Going, going….. GONE! Skip Cohen nails another kickass article (pardon my French ladies) on his Marketing Essentials International blog.
Skip posed the following, rather simple question, to sixteen photography industry leaders was taken back once he read the flood of rather forthcoming and candid replies. DWF Pro Cliff Mautner replied…
There’s no question that the climate has changed a bit from last year. While I was able to meet my numbers, I was working harder than ever to maintain the status quo. The expression “flat is the new up” was an accurate assessment of the expectations of most businesses. In order to combat the apprehension of my wedding clients, I felt the need to add a bit of value to their collection in lieu of reducing my pricing – which I was dead set against. An added hour here, a flexible payment plan there, and things fell into place nicely. However, there was still a sense of trepidation, and each wedding booked felt like a monumental achievement.
Today, one year later, my clients appear more confident that their wedding won’t lead them down the road to financial ruin. It’s seems to be a bit more business as usual, and my numbers are, once again, up for the next year. My photo colleagues, venues, orchestras, floral designers, and industry pros are also seeing things ease up a bit.
However, I still believe there’s no substitute for busting your ass. I’m working harder than ever to stay working hard. I don’t think that will change. It’s the survival of the fittest out there and this is no time to chill. Sharp skill sets, innovative marketing, and top notch customer service will always prevail. The climate may indeed be changing, however, Wall Street has a short memory, so you never know when they’ll screw things up once again!
And there are 15 more answers just like that in Part I and Part II including answers from Joe Dallas, Scott Bourne, David Ziser, Bambi Cantrell & Jasmine Star just to name a few. Let us know what you think and just in case you missed it here is Part 1 and Part 2 of our exclusive interview with Skip himself.
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