Shaping Moments: Part 2

Just like we talked about in Part 1, shaping moments is crucial for any business to give your clients a great experience.  You want to showcase and highlight your favorite things about what you do, what you love about your chosen field, your favorite products and services, and make sure that you’re conveying that in a way that your clients will respond and engage to.

Here’s a professional example: are you a high-end photographer who struggles with booking your ideal client? Are you spending a majority of your efforts pushing Instagram to Facebook, and showcasing all your behind-the-scenes instead of your finished product?  While your client LOVES to see the behind-the-scenes stuff, if you aren’t making a majority of what you put out there what your client can expect to see in their final album, you aren’t showing your best client experience, and might lose that client who would really love it.

Behind-the-Scenes from Dustin Lewis Images on a shoot for House of Maya Presents The Wedding Planner Magazine of Hampton Roads.

While I know a lot of my clients and friends are photographers, so it’s easy to use that example, I want to take it a step further.  For those of you that aren’t photographers, but may provide a high-end service like gourmet catering, a posh hotel, wedding planning and more: I want you to think about yourself as a consumer.  If you’re planning a vacation with your family, and have the choice of two 4-star hotels with similar reviews and similar pricing; however, one hotel only showcases cell phone photos, and the other uses professional photography to highlight the features of the hotel, which are you more likely to go with?  Chances are, you’ll choose the one that’s making an effort to show itself in a better light.

The same applies for you.  Pay attention to your competitors and what your clients have to choose from.  Are they showcasing the best of the best photos, the best client reviews, the most accurately branded graphics?  Are you the one using more behind-the-scenes imagery that professional photos from the photographer at the event, or even bringing along your own in the event that there’s not a photographer present?  Are you bringing in a photographer to capture you in action, to showcase you at your sweatiest, but to give you a crisp, clean photo of the final product?

Montero’s Branding Shoot with Amanda Hedgepeth Photography, featuring delicious cake from Patti Cakes, china and flatware from Chic Unique Vintage Rentals, florals from Leslie Hartig Floral Design, and linens & chargers from Classy Event Rentals

Shape your client’s final experience.  Show them that you care to share their photos – and that you care to reach out to the photographer who shot their wedding, or brought in someone yourself to take professional product photos of the items that you offer.  Are cell phones easier?  Yes.  But try to leave those photos for the more informal Instagram if you have to.  Plan a styled shoot.  Get professional headshots.  They don’t have to be boring – they can be bright and colorful like mine, or more subdued and classic if that’s more you!  Track down your target client.  If that means investing money in a professional photographer, do it.  I can almost guarantee that you’ll see a return on that investment: you’ll have photos that you’re proud to decorate your website with.  You’ll have professional content for social media.  Your clients will feel the care and detail that you put into each client experience and look forward to more of the same for them.

Photo by Dragon Studio

All of this can be super daunting in a world full of inspiration, ideas, and more.  Interested in learning more about how I can help?  Click that handy dandy “contact” button and let’s get started doing amazing things together.  I’d love to help you plan your first styled shoot, learn a little more about finding your ideal client, and shape those experiences and moments for you and your clientele.