Exceeding Expectations in a Photography Business

Expectations can be a tricky thing in photography. By it's very nature it is an emotive pursuit, which people on both sides of the camera can be very passionate about. But with those passions come great expectations, and the huge challenge of exceeding them. And it is only by exceeding expectations that your will build an army of referrers, who will go out and spread the word of your amazing service.

At the beginning of the cycle, during the sales process, you have to show the very best of your work, allowing the prospective client to envision themelves with the most wonderful images possible. So, expectations are set high just in order to get you the job (and rightly so of course).

And where do you go from there?

Meeting those expectations by delivering high quality photography is the first step - it should be a 'given' that you can deliver what you promised. If you can't then you've got no chance. But even if you deliver great images, you're going to struggle to exceed expectations unless you have something else up your sleeve.

How do you go from being a good photography business to being a great photography business? How do you turn the testimonial from being "yes, so and so did a good job on these photos" to "you absolutely positively HAVE to hire this guy RIGHT NOW!"?

For me, the golden rule is service. And by 'service', I mean everything that your business does other than taking photos.

• Delivering proofs earlier than you said you would.
• Adding a few extra pages to the wedding album free of charge.
• Staying later than you said you would in order to get the best coverage you can.
• Keeping the client regularly informed of progress on their pictures.
• Being prepared for every eventuality so that if the worst happens, you're ready.

In short, 'living the business'. By thinking like the client, you can anticipate what they want, what they need, and what will make them think "WOW".

And "WOW" is what we should all be aiming for...

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Keep Shooting Photography
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