5 Reasons your photography packages need to include printed products | SIM

Our ethos at SIM is simple. We strive to offer all of our customers professional, high quality photo products combined with exceptional service. From wedding photo albums and bespoke photo frames, to personalised USBs and individual presentation boxes, our range of products offers something for every photography package. We are based in Hertfordshire, where we host open days for customers to tour the workshop, see live demonstrations and meet our expert team responsible for crafting your products. It is no secret that technology is constantly evolving and digitally sharing images is now more accessible than ever, which leaves everyone with one big question; should I bother offering printed products? Read below our top 5 reasons why offering personalised photo products within your photography packages can improve your sales and customer experience.

1. Control Over Your Reputation

We understand that being a photographer can get busy and finding time for album or product design might not be top of your priority list. Offering a USB filled with images from your client’s shoot is definitely simple, easy and does not require a lot of time. However, where does your client go from there? Even with digital packages, we recommend highly to try and incorporate at least one professionally printed item such as a Presentation Folio, Retro Prints or even just 5-10 Standard Photo Prints. This means when your clients print their own images they will have a professional quality print to compare to, which gives them a bench mark of how the photo should look. High street printing labs and supermarket kiosks are not designed to offer professional quality which can result in your clients thinking the images do not look
as good as expected when printed. Instinctively, most customers would not associate this drop in quality, colour or clarity with the printer itself but more often than not, look to the photographer as the source of the blame. Adding a few professionally printed photos or a presentation folio into your packages ensures your customer has a fantastic point of comparison to understand that if it’s quality they want, they need to purchase products from their photographer, aka you!

2. Tangible Memories

Offering high quality printed products such as a wedding album or a newborn folio box gives your clients a preserved heirloom that can be passed down for generations to come. This is a great emotional selling point that can really boost your product sales. Newborn babies grow up so quickly and it’s the same principle for a happy couple’s wedding day: everything that is planned, arranged and paid for on the
wedding day eventually fades, the only concrete memory is their photos, so these should be cherished. Images on a USB rarely get looked at once, let alone time and time again. Eventually in years to come, technology may render USB’s obsolete, and this means that the couple’s children and grandchildren won’t be able to access the images any longer. However if you preserve these images in a leather bound wedding album with a personalised box, this will last a lifetime and be enjoyed for generations. Remember you’re not selling products, you’re selling memories!

3. Marketing

With printed products displayed in the home, your clients are constantly reminded of your work. This means when their children are older, they will fondly reminisce on the images on their walls and it will remind them and encourage them to rebook and preserve a new snapshot in time. Don’t forget, if your images are framed and on your clients wall, their family members, friends, neighbours etc will also see your work, be wowed by the images and they will instinctively ask your clients about them and consider investing in a similar product or service themselves. Recommendations are the most effective method of gaining new customers, so make your products a talking point and let your clients sell shoots for you!

4. Increased Revenue

The most beneficial reason is that offering printed material within your packages can bring in some extra revenue to your business. Finding the time to upsell products can seem impossible and not everyone feels comfortable with pushing extras onto their clients however this is not as scary or as awkward as it sounds. Understanding the products that you are selling is key and there are a couple of ways that SIM can help with this:

● Sample Products: you will ONLY sell what you show. We offer a sample discount code that is valid throughout the whole year as we understand your style, favourite imagery or your clientele can be constantly changing. Having your photography printed using top quality materials within one of our handmade products can be the main voice of your marketing. All of our sample products are made to the same incredible standard that client products are made to, meaning, you can show customers exactly what they can expect from their wedding album, frame or product. You can read more about our sample products here.

● SIM Open Days: since 2022 we have opened our doors to our customers to get a sneak peak behind the scenes. We offer a number of open days throughout the year where you will get a full tour of our workshop along with live demonstrations of products being made. This is an educational day for our customers to understand the work, materials and care that go into your products as well as our talented team who create them. Having this knowledge can be a great tool for when you are trying to upsell your product to your clients. You can find out more about our open days here.

5. Added Value

Typically being from outside of the photography industry, your client will not know all of the possible options that are available to them when it comes to presenting their images. Your clients have chosen you to be their photographer because they trust your judgement, so use this to your advantage to educate them on how YOU think the images will be best presented. Adding a selection of carefully considered
products that will fit perfectly within your clients home means you are now selling emotions, an extended experience and memories that will last a lifetime. At SIM, we offer FREE showroom visits where you can discuss our product range with our expert team and construct packages based on products that will work for your client base and genre. When it comes to adding value to your customers’ experience, one structure does not fit all. You can book in for a free showroom visit here for a time and date that suits you. Never forget that you are the professional photographer and your client has employed you for your expertise and judgement, so don’t be afraid to share what YOU think would be best for them. Preserving special memories in beautifully hand crafted products is an opportunity that not everyone may be offered, however, as a photographer you can present your clients with the chance to own valuable keepsakes. The emotional value of a product always wins over the written value if portrayed correctly.

For any questions about our product range, building packages or marketing advice please get in touch with us via [email protected] or book in for a free showroom visit. www.simimaging.co.uk