Sending an email has become as common as a making a phone call. If you are like most business owners, you send and receive a dozen emails a day. At JDPI we have a simple list of “rules of email etiquette” that we encourage our staff to follow in order to make it easier for you to communicate with us. You might want to share this list with your staff - it will make your business look more professional to your customers, and it will make your life a little easier too.

1. Use the subject line. Use 3-5 words to describe the email. Something as simple as “Your proofs are ready” or “Sitting confirmed Aug. 1st” is fine. Emails that have no subject, or emails with lots of exclamation points (BIG SALE!!!!) will be rejected by most spam filters.

2. Use upper and lower case letters. TYPING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is called shouting, and is considered unprofessional.

3. Use the spell checker. Set it to automatically check your spelling before you send an email. Again, this will make your email look more professional to your clients.

4. Quote the previous email. As a courtesy to the recipient, when you send a “reply” don’t make them search through old emails to figure out what your reply (”Yes. Thanks!”) refers to. Enable the “quote previous email” option in your email reader program settings.

5. Don’t send large attachments. Many email readers will reject an email that is larger than 1Mb. If you are sending images, you should re-size them first, or upload them to the web (use one of these free services), then send a link in the email. When sending images to JD, always use ROES, LabPrints or our FTP service.

6. Include a signature file. It makes it easy for the recipient to contact you, and it will increase traffic to your website. A signature can be fancy with your studio logo, or it can be as simple as your name, studio, email address, phone number and website URL. Create a signature in your mail reader, and it will automatically be added to every email you send - saves typing.

Tiger Woods was on TV the other day saying how sorry he was for his mistake, and how it would never happen again.

Did you believe him?

The problem with “sorry” is that words are cheap. We’ve all read about the celebrity or politician or Minister of Propaganda from a third-world country who said something with total conviction one day, and we learned the truth was exactly the opposite the next. As consumers, we’ve become jaded. We don’t trust apologies anymore.

So what happens when your client didn’t get the prints they ordered from you on time? Did you say you were sorry? Do you think they really believed you?

As a business owner, you’ve got to follow Harry Truman’s old adage, “the buck stops here.” Here are the steps you need to take when your studio makes a mistake on an order:

Don’t play the blame game

It is human nature when something goes wrong to blurt out the name of someone else to pin the blame on (the dog ate my homework, my staff screwed up). It is a natural defense mechanism we all share. But as a business owner, you have to take full responsibility for any mistake that comes out of your studio. Don’t shift the blame. Say you’re sorry, and tell your client you’ll personally fix it. It makes them think their problem is important to you, and by inference, that they are important too.

Change a policy or process, then tell them about it

If the complaint is the result of a mix-up in communication, or someone dropped the ball at your studio, don’t just fix the customer’s problem - fix your own. Chances are the complaint you hear is only the tip of the iceberg. Then once you’ve made the fix, let your client know that their complaint resulted in a real change to your business. Again, it makes them feel that you took them seriously.

Thank your client for their complaint

For every client who complains, ten say nothing, then bad-mouth you behind your back. When you get a complaint, thank them for taking the time to bring the problem to your attention. After all, aren’t they really helping you to build a better business? Besides, nobody says “thank you” when you bring them a problem. It will immediately make them feel better about the complaint, and hopefully earn you their forgiveness.

Reward your client for their complaint

If they ordered one print, give them two. Would you rather spend an extra $2.55 on an 8×10 print or lose a client? (hint: it costs you a lot more than $2.55 to find a new client).

Follow up

Here’s an example of an note I’d want to receive if you sent me the wrong print:

Dear Tom,

I want to personally apologize for the mistake made on your order. Because of your call, we’ve improved our client services. Phoned-in order changes are now immediately confirmed by e-mail. This problem won’t happen again.

I’ve enclosed an extra copy of the 8×10 print as my way of saying “thank you” for bringing this to my attention. I really do appreciate it.

I look forward to serving you again in the future.

