How to Create Loyal Clients, and Loving Relationships through Gifting
Hello Friends. I've been a wedding photographer for over ten years now. The last couple years my wife Suzy and I have photographed over forty weddings per year.
That's a lot of weddings, but even with so many we still love and care for each and every couple we watch get married. We consider each one of them a special friend, and are so thankful they entrusted us the privilege of capturing their day, and allowing us to do what we love at the same time.
Out of all of the above came the desire to show our fabulous couples a little extra LOVE along the way so they know how thankful we are for them. Over the years we have tweaked this list to include things that are generic enough to fit almost every couple, but personal enough that they are also customized to each one specifically. That way we can still give them something customized, but don't put off doing it because we can't think of what to send. It's also a mixture of three gifts they can enjoy on the spot, and one that lasts a lifetime.
Here's the 4 easy things we do to LOVE our clients for less than $75 per couple. It's so amazing the love circle this spreads and how we stay completely booked up every year without any advertising or bridal shows.
1. When couples fill out the contact form on our website it asks for their favorite Starbucks drink. Almost everyone has a favorite Starbucks drink, so this is super easy. When they arrive for the first meeting at our studio we have their drinks sitting there ready with “Bride” & “Groom” on the cup. This can work if you meet at their home, your home, a studio or even at a Starbucks. It's totally customized to them and the total cost is less than $10.
2. As soon as a couple books the very next day we send them movie tickets with a note that says “Thanks for choosing us! Now that you have another thing checked off the to-do list it's time for a date night” It's a great excuse for them to go out together, and a nice way for us to say we care about their relationship. We get the tickets in bulk at Costco for $8.49 each. Total cost less than $17.
3. Right after the engagement session we send them a locket from Chasing Lockets with some photos from the session. The whole process takes less than 2 minutes. Many of our couples even post a bunch of photos of their locket on social media, and then wear the locket everywhere and tell all their friends about us. Total cost $39. (Disclosure: this is the authors company)
4. A few weeks before the wedding we send them a Starbucks gift card and a little note that tells them to go to Starbucks together and take a little breather before the wedding. Total cost $10.
For the cards and envelopes we just order the linen greeting cards from WHCC. You can get packs of forever stamps at the USPS, they have a variety of movie tickets at Costco, Starbucks cards you can buy in bulk, and Chasing Lockets you can also buy credits in bulk.
You can feel free to completely copy us and do the exact same thing, or your can come up with your own variation. But regardless I would encourage you to show those people who make your life as a photographer possible a little extra love!