CLIENT FOR LIFE.
Your BEST "future client" is the one who already knows you, trusts you and likes you. PS: It's your past client.
QUESTION: Are you 100% sure your clients will come back to you 5 years from now?
Yes? Amen! Close this right now and go on to your next item today.
Not sure? Read on. This post is for you.
Repeat customers and REFERRALS are the life-blood of my business. It took me a few years to really get this right. But now? It's the golden ticket in my business.
FACT: Did you know that most of the photographers out there are not actively staying in touch with their clients after the sale?
I get it because it's easy to get lost in the workflow of your business and just think a "thank you card" is enough to ensure their future loyalty.
But in this day and age it's not. In fact, even a grandiose gift after the sale isn't a guarantee that they will think of you next time around.
Years ago, a thank you card had more impact. Don't get me wrong, thank you cards and gifts are a definite part of my client-nurturing system.
But the internet has changed...everything. With thousands of people entering the industry each and every month, your customers are being inundated with opportunities to be courted on and offline.
More than ever before, it's imperative to keep in touch with your clients after the sale.
But for how long after the sale? Hold on to your hat...this is the biggest secret of all: for life. Or at least until you retire. In other words, it never stops.
Does it sound daunting? I won't lie...it takes desire, intention and...a system. I have one that I implemented years ago and it works like clock-work now. But it took some effort to put it into place.
Staying in touch with your clients with information that's both valuable and news-worthy will establish you as their "photographer for life". And the time investment is so worth it. Oh, so worth it.
When the market changes, I rely on my client base for repeat and referral business. But this doesn't happen with just a few notes after the sale. It's an investment of time and it takes consistency.
SET UP YOUR OWN SYSTEM
If you have a studio-management system and a CRM (a mail service like MailChimp or Mad Mimi, etc), you are on your way to setting up a way to keep in touch with them. This allows consistent contact with your clients
Start collecting emails from every single person who spends money in your studio. I do this during the sales appointment (you have to have their permission to add them to a mail list)
Create a sure-fire system after the sale to keep in touch with your clients . From there, create a way to keep in touch with them each and every month. It matters. (I have what I call my "3/3/30 System" after the sale)
Upon booking and during the entire client process, create additional "client touch-points" that set them up for the maximum experience of your brand from a client "nurturing" standpoint. (I have 5 client touch-points before the sale)."
The facts are this: most customers that invest in professional portraits will invest again in their lifetime. If you stay in touch with them, they will think of YOU when they do.
Also, nurturing the relationship after the sale means that your customers will think of YOU when their friends and family are looking for a professional photographer, too. Referrals will be abundant in the future health of your business.
Staying in front of a past client is so much easier than the task of continually trying to get a new client. Don't get me wrong...new blood in your business is important. But can you imagine the joy of booking most of your clients based on referrals and repeat business?
Making this happen means that the marketing never stops even after the sale. But on the upside, neither does the loyalty. It's 100% worth the time-investment to set up your own system to create your CLIENTS-FOR-LIFE.
Get my FREE CLIENT-4-LIFE GUIDE below. You’ll also see the option to get the entire system - everything I do from the moment the portraits are delivered to the client!