Regards,

John

The next time your studio makes a mistake, give this a try. It works better than saying “I’m sorry“.

With everyone on Facebook, MySpace and blogs, sooner or later one of your employees is going to mention you online. This can both help - and potentially hurt - your business.

On one hand, if a graphic artist writes online that they did a cool project for you and links to your website, it is great marketing, and it will improve your Google page rank. On the other hand, if they get in an online fight with one of your old customers, it makes you look bad.

The typical business owner’s gut reaction is to ban ANY mention of your business online by employees. However, if handled correctly, employee participation in online social media can bring you new business. The trick is to take the time to make it clear to them what is considered “good” and “bad” behavior online.

Below is a 10-point set of guidelines that has been circulating around the web. I suggest you copy and paste it, replace (COMPANY) with your studio’s name, and have every employee read it and sign it.

Oh, and by the way, these rules should apply to you too

SOCIAL MEDIA PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES FOR OUR COMPANY

These guidelines apply to (COMPANY) employees or contractors who create or contribute to blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds, or any other kind of Social Media. Whether you log into Twitter, Yelp, Wikipedia, MySpace or Facebook pages, or comment on online media stories — these guidelines are for you.

While all (COMPANY) employees are welcome to participate in Social Media, we expect everyone who participates in online commentary to understand and to follow these simple but important guidelines. These rules might sound strict and contain a bit of legal-sounding jargon but please keep in mind that our overall goal is simple: to participate online in a respectful, relevant way that protects our reputation and of course follows the letter and spirit of the law.

1. Be transparent and state that you work at (COMPANY). Your honesty will be noted in the Social Media environment. If you are writing about (COMPANY) or a competitor, use your real name, identify that you work for (COMPANY), and be clear about your role. If you have a vested interest in what you are discussing, be the first to say so.
2. Never represent yourself or (COMPANY) in a false or misleading way. All statements must be true and not misleading; all claims must be substantiated.
3. Post meaningful, respectful comments — in other words, please, no spam and no remarks that are off-topic or offensive.
4. Use common sense and common courtesy: for example, it’s best to ask permission to publish or report on conversations that are meant to be private or internal to (COMPANY). Make sure your efforts to be transparent don’t violate (COMPANY)’s privacy, confidentiality, and legal guidelines for external commercial speech.
5. Stick to your area of expertise and do feel free to provide unique, individual perspectives on non-confidential activities at (COMPANY).
6. When disagreeing with others’ opinions, keep it appropriate and polite. If you find yourself in a situation online that looks as if it’s becoming antagonistic, do not get overly defensive and do not disengage from the conversation abruptly: feel free to ask me for advice and/or to disengage from the dialogue in a polite manner that reflects well on (COMPANY).
7. If you want to write about the competition, make sure you behave diplomatically, have the facts straight and that you have the appropriate permissions.
8. Please never comment on anything related to legal matters, litigation, or any parties (COMPANY) may be in litigation with.
9. Never participate in Social Media when the topic being discussed may be considered a crisis situation. Even anonymous comments may be traced back to your or (COMPANY)’s IP address. Refer all Social Media activity around crisis topics immediately and directly to me.
10. Be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy, and (COMPANY)’s confidential information. What you publish is widely accessible and will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully. Google has a long memory.

NOTE: All media inquiries (TV, newspaper, radio, blogs) must be directed to me. If I’m not available, politely tell them you have no comment, and get their phone number.

Over 60 photographers from across Michigan and Ohio filled the training room at JDPI to capacity to listen to Chris Wunder’s program “Learn to Earn $100,000 a Year from Portrait Directories” workshop on Wednesday, February 17th. During the full-day workshop, Chris taught photographers step-by-step how to turn portrait directories into a profit center for their studios.

