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I Want To Break Free! - part 2 of 1 2 3 4 5 6

Published 01/04/2014

• I won't have to spend much on marketing, it is more important that I get my kit and studio right. Exactly the opposite is true.

You certainly don't just throw money blindly at marketing but do look to spend around 15% of whatever you want your annual sales to be on just generating business. So, say, you are looking for annual sales of £150,000, then budget for £22,500 of that to spend on marketing.

• My best clients will come from the wealthier middle classes so I'll target those communities. No they won't! Again, we find exactly the opposite to be true - it is the blue-collar worker who is almost always the better spender. We have had clients turn up in a Porsche or a Rolls Royce and just take the freebie. Another family of 11 bussed in, and that is not easy where we are based, then spent over £1,000!

Who is Your Ideal Customer

This is not as silly as it sounds! You need to take time out to define your ideal customer right down to the last detail. What is their age, income bracket, where do they live? Create, if you like, your customer Avatars.

Give them names. They will be different for each of your products: Families; Babies; Boudoir; Makeovers and Weddings. These Avatars will be honed as you meet high-spending clients. The more you can define your perfect Avatars, the more effectively you will target your marketing at them and the more profitable you will become.

Your Goal

To deliver the right number of sittings which, with your Target Average Sale, will enable you to achieve your Target Income.

Whilst doing this, you need to make sure you pay no more than your Target BOS (Bum on Seat) cost, say 15% of the end sale.

Simples!!

Note:

Whilst the sales average is strictly part of your Sales leg, which we will deal with next time, that figure will be heavily influenced by the quality of the clients you will drive to your business and the way you treat them from first contact, all of which is part of the marketing leg.

The Importance of Multiple Marketing Pillars Do not rely on just one lead source or just one type of shoot, say Families.

Lead generation and average sales can vary significantly through the year and so your cash flow, the life blood of your business, can go up and down a bit like the waves on the sea.

If you have several income streams, say Families, Babies, Makeovers and Boudoir, and each of those is driven by several marketing initiatives or pillars, then the different streams have different wave patterns and tend to cancel each other out.

Result - smoother cash flow. Several times we have had a poor family week only to be rescued by excellent baby or boudoir sales.

A Tip!

Allocate certain types of shoot to certain days. This will enable you to stay in one mind set and so shoot better and more efficiently. We, for example, shoot Boudoir and Makeovers on a Tuesday; Babies on Wednesday and Friday day times; and Families generally on Saturdays.

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1st Published 01/04/2014
last update 09/12/2022 14:51:55

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