Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

In an ever-growing market, it can feel like a challenge to make yourself stand out amongst all of the photographers in your area. But what makes you unique is that you are a senior photographer! You are the expert in your field and the expert in your area. As you are growing your business and building up your client list, I want to share with you 5 tips to help boost your client experience. After all, as the saying goes, the customer comes first! We want to make sure that we are always putting our clients first, and doing whatever we can to ensure their experience from start to finish is as seamless and enjoyable as possible! Let’s dive in! 

5 Tips to Boost Your Client Experience

Why is Client Experience so Important?

When I talk about client experience, I am referring to your client’s feelings and reactions to working with you. Creating the best client experience you can is so important because it is how we gain client loyalty, are able to charge the rate we deserve and want, gain client referrals, and create consistency within our brand. All of these things are impacted by how happy your clients are. 

Tip #1: Be Yourself!

In order to create the best client experience, I want to share 5 tips with you that have made a huge difference in my own business. My first tip is to be yourself! Clients want to invest their time and money into someone they can trust and someone they can relate to. I love the saying, “Just be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” It can be easy to feel like you need to present yourself in a certain way or follow what other photographers are doing in order to be relevant and recognized. While we can always learn from other people in our niche, if we lose our own personality and touch, we lose our ability to stand out! 

Your photography business should be branded in a way that is honest with who you are. Are you someone who loves to photograph their pets? Include those fun pics on your social media! 

Are you a mom balancing work and family? Share an inside look at your life! Do you like to crack cheesy jokes? Throw some into your emails or social media captions. People will love seeing a personal side of you and feeling like they can get to know you before their session even starts!  

Tip #2: Create a Straightforward Process from Booking to Sending off the Final Photos

Your clients’ experience doesn’t start at their session, it starts at the first moment they discover you. Whether it’s via your social media page, through an email, or a referral from a previous client, you want to ensure that from the moment a client first discovers you until the time you hit send on their photos, the process is as straightforward and seamless as possible. Make sure that your social media accounts have a link to your website, a link to book, or a link to contact you in a visible spot! Make sure your website is easy to navigate and has clear instructions for booking and how to contact you with any questions. Anytime you send out emails to potential clients, make sure they are written clearly and effectively, and give an easily accessible link to book with you or contact you as well. 

Consider the process you have set up currently once a client books. Do they receive a confirmation email? Are they sent a list of things to bring to their session, tips to prepare, etc? Do you remind them of your contact info in case they have questions? Do you send out a friendly reminder for their session 1 week in advance, 24 hours in advance, etc? Put yourself in the shoes of your client and consider what things you would appreciate before booking a session. Think about who you are communicating with. Is it a parent or the senior themselves? Maybe it’s both. You will want to make sure you are tailoring your verbiage to both audiences! 

Tip #3: Follow Up Often 

People live very fast-paced lives. Parents of seniors are busy with school activities, work, other children, etc. and seniors are busy being seniors! Think about how many times you have scrolled past an email because you were in a rush, or told yourself you would listen to that voicemail later and then forgot. Sometimes that is just how life goes! But that’s also exactly why it’s important to reach out to your clients often! If a client reaches out to you with an inquiry, follow up with them a few days after your initial response. Make sure they don’t have any unanswered questions and show them that you care about them.

I’ve mentioned this already, but send a prep email before their sessions that include some FAQs, what to bring to the session, and how to prep! This goes a long way in making your client’s experience better. Make sure your seniors are following you on social media. That way when they post their photos they can tag you! Try your best to maintain consistent professional response times in your communications. Responding within 24 hours is a great rule of thumb. 

Tip #4: Ask Questions 

After your client’s session is over, you’ve sent them their photos, and all is well and done, send your clients an email asking for their feedback! Include maybe 3-5 questions to see how their experience felt to them, what they loved or didn’t love about it, and if they have any suggestions to improve your services. The best place to get feedback on your client experiences…and the only place really…is from your clients! Don’t be shy and be open to any constructive feedback. Maybe even consider offering a referral program to your clients. This is a great way to reward your clients while growing your business. 

Tip #5: Consider Sending a Gift

Last but not least, tip #5, consider sending a gift to your clients post-shoot! I am not talking about anything crazy or expensive, but just a little token of gratitude that boots their experience to the next level. This could be a handwritten thank you note, a print of your favorite photo from the shoot, or even a small gift card to a local coffee shop. It may create a little bit more overhead for you in the beginning, but the impact it can have on your client experience will have a lasting impact on your business! A little gift at the end of your services is just like the icing on the cake of client experience. 

Now It’s Your Turn! 

Those are my 5 tips to boost your client experience. These small steps will help you take your client’s experience from just good to great! Finding the right senior photographer can be stressful for both the seniors and the parents, and it’s your job to create the most seamless and enjoyable experience possible for them! Following these tips will help you gain more clients and more referrals. 

I want you to take 15 minutes to sit down and review your client experience thus far. Pretend you are a potential new client, and take yourself through your emails, your social media, and your website. Consider what steps you take when a new client books through the moment you send them their photos. What do you think? Maybe your client experience is already fabulous! Or maybe you need to implement a few of the tips I just shared. Just remember, the client always comes first! You’ve got this! 

If you need more help with growing your senior photography business, making 4 -figures per senior session, and becoming the go-to senior photographer in your area, The Seniorologie Semester is a six-month coaching program specifically designed for you!  This program includes marketing to seniors and parents, building websites that convert visitors into clients, pricing your work for profit, creating an amazing experience seniors want to be a part of, and so much more! The Senioroligie Semester is currently open for enrollment! If you are ready to take the senior side of your business to the next level, book senior clients on repeat, and make 4 figures per session, the Seniorologie Semester is for you!  You can learn more about it by visiting www.seniorologie.com/semester.

If you are making changes to improve your client experience, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can!  If you have questions, you can DM me on Instagram or email me at info@seniorologie.com!