While I cannot even begin to summarize everything Chris said, here are some of the take-away points that amazed me after listening to him:

• Their is a ton of opportunity in this market. As I listened, I kept thinking to myself, “This is the photographic equivalent of low-hanging fruit. Why isn’t everyone doing this?”
• Chris laid out the numbers. With a little effort, you really could add $100 thousand to your bottom line in a year.
• Local photographers with great customer service have a real advantage over their national competitors.
• The great thing about church directories specifically is that some churches have schools, school have sports teams, and every church has weddings. The opportunity for one sale to lead to another is amazing.

During the breaks, I had the opportunity to give lab tours. Everyone was pleased to discover that we can print all the products Chris described, and at great prices.

I want to personally thank Chris, all the old friends (and new ones) I met, and encourage anyone who didn’t attend to seek out Chris the next time he is in your area. You won’t be disappointed.

In 2010, create your own “economic stimulus” by providing a profitable and much-needed photographic service where there’s little competition: Learn how to market and produce Portrait Directories for churches, country clubs, homeowner associations and any other group in your area.

Chris Wunder will present his “Learn to Earn $100,000 a Year from Portrait Directories” workshop on Wednesday, February 17 from 9:30am until 6:30pm at JD Photo Imaging on Corunna Road in Flint. Cost is $20 per person or $30 per studio, which includes a catered lunch and snacks. You can pre-pay by credit card or charge your lab account by calling 810-239-8671. Seating will be strictly limited, as this is usually a sold-out event wherever Chris goes.

As a proven successful Portrait Directory photographer for 30 years, Chris is in high demand to present this program to photographers across the United States. During the workshop, Chris describes step-by-step:

• How you can earn $100,000 without a retail studio
• Why this is the perfect business to fill-in the gaps in your current one
  
• What clients expect, how to negotiate the best deal
• How to beat the “national” competitors
• How to conduct a profitable promotion
• Equipment and software suggestions, high-volume workflow options

Still not convinced? Consider that many of your potential customers will call out-of-town companies to provide Portrait Directories. This diverts family portraiture away from you. By tapping into this lucrative (but misunderstood) market, you can use directories to build your entire photographic business.

This is one workshop you can’t afford to miss.

Back in the old days, running a small business was as simple as opening a checking account, keeping track of sales, and paying your taxes on time.

Not anymore.

Their are two new laws on the books that can effect your business. Get caught breaking them, and you could be subject to tens of thousands of dollars in fines that could bankrupt you overnight. They are:

PCI Compliance

We’ve all read the stories about hackers stealing thousands of credit card numbers from large retailers. But you may not know that small businesses that accept credit cards account for the majority of credit card theft. If a customer’s information is stolen from you (by a hacker or an employee), you can be held responsible.

What is it? To protect customer information, the PCI Security Standards Council was formed. This industry watch-dog group has created a set of security standards for any business that handles credit cards.

Why is it important? While the PCI standards are not federal law, some states have adopted them as law, and PCI non-compliance has been used by the courts as proof of negligence in credit card theft cases.

What can you do? Start by downloading and filling out one of the PCI self-assessment worksheets. This will tell you what level of security you are responsible for. It could be as simple as filling out the worksheet and keeping it on file (in case you are ever audited) or as complicated as hiring a third-party consultant to independently audit your business.

CAN-SPAM Act

What is it? The CAN-SPAM Act is a federal law that “establishes requirements for those who send commercial email, spells out penalties for spammers and companies whose products are advertised in spam if they violate the law, and gives consumers the right to ask emailers to stop spamming them.” Basically, that means that if you send out advertising e-mail, you need it to conform to the law.

Why is it important? Nobody likes spam email. In an effort to combat it, congress defined spam as anything from the Nigerian prince who sends out a million copies to the small business that sends out a few dozen coupons. Last month, Alan Ralsky of Detroit, Michigan was sentenced to 61 months in jail and ordered to pay $250,000 in fines. While sending lots of spam email was a factor, what brought him to the attention of prosecutors were complaints by private citizens (think of an unhappy customer with too much time on their hands).

