" on the low end of the market. I have a sales background, so I'm very comfortable in asking for business, asking for money, closing etc. Again, it comes down to this - I need to figure out how to get more people aware of what I do so that a 2 out of 10 booking ratio (or less) is still enough to keep growing and raising prices. It's the only way to give myself a raise at this point. Right now my staff is me, GlowPoke and an OSU graphic design intern. Ideal staff is me, wife and full time: designer, sales person and second shooter. The goal is to be a $1mm revenue studio by 2020. That's a ways off.

I have a friend that does high end AV and commercial AV, he has a group that meats once a week for drinks and they talk about how they can help each other with referrals. They usually only have 1 person from a particular industry, I can see if they have a photographer like you in their group if you'd like to consider joining them. My buddy is a big music guy (plays the drums) so you two would get along great I think.

Just let me know if you want me to ask him.

Absolutely. Tulsa area? Thanks!

 

[osuengineer]

One word:
DRONES

 

[Ostatedchi]

I thought about drones as well but that's a different specialty.

I was thinking more like getting in touch with the various car repair shops. Ones that do body work, paint jobs, and such. Auto wraps with great graphics can be a sweet addition. Especially if it is custom graphics.

Otherwise, I'd market yourself as a graphic design studio as well as photo work and see if companies need creative services. I know that our corporation has really cut back on our in-house graphics departments and out source much more than we used to. If you become a vendor and have all the agreements and contracts signed, it is very easy for them to feed you their overflow work.

Lastly, infographics and data visualization. Helping companies create charts and graphs that tell the correct story is a sub-art all itself. Or iconization of data. There is a ton of pent up demand for good charting and data representation. That bit of work could be a cash cow if you get the right customers. I'm talking fortune 500 type companies. You can do it anywhere.

Oh, one last thought. Training module creation. eLearning. They need graphic artists to build the storyboards.

 

[HighStickHarry]

Can't you buy mail lists from the post office based on personal information such as income?

 

[Cowpoke]

Drone photography and video would be a blast. I'd love to get into that.

I think VR videography will be a big thing very soon.

 

[MegaPoke]

Can't you buy mail lists from the post office based on personal information such as income?

I don't know. Can I? I really don't know.

 

[HighStickHarry]

I don't know. Can I? I really don't know.

I remember a boss I had said he went to the post office and paid for a mailing address list for everyone in Stillwater making over a certain amount. He then sent them a flyer or a coupon thing. I bet @hollywood knows.

 

[HighStickHarry]

Save your google Hollywood I found it

https://www.usps.com/business/every-door-direct-mail.htm

 

[mseabolt]

Drone photography and video would be a blast. I'd love to get into that.

My son in-law just purchased a high dollar drone to get into this

 

[Cowpoke]

Chi hit on something I was wondering about. Do you want to be seen as a photog studio that used graphics design as a means to enhance the product, or a graphic design/ marketing shop with a very strong photography backbone?

I think you market those two things differently.

If the latter...are you interested in the smaller stuff as well, like logos/flyer/event banner design? Could you market your company as a Marketing Shop that provides all visual marketing content? That's a much bigger image to project but also a much bigger net to catch clients with. May need to hand the smaller stuff to the intern(s). I see small businesses every day that are in desperate need of an overall image revamp.

Thats been my long time personal, pie in the sky, if I ever had the balls to quit my 9 to 5 and do my own thing, dream.

 

[Cowpoke]

My son in-law just purchased a high dollar drone to get into this

It would be fun. I think right now would be the time to jump in and create brand awareness. I see it having the same issue Mega has faced with photography here in 3-4 years. The price of drones will drop, the quality and ease of use will rise, which like photography, will bring out a lot of amature Tom/Dick/Harry's jumping into the business that has a somewhat thin set of clientele. Jump in now and build that brand awareness though and you could be the big shot, higher dollar guy that gets the big gigs while the hobbyist are doing the small stuff.

 

[shortbus]

Shit man. I'm sorry for not responding sooner.

I misread. Thought you were asking business gays.

 

[Wally12]

I assume you are using all forms of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc..) to market your business?

 

[anon_ph7vrsh7abnty]

Photography rep. That's how agencies find photographers.

We aren't out price shopping and have much bigger budgets than direct to consumer or business.

 

[MegaPoke]

I assume you are using all forms of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc..) to market your business?

Yes - but my best success is through organic sharing and tagging of my clients on my personal page. Using Hootsuit to automate posts on fb, twitter and instagram. But need to do more if it.

 

[MegaPoke]

Chi hit on something I was wondering about. Do you want to be seen as a photog studio that used graphics design as a means to enhance the product, or a graphic design/ marketing shop with a very strong photography backbone?

I think you market those two things differently.

If the latter...are you interested in the smaller stuff as well, like logos/flyer/event banner design? Could you market your company as a Marketing Shop that provides all visual marketing content? That's a much bigger image to project but also a much bigger net to catch clients with. May need to hand the smaller stuff to the intern(s). I see small businesses every day that are in desperate need of an overall image revamp.

Thats been my long time personal, pie in the sky, if I ever had the balls to quit my 9 to 5 and do my own thing, dream.

Good question. I would say at its root, it is a photography studio, but with a strong emphasis on post production and image manipulation to achieve specific ideas. strong enough in that regard, that I can build a scene or image to fit any idea or direction.

Originally I was a sketch artist and oil painter, and I found that combining this sense of artistic perspective with photography and image manipulation was a very natural fit for me, but unique to most photographers OR designers.

As to the rest of your post, it's intriguing. From a business standpoint I could definitely see partnering as a collaborative vendor with a more marketing directed business.

I absolutely agree - most small businesses make terrible mistakes when being cheap and lazy on their own image and brand. This is where I see a real opportunity with the services I can provide.

I've done logos, flyers, event banners etc but thinking more like murals, magazine and web "scenes" for ads,branding etc.