Have you heard the saying: the best advertising is word-of-mouth? While that sounds nice, getting people talking about you without paying them is tricky business.
At a recent photography conference panel I moderated, one participant asked Prince McClinton of Art of Visuals Instagram account how to get clients talking about them. His response was simple yet profound: “Be amazing.”
“Word-of-mouth advertising” might sound vague at first, but when you give it some thought, those two words provide everything you need to understand this type of promotion. I want to explore what “being amazing” means and how photographers can set themselves apart from one another in this article – however if you give yourself time to think it over for yourself you might come up with your own ways of being AWESOME that I didn’t mention here – because after all – YOU are amazing!
Under Promise and Over Deliver
Many people believe that exaggerating themselves to clients is the key to closing sales, but this approach only benefits your short-term success as it increases expectations by overselling yourself to them. Doing this often backfires because when customers overestimate you, their experience may fall below their expectation and their experience won’t match it unless the expectations created were actually fulfilled!
But it is wiser to do just the opposite, by under promising and over delivering. Say you know you can deliver photos to customers in two to three weeks; tell them it will take four weeks instead, knowing full well that it will arrive earlier. Your customers’ expectations will then be set low while you surpass those every time! Of course, be smart in applying this tactic; telling customers it will take an absurd amount of time but still delivering in two weeks may cause initial disappointment due to unreasonable expectations set upon delivery – use this tip carefully when appropriate and practiced moderately for optimal results!