What can you do? Make sure any email you send meets the requirements: Don’t use any false or misleading information, clear subject line, identify yourself as a business, provide a way for the recipient to get off your list, etc. Rather than keep track of all the rules, many businesses use an online email service like Constant Contact, MailChimp or Vertical Response (the one we use). These programs are designed to insure your mailings follow all the rules.

You would think photographers could run out of anything else before they run out of quality images. But the fact is, even pros occasionally need to use stock photography for

• Graphics to use in advertising materials
• Backgrounds and textures for composites
• Shots from locations around the globe

This butterfly image is a perfect example. Why go to the trouble of taking this image myself, when their are a host of places online where I could get this image (legally) for free?

It’s called Stock Photography. Every designer and marketing person in America uses it, and there is no reason why you shouldn’t use it too.

I thought I’d share with you some of the stock image web sites I use most frequently to find excellent images.

Stock.xchng. This is where I start. The quality of images here is uneven, but I occasionally find a good one, and the price is right - most images are free in exchange for mentioning the photographer. Because Stock.xchng has partnered with iStockPhoto, in addition to the free images, you can see what paying a couple of bucks will get you.

iStockPhoto. A great site for very inexpensive images, but beware of image “over-use.” You can easily end up with an image that’s already been used by many other people. Image quality is also more of an issue, since many amateurs contribute to the site, so select carefully. All that said, there are still wonderful images to be found here, and it’s hard to beat the prices.

EveryStockPhoto. Another free image site, it searches the Internet for images that are available under the Creative Commons License (like flickr). This means you are free to share or remix the images, but that You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the photographer.

Getty Images. Over 80 million images, priced from $5 to thousands of dollars each. Huge and highly professional selection, and a very powerful search tool. If you want a photo of Elvis in your marketing brochure, this is where you’ll find it.

Jupiter Images. Like Getty, they have a huge, terrific selection and a good search tool. Because Jupiter has partnered with many of the best stock photo sites, you are guaranteed to find what you want here, even though some of the images can get pretty expensive.

Image*After. This free image site specializes in textures. It is a great place to find a piece of wood or fabric texture you can integrate into a background or composite. Note that most of the textures don’t require attribution.

If you have a favorite place to find stock photography for your business, leave it in the comments below and share it with others.

Butterfly photograph by Keith Syvinski

If you’re like most folks, Google is the first place you go to when you browse the Internet. I’ve seen people type a website name directly into Google Search even though they already knew the website’s name.  For them, Google is the Internet.

However, for many small businesses, Google is so much more than that. Below is a list of all the things I use Google for in my business:

• Google Local Business Center. Google will keep a business listing for you just like a phone book entry. Then they link it to Google maps, so local customers can find you quickly and easily.
• Gmail. I don’t actually use my Gmail account to send and receive e-mail. I use it as the world’s best spam filter. I have all my mail accounts forwarded to my Gmail account, then my Gmail account forwared to MS Outlook on my laptop. It’s been over a year since I’ve seen an e-mail offering to enhance my “male parts” or learned that someone in Nigeria just left me a million dollars.
• Google Apps. Did you know Google has a free, online word processor, spreadsheet, image editing program and many others? My favorite is the Calendar. Keep your schedule online, and anyone in your office can instantly see your schedule from any PC.
• Google Analytics. Plug a little piece of code into each of your web pages, and Google will keep track of how many visitors you had, which pages they looked at, and how long they stuck around. What’s more important to me is to keep track of which search terms (keywords) folks use to find me online. I’ve seen businesses charge $100 a month for the same tools you get here for free.
• Google Adwords. If someone in your zip code types “professional photographer” in Google and they live in your zip code, wouldn’t you like to be on the front page? With Adwords, it is easy to do. Although the service is free, Google does charge you every time someone “clicks through” from your ad to your website. You decide how much you’re willing to pay for each click-through, normally about 75 cents each (less than the price of a letter).
• Google Base. Have you ever seen a list of products for sale by Google at the top of a search page? Use Google Base to upload product descriptions and prices.

