Maximizing Your Word of Mouth Referrals

When I opened my copy of PPA’s Vital Signs, I was flattered to find myself quoted (not once, but five times!) in an article titled, Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Making Your Customers Your Salespeople. Often, we photographers forget the importance of marketing to our current clients. We become so focused on finding new faces we can entice into the studio, that we forget about catering to those already familiar (and very loyal!) faces — our current customers.

The article, Word of Mouth Marketing, presents a number of good techniques for maximizing your word of mouth referrals.

“Client appreciation is all-important,” says Finn. “It is always more difficult to bring in a new customer than it is to keep a current one. And a bonus of keeping a customer happy is that they will have good things to say about you to their friends.”

While you want to keep all your clients happy, consider giving special treatment to those extra-special clients, the ones who have been with you a long time or who give you repeat business. Why not give special gift certificates, a free image, or another special gift to those good customers? Maybe that treat will cause them to tell their friends or family, “You won’t believe what my photographer did for me!”

Excerpt from Word of Mouth Marketing

Have you discovered a way to successfully promote your studio through word of mouth promotions? I’d love to hear your ideas!