Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] I learn new things all the time. It might be one of my best strengths as a business owner, or it might be my biggest weakness because I always want to do better. I'm always working to improve things, which is good because it makes my services better, but it's not so good because I spend so much time doing it and it often feels like I'm not just doing it for myself or even for my future clients.
[00:00:34] But it's like I'm doing it just because I want it to be better. I'm doing it so that I can help someone else who are doing something similar. It's a bit strange because I don't really understand it. I just have this need to improve everything and I don't just do it with my own business, I do it to everyone else as well, which you'll know if you've ever worked with me. I've got lots of ideas of how you can do things differently, but I also do it to businesses that I interact with.
[00:01:11] I always have lots of ideas for improvements and streamlining, but unfortunately hardly anyone asks me of my opinion once they worked with me, so they'll never know unless I'm so unhappy with the service I got that I send them an email to let them know, which sometimes happen very rarely, but it does happen. Unfortunately, they don't tend to appreciate it because the thing is, they could learn so much if they would listen to it.
[00:01:42] However, sharing unsolicited opinions about other people's business is not a good idea, no matter how nice we think we're being. You can ask someone if they're interested in knowing, but don't just share what you think of someone's font or website, be it or pricing. It's not nice.
[00:02:04] And yes, I might be one of the people who want to say something, but it's not going to come across very well. At least I've learned to ask before sharing a helpful idea. We don't know what someone else's focus is or what someone is going through, and yes, I do want to know how I can improve my business or website or whatnot, but it might not be the right time or place, so asking is always a good idea anyway. I might have gone off on a bit of a tangent here. Nothing has really spurred this on, I'm just talking. But my point is I'm good at improving things. I can always see when something can be done better in my own business as well, but not usually upfront. It most often happens after something has gone wrong or not, like I planned or imagined. And in the last year, I've been doing a lot of website designing, and I really love it. And I thought I had the flow and the client communication down. And I'm sure you know what I mean. You know, once you've done a certain kind of session enough times that you feel that it should really flow, but then all of a sudden you get questions or situations that hadn't occurred before that wasn't really possible to foresee. You know, I bet that's happened to you as well. And it doesn't really matter if your contract covers you or if you mention that something like this can happen, or even if it was in a previous email. You want to be so clear about your process and what you need from your client that no one has to wonder.
[00:03:46] But we're not perfect. Mistakes will happen, and the important thing is to learn from it and make sure that it doesn't happen again.
[00:03:55] Every time I get a question about something, I'll be sure to add that to my process, whether that means updating a workbook, modifying a contract or email, or even if that means I have to make a course around it. As you know, I don't do as much photography as I used to, but I was planning on making kind of an online course around elopements because so many of my clients had the same kind of questions or made the same kinds of mistakes, even though I'd given them the information beforehand. For example, here in Norway, just getting a bottle of wine or champagne isn't something that you can get in all places. And especially for my couples, eloping in the middle of nowhere, you can't go to just a normal supermarket and buy a bottle of wine. So for my couples, I always inform them that you have to buy your champagne or wine in one of the bigger cities, or just get it at the airport. But not everyone read that. And, you know, they're coming to a tiny place in the middle of Norway and they're saying, oh, we just have to stop at the shop and get some champagne. And then I have to kind of tell them the bad news that that's too late. You have to drive at least 3 hours away from here to get wine.
[00:05:19] It's not my fault, but I could have helped them, made their experience better if I had made sure that they would get that info.
[00:05:29] And I bet it's the same with you if your clients understand what to wear or what not to wear, why they have to show up in time for sunset photos, and what happens if they don't they're so much more likely to do what you need them to and what they need to do for them to get the result they want.
[00:05:50] For me, I'm going to keep playing with the course idea for website creation as well, but I have to be prepared to tweak it and to make it better along the way. And no matter what you need to do in terms of improving your client communication, you have to be prepared to improve it as well. The sustainable photography program is starting up again this spring and it'll be the 7th round and it is so much better than it was the first time and it's better than it was the last time. I learned so much from my students and every question I get. And if you're interested in improving your business, you should definitely send me a message.
[00:06:36] In the meantime, here are six ideas of what you can do to improve your client experience and workflow.
[00:06:43] First, ask your clients what could have made things better, what would have made it feel better to work with you and what could have given them a better result.
[00:06:55] Two, be honest with yourself. Are you promising too much, too soon? Too cheap?
[00:07:03] Its better to give a long deadline than the other way around.
[00:07:08] Three, make sure your price is high enough for the value you give. If its not then youre likely to get annoyed if your clients dont appreciate what you do or when you end up having to work more than you expected. Four, keep your clients up to date with whats going on and whats next.
[00:07:31] Is it an engagement session, a booking meeting or product delivery? If you let them know then they never have to wonder or ask you.
[00:07:41] Five think about a time you got exceptional customer service. What made it stand out and what can you do to make your clients feel the same way?
[00:07:53] Finally. Six, think about a time you got terrible at customer service. Are you sure there's not anything you're doing that could make your clients feel like this?
[00:08:04] Keep in mind though, no one expects you to be perfect, at least not a client that you want to keep. So be kind to yourself. Even when a client isn't totally happy, you can learn so much from that, so allow yourself to grow and improve. Focus on building those strong relationships with your clients where you communicate as effectively as you can and you make sure to manage your client expectations.
[00:08:33] When you do that, you can really establish yourself as a trusted and reliable photographer who delivers great results every time you just listen to an episode of sustainable photography. Please share this episode with the photographer you care about.
