Hello friends. I'm Dan Watkins, owner of Daniel J. Watkins photography. This is my first post on PPR. I'm fairly active over on OpenSourcePhoto.net and I'm excited to join the PPR community. I've been a part-time pro photographer for 20 years...I also have 17 years business experience in marketing and information technology with Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Anheuser-Busch Companies (okay...I'll say it first...don't drink and drive!). I love photography and business strategy...so indulge me while I chat a little bit about the confluence of my passions -- the business of photography.

While it seems like so many photographers aspire to market to high-end brides / clients...there are also opportunities at the value segment. An article I read recently spoke about growth in consumer spending at both the value level as well as high end levels...while consumer spending at median levels is actually falling.

A few words about market segmentation...

Value branding involves streamlining customer choices...to achieve profit you need both volume and cost reduction. Anything you can do to drive costs out of your product (fixed costs -- cameras, lenses, etc.; variable costs -- prints, albums, etc.; and admin costs -- education, subscriptions, etc.) will allow you to compete quite comfortable in the value segment. A local studio in my hometown offers 8 hour coverage with album and hi-res files for $799. They offer a very affordable product and they do 30 or more weddings on typical wedding season weekend.

At the high end -- customers expect (and deserve) more than just photography. The high end customer wants an experience -- and they like plenty of choices in product offerings.

If you are firmly entrenched at either end of the value vs. high-end segments, chances are your business is growing and you're seeing more referrals. If you are somewhere in the middle...sometimes taking jobs that tend toward the value end...while other times you book brides who appear to be able to afford more than what they are paying you (based on your observance of other wedding vendor choices that bride has made)...it's time to re-evaluate the market segment you are targeting. If you see more opportunities at the value end...it's time to start simplifying your product (packages) and driving costs out of your business. If you want nothing more than being at the top end...you should consider elements of your product offering that make your photography every bit an experience that brides will rave about...you should also expect to offer your clients plenty of choices in prints / albums / frames / DVD's, etc.

Feel free to share your comments.

Wow Dan i'm gonna need some time to digest that post, that could have been one of the articles this month

Really great to have on board here, i'm looking forward to some great discussion here in the new marketing forum.

Cris...

Rock on Dan! Stoked to have you here! Dan's been an amazing part of OSP and has always challenged everyone to think bigger and bring a purpose to their actions instead of just doing the things they see others do.

Awesome!
DJ

Thanks Dan I hope that 20 yrs from now I can share some wisdom also! I have recently opened a studio and I am going to offer custom framing, a few and a few more album choices. In the last 2 years my business has grown in leaps and bounds. I have raised my prices and am already booking for 08 at the higher prices. I am proud and overwhelmed most of the time.


One of my biggest issues is the constant spending I am doing, insurance, credit card processing, products, rent, assistants, etc.

I feel like if I don't book at a decent price I will never make any money.

Any other suggestions on how to market my portraits business to bring in some more $$ would be great

Dan,

Thank you so much for your post. You have left me with a question about how I run my business. I feel like I'm in the middle, but not as you described it. I don't want to compete with Wal-mart and the like, but I certainly don't want to do high-end because I don't want to deal with ALL that goes with that. Is this an okay place to be or does it have to be "value vs. high-end"?

BTW, I'm not and will never be a wedding photographer. I mainly shoot maternity, and kids.

Thanks for your input.

Erin

davidjay:
Rock on Dan! Stoked to have you here! Dan's been an amazing part of OSP and has always challenged everyone to think bigger and bring a purpose to their actions instead of just doing the things they see others do.

Awesome!
DJ

Thanks Deej...coming from you that's about as high of a compliment as I can get!!!