I've been at this for years, so I'm not new to people dragging their feet . But lately people just won't quite bring themselves to actually place their orders. I must have $5,000 in orders from clients who are 'almost ready' to place their orders. I've done a 5% discount if they get them in within 2 weeks and I've even done deadlines with a hefty fee. Even with this one-two combo, they still drag their feet. They all have sent emails attesting to the fact that they LOVE LOVE LOVE their images and couldn't imagine not having them. So what gives??

Any one have any better ideas for me? Maybe I'm missing a new dynamic in the marketplace. Something is going on......

Thanks guys!

Ginger

Is it possible you're too busy with the business that you don't have the time to spare on each client? What I mean is, has your customer contact gone down with the business.

I find clients will order less - or worse, not order when I haven't invested enought time in them.

Just a thought.

Or, it could be that so many people are freaking out about money right now...


*I forgot to ask - what are you doing right now?
What are you offering?
How much are you charging?

Thanks Johnny,

Could be, it's a good point at any rate. I haven't been calling/emailing them reminders as often as I used to, but this feels different somehow. Dunno. Who knows, maybe it'll all break though tomorrow and it won't seem so stressful. But right now, I'm getting antsy.

Let them know that you are getting a lot of orders coming in...and "I wouldn't want your prints to be significantly delayed behind other orders." You can also set deadlines based on upcoming holidays..."due to heavy workload all orders must be in by mm/dd" in order to beat the busy holiday season.

Sorry to hear you're having collections issues.

Take down the slideshows or the galleries for a day or two...tell them it was a problem with the server.

Thanks Dan, I just started this today..... fingers crossed.



Ooohhh, love the way you think. Wonder if they'd get mad, get worried, or would even notice? I just can't put my finger on it. Most I've talked to say they are just busy, busy and haven't had the time. That being a major stuggle of mine, I get it, but enough is enough.

When you take it away they just want it more.

I have the same situation, Ginger -- people love love love their photographs and make every indication that they want to order prints, but then they either take forever doing it, or just never seem to get around to it. Doesn't seem to matter if I take their gallery down, if I discount, if I give deadlines. I don't like to bother people with tons of reminder emails. But should I be doing that?

Maybe Johnny is right. Maybe I need to be more specific. Do you guys make SUGGESTIONS for orders, like "GET THIS ONE IN 8X12 framed as a 12x16, IT'LL LOOK GREAT in your foyer." One time I suggested that a client take down some of her old 1982 posters and replace them with new prints of her family and it was as if I'd suggested she give her youngest child away. So THAT was a mistake.

I often have GREAT proof review meetings, with the client promising to place an order by the weekend or whatever, and the order doesn't come. What gives with that?

Ginger, I SO hear you!

I'd pull the galleries/slideshows - and just explain that time has expired.
If they want to order, they have to meet with you and place the order then.

When they whine about it - tell them it's going to cost an additional $50 upload fee.

I've had to do this on a couple of occasions. Sad, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

BTW - how much are you charging for a session?

Definitely some money crunches going on I think. Im also finding that the brides like so many of the images (hundreds) that they just cant decide on which ones to print since they cant affort to print them all. Consequently, they drag their feet.

A good call to action that really works for me is in the e-mail that I send out to let them know that their online gallery is up. There I say:

"My archival policy is that any images not ordered after 30 days are automatically purged from my system. I will archive for two years any images that have been purchased. "

Then I send out a reminder a few days before the gallery expires and it works like a charm. They cant imagine being without those images and god forbid if they actually were purged.

The problem is that they have the emotional desire for the images, but can't intellectualize the need for the prints.

That's always the way with the middle class - and economic problems in the media just exacerbate it.

i worked very hard on the images i did for a wedding i shot a month ago. i contacted the client, sent their email with their password info, etc.

they emailed back wtihin like 5 minutes and said they were still on their honeymoon and not in the country. wierd, since the stat code counter says they checked their gallery precisely 5 minutes after i sent the email to them.

i check my stats several times and i find that they are going into their gallery at least twice a day for one straight week. then zero. absolutely nothing.

not an email to say thank you, they are lovely. not one word.

oh, i forgot to add they told me they were going to order a Lavie album as well.

i dont know why, but i have this insane feeling they somehow managed to print really bad low resolutions prints from their gallery - i never thought to watermark them. you see, they are just the type who wouldnt mind low res, badly printed pictures. if you saw the wedding, you would know what i was talking about. i think the promise to buy a lavie album was just to keep me off guard.

so i took their gallery down and never heard a word from them.

so who knows what goes through the minds of these people.

That's why you have to charge more up front - as well as get the album order up front.

yes that is definitely a lesson i have learned.

If you want orders, stop putting images online before you get them. When you lose control of the sale this is what happens. Make the initial sale, get the album order, and then put them online. You will see orders sooner, and higher then you're used to. Have the family in to a premiere of the wedding images. Serve popcorn & cokes or whatever, view the images projected on a nice TV or projector/screen, and watch your sales go up and the WOM about the WOW factor go around. Then put them online for the rest of the family/friends to see.

The album sale is the first issue. If you aren't taking a deposit toward the album before the wedding and predesigning the album for them, you are losing momentum. Take a look at Gary Fong's stuff. His system works. I've modified a bit for a couple of things, but it works. You are setting up the expectation of the sale and getting the ball in motion from before the wedding.

Also, I like the idea of throwing a premiere for the wedding party. Marcus Bell has taken that to a new level in Australia. He has big events for them at the studio and has ordering kiosks around the studio so they can place an order in that great, festive environment. You might also consider setting an appointment with them to help them make the decisions they need to make.

Good luck.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the replies. I'll try to take it all in.

Johnny, I can do this, but I just hate it. Oh and $250 is our smallest session fee.....

Jules, it's nice (in a way ) to know I'm not the only one. I hope things look up for you soon. But make no mistake, I WILL find a way to overcome this..... I no likey.

Michael, I am familiar with Gary's process, just started doing it about five months ago. The album design is the first thing they see. For one week, it's the only thing, then they see the galleries so they can tell me if there are any substitutions they'd like in their albums. Once two weeks has passed, they loose their discount.....doesn't seem to bother them.

I can't do the "premiere" thing, although I love the idea. We live in a destination town, so most of our clients are from other parts of the nation/world. Whether I like it or not, the internet plays a big part of my business now. But I think this is a huge part of the problem, I'm used to having folks into the studio for the initial viewing / sales part of the process. I wonder if there's a way to make this idea work online? I know I couldn't make it exactly the same, but may be able to make the 'release' a more major event....hmm...

How many of you are in the same boat as far as not being able to host your clients in your own studio? What are some of your thoughts on how you handle this? I'd love to be able to put a slight pressure on my clients without making them feel cheated. I guess I can take down their sites after another warning about the $reactivation fee$. (I hate being the 'bad guy', but I can.....)

Anna-Karin, I like it... I will see what I can do to get that into place.

John, for once I'm agreeing with you. I think you nailed it this time.