At the start of the year me and my wife/business partner sit down and start discussing plans for the new year. New ideas, new directions, new products, new gear…everything is fair game.
And it was while discussing a new direction for our portraits that I remembered two simple words that I picked up…somewhere. Maybe from Seth Godin, maybe from Jack Trout, or one of a hundred books on marketing I’ve read since I started this business. As we were starting to list all the great features of what we were doing, I stopped, and stepped back and asked the question: So What?
I asked it because I knew my potential customers would ask it, too. So what if you offer a mocha double latte with every session, or you only print on paper with the finest weave and nose hair for torsional strength? What does it matter to me?
Because if you can answer that question (the warmth of the cup will keep your hands warm as you’re sitting on that ice block), and answer it in a way that is powerful and moving, then you’re on the way to creating a message that means something. A way to connect to your customers needs and wants. A way to connect to their emotions, rather than their intellect.
So, you won an award. So what?
You just bought the new Canon 1D M IV. So what?
You offer creative portraiture. So what?
You’ve been doing this for ten years. So what?
Figure out the answer to this one simple question, and your business will thank you for it.
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2 Comments at "So What Photographers! So What?"
You hit the nail on the head here. I used to be a grant writer, and in one workshop, the instructor repeatedly reminded us to ask that very question as we made our pitch for funding: “So What?”
As I prepare my presentations for potential clients, I ask my self the same question, because as a consumer, that’s my first question as a salesman is making a pitch to me…”So What?” If I can’t answer that questions for my prospective clients, then I’m not getting many sales.
I too have been asking myself that same question, particularly in regards to my high school senior pictures. I have to ask myself, So what? as it relates to a high school senior in my city, at this time, among all the other photographers’ offerings.
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