Rangefinder Magazine
April 2006

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The Portrait Party Deborah Lynn Ferro
 

To get the best sales in today’s market, you need to understand how your clients shop, what they buy and what promotions appeal to them. Many women, for example, love to take a part in the “gift with purchase” programs that cosmetic companies in department stores offer, such as Lancôme or Estée Lauder. With a minimum purchase, the customer receives a gift of products as an added bonus. A large number of women, like me, will wait until the ads for gift with purchase come out before they buy makeup because of the added value.

Home shopping has also become very popular as a means for women to socialize, compare products, and get each other’s advice when buying products. These home party systems, such as Pampered Chef, Princess House and Tupperware, also provide rewards for the hostess of the party dependent on the amount of sales.

So why aren’t those of us in the photography business taking the opportunity to offer the same type of thing to our clients? How would you like to sign up three to 10 clients in one evening doing one portrait consultation? And how would you like to find a new way of marketing your studio for minimal cost? This is how the idea for the “Portrait Party” was conceived.

A year and a half ago, my husband, Rick, and I had just ventured into marketing for children’s portraiture. We developed a Kids Club and Baby Plan called Shutterbugs, and even though we are a low-volume studio, we went from one Shutterbugs member to 30 in one year. Our normal fee for studio portrait sessions is $200 per session, excluding prints. With the Shutterbugs plan, the client can buy six sessions for $350 and use them over a two-year period. That’s an incredible savings of $850. We do not include any panels or products that some other studios’ baby plans include; the client is simply purchasing six sessions to be used over a two-year period. They also receive a special price list that is less expensive then our regular portrait pricing, which includes package pricing and locks in their price list for the two years that they are members. Our regular portrait pricing does not include packages. The advantage for the studio is that we are assured six sales opportunities with each of these clients over the next two years.

In our Shutterbugs program, we are always asking clients to make referrals to us, and we reward them when they do. Even though we do get referrals from our clients, we are dependent on the prospective client to contact us. We would prefer to be more proactive in marketing to our current client’s circle of family and friends.

In looking for new marketing ideas, I always pursue the best opportunities available for the smallest investment.

I realize that our clients have a network of personal friends with children of similar ages. Unless they refer us, I have no way of reaching this network, so I developed the Portrait Party.

The Portrait Party serves us well as a great minimum cost way of marketing to prospective clients, as well as allowing us to conduct a pre-session consultation with 10 to 20 prospective clients at a time.

Mothers today enjoy getting together for social events with their peers and are already attending product parties, as mentioned. Based on these already successful party programs, we developed the Portrait Party system. With the help of Marathon Press, we make a custom invitation for the party, which we produce through their Client Connections program. Since we are members of Marathon’s MVP Program, they custom-designed our Shutterbugs logo and Portrait Party invitation based on our needs.

Here is how our Portrait Party works: We approach Shutterbugs members that are already established clients and ask if they would be interested in hosting a Portrait Party. Their responsibility is to open their home to host the event, provide some light refreshments and supply us with a list of their friends, including names, addresses and phone numbers, who would be interested in attending the party. The benefit to the client hosting that party is that they receive a hostess gift, or credit at our studio, with the amount dependent on the number of guests that attend. For each guest that signs up for a Shutterbugs membership at the party, the hostess will receive a $50 credit at our studio. We explain to the hostess that it is best to screen the people she wants to invite to make sure they are able to afford our plan.

When the hostess gives us the guest list, it immediately increases our database of prospective clients. We upload the guests’ information through Marathon’s Client Connections, an innovative online ordering system.

Client Connections has been a great tool for us in marketing to our existing clients. Besides the Portrait Party invitation, we use it for other things, such as birthdays, special promotions or session reminders. Last Christmas we used Client Connections to send out our Christmas cards with a special gift to all our current clients to promote future business. One of the best features of Client Connection’s invitation is that we can incorporate a portrait of the hostess’s child or children, so when the guest receives the invitation, they see the quality of our work as well as all the information needed to attend. You can view Marathon’s website at www.marathonpress.com to get more information regarding all the benefits of using Client Connections.

There are also benefits for each of the guests attending. Every guest in attendance receives a complimentary session in our studio and a $25 gift certificate to use at our studio toward products. We also do a drawing at the party for a free 14x14-inch image pillow. Every guest that purchases a Shutterbugs membership that night receives $50 off their membership fee. Remember that the hostess receives a $50 credit in our studio for each guest that purchases a Shutterbugs membership at the party.

The benefits of the Portrait Party are tremendous for the photographer. In one evening we have anywhere from five to 30 new prospective clients with the potential of sales, while doing just one consultation at minimal cost. I bring a projector, laptop and screen to the party and show a slide show of my work, set to music. I start with a slide show that evokes emotion and enthusiasm.

I present an additional slide show that describes each of the sessions that our studio has available for children. I explain our Shutterbugs plan and how it works. I take easels to display some of our best portraits, and I bring albums to display.

I also bring samples of our “Gift with Purchase” program. Basically, this is an incentive program where, with a minimum purchase with different purchasing levels, the client can choose a free gift from a variety of photo products, including pillows, blankets, tote bags and jewelry. Since implementing this program, it has caused our clients to be very excited about sales appointments and has increased our individual sales average tremendously.

The Portrait Party provides a safe environment where the prospective client can view your work, see finished products and meet you without feeling individual pressure. I have found that women shoppers encourage other shoppers to join them in the fun. So when you have a happy and satisfied client hosting the party, she is great at encouraging her family and friends to “come on board”.

This is a winning proposition for everyone involved, as well as a fun event. The hostess is rewarded for her efforts, the guest is rewarded for attending and further rewarded if she buys a Shutterbugs membership, and you, the photographer, are rewarded with new clients and the potential for sales. You will also be able to reach outside of your database for new opportunities for networking. There is very little out-of-pocket cost to the party, other then the invitations sent out through Marathon, any gift drawing at the party and any credit for products you provide.

Instead of waiting for the phone to ring, why not take your studio to someone’s home—in a few hours of your time you can obtain many new clients.