I have no idea how Google can offer so many services and still be free to use. But as long as they are offering them, I encourage you to take advantage of them.

Any Google products you use in your business? Reply below and share your knowledge.

Most of us, if asked, are happy to contribute to others. It makes us feel good. Yet as small business owners, it is easy to forget about giving to others when we’re focused on the next assignment, or just paying the bills on time.

Not long ago, contributing time or money was considered a luxury that only successful studios (or beginning photographers trying to establish a clientele) could afford. Today, contributing has become an important part of many businesses’ marketing strategy. Linking your business to a cause cuts through the “noise” of advertising, and tells your customers something about you that no amount of advertising can.

The challenge of contributing is this: writing a check and sending out a press releases is not enough. Savvy consumers can tell the difference between a business who is committed to a cause, and one just looking for free advertising.

If you are ready to step up your marketing by supporting a cause, start by finding one you genuinely care about, then make it a part of the DNA of your business. If you’re only contributing to bring in clients, you won’t succeed. Only by transcending the sales relationship with your clients will they notice and trust your commitment, which in turn, will bring you more sales.

Here are some examples using photography I’ve read about over the years:

• The lady who started Flat Daddies, life-sized cut-outs of men and women serving in Iraq. Or this vet who just displays life-sized armed services members in front of his house.
• A police chief blew up life-sized cut-outs of kids, and with the help of volunteers put them on the curb in a neighborhood to discourage speeding.
• Flashes of Hope, a group that solicits volunteer photographers to take inspirational portraits of children with cancer.
• Photographers who volunteer for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
• The majority of photographers I’ve met who give presentations at WPPI or DPPA.

I’m willing to bet that if you contacted any of the folks involved in these projects, they would tell you that a) they have made a difference in someone’s life, b) they feel good about it, and c) they aren’t doing it for the money. Yet every one of them has gained more visibility in the community and customer goodwill than any paid advertising ever could.

It doesn’t matter whether you volunteer, write a check, host a fundraiser, or stand on the corner carrying a sign. If you can find something you truly care about and make it part of the core of your business, not only will you feel better, but your business will be better for it too.

Dealing with unhappy customers can be one of the most frustrating parts of running a business. Refunds or discounts are the easy solution. But before you offer a refund, let me share a story that recently happened to me at an upscale restaurant.

On a recommendation, my friend and I decided to split one of the restaurant’s famous ten-dollar gourmet hamburgers (got to watch the calories). We ordered it well-done. When the burger arrived, the meat was still pink inside. Not being a picky eater, I kept the burger, and my friend ordered a second one.

Then the trouble began.

As we waited for what seemed like an eternity, my friend began to find other faults with the restaurant - no silverware, snotty waitress, crud on the mustard bottle lid. Finally, she’d had enough, and asked to see the manager.

After she recounted the story of the bad hamburger, the manager said, “I’m sorry. I’ll adjust your bill.”

Then the trouble really began.

My friend was insulted that a refund could “fix” the problem, and began to list to the manager all the other faults she had noticed with the restaurant and its service, how we’d come on a recommendation, how disappointed she was, etc. In the end we paid for a single burger, and now everyone she talks to knows where not to go for dinner.

As a business owner or manager, the simplest solution for dealing with an unhappy customer is to offer a refund. However, it is rarely the best solution. It costs you money, and you lose a customer.

Instead, when dealing with an unhappy customer you should ask, “What can I do to make you happy?“ This question has three goals:

• It forces the customer to think about what they are really unhappy about, not just what they are complaining about.
• It gives you an opportunity to save the relationship and perhaps even keep the customer.
• It reduces the chance the customer will bad-mouth you to their friends (other potential customers).

While I cannot guarantee this approach will work with every unhappy customer, I can guarantee offering a refund won’t do your business any favors. My friend can vouch for that.