Writing a Photography Studio Marketing Plan [Sample Template]

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Do you run a photography studio and want to promote it? If YES, here is a sample photography business marketing plan template, tips and ideas to attract clients.

Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a photography business. We also took it further by providing an in-depth sample photography business plan template. In this article, we will be analyzing and drafting a sample photography marketing plan backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for photography businesses. So put on your marketing hat and let’s proceed.

A Sample Photography Marketing Plan Template

Our Present Business Situation

Studio Zero is a photography company that has been duly registered and licensed to operate in the united states of America and we are based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although, we are yet to officially open our photography studio for business to the entire public, but we have already started covering event for family members and friends while perfecting our trade.

We have a standard studio and also a mini – studio dedicated to children photography and as a matter of fact, we have a team that is trained to handle that aspect of the business. Besides operating a standard photography studio in Las Vegas, we have all the cameras, lenses and other equipment needed to cover outdoor events such as wedding ceremonies, anniversaries, and parties et al.

Over and above, we will officially launch our photography business on the 24^th of December, 2015 and we have loads of activities that will help us attract our target market in Las Vegas and in other parts of the United States of America.

Our Product and Services

Of course, like every other photographer, we shall be into the business of covering events. However, we shall take our services a notch higher, by paying attention to details- like having pre- shoots and after- shoots. Why after shoots?

Well, the after- shoots will basically involve capturing the after event moods in pictures. There will also be the production photo albums, photo books, framed pictures, as well as soft copies of edited pictures as requested by our clients.

Much more than rendering the services, we will also like to be known as a one stop shop where competitors can come purchase equipment that will help foster their expertise. As a result, we are to be involved in the sale of digital cameras, and other photography hardware and software.

We intend to deal in brand new equipment as well as the fairly used type. This is so that we are able to give those who couldn’t possibly afford the brand new stuff the opportunity to still be in the trade by selling the fairly used types of products to them.

We believe that the photography trade wouldn’t be complete without having to offer consultancy services. This is why we will be offering photography training and consultancy services. As a result budding photographers, as well as novices can always run to us to garner more knowledge about the trade. Our consultancy services ranges from providing advisory services to setting up photography studio for our clients.

Our Mission and Vision Statement

We have a concise vision and mission in view and that is: To become a world class photography brand and to be amongst the top 5 leaders in the photography trade in New York and The United States of America.

To make top notch photography services available to a wide range of clients that cuts across different classes of people at affordable price.

Our Market Goals

We are in the photography not only to make money, but also to ensure that we give our highly esteemed clients memories that they will cherish for a life time. This is why all the strategies that are contained in our business plans are geared towards giving our clients the desire to want to keep coming back to us when they are in need of a professional photographer.

In view of that, we are set out to achieve the following market goals:

Generate a total sale of 250,000 US dollars within the first year of launching our photography business
Generate a total sale of 1,000,000 US dollars within the third year of launching our photography business
Become the official photographer of 50 percent of our first time clients
Build 6 standard photography studio in 6 major cities in the United States of America

What we aim to achieve from our market efforts are as follows:

Become the number one choice when it comes to children’s photography in the United States of America
Become the number one choice when it comes to wedding photography in the United States of America
We want to build a self – sustaining business that will contribute to the growth of the economy of the United States of America.

Our Marketing Budget

We are in the photography business not because we want to operate an average photography business, but to build a photography business that will have strong presence in 6 major cities in the United States of America and also to become one of the leading photography companies when it comes to children’s photography and wedding photography in the United States of America hence we have set a marketing budget of 25,000 US dollars for the first year of launching the business.

Going forward, we will budget between 5 percent and 15 percent of our annual income towards marketing and promoting of photography business in the United States of America.

Photography Service MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Trends

There is always a readily available market for the photography industry, and whoever is hardworking and can produce decent photography jobs will always make headway in the industry. But in recent times, because of the advancement of technology, it is now a lot easier for non – professional photographers to take cool shots or ‘selfies’ that can be processed to classic portraits from their smart phones or other computer devices like iPADs and even digital cameras.

In view of this, it has been observed that people only engage the services of professional photographers on rare occasions. We are quite aware of this; which is why we took our time to study the market and we have been able to identify marketing and sales strategies that will help us generate profits from the business. Part of the marketing and sales strategies that we will adopt are;

Mouthwatering promos for the first 12 months and then subsequently when the need arises
Participate in photography exhibitions and expos
Neighborhood, door to door and mouth to ear adverts to introduce our business
Engage in roadshows to introduce our business
Leverage on social media platforms cum online marketing to source for clients
Create a loyalty program that will help us convert leads to loyal customers

Our Target Market

Although our main niches as a photography company is children’s photography and wedding photography, but that does not in any way stop us from engaging in family photography, portrait photography and outdoor photography et al.

Which is why we were deliberate in crafting out marketing strategies that will help us reach out to as many people that falls within our target market especially those that live in Las Vegas and other parts of the United States of America. In essence, our target market cut across the following people and organizations;

Parents
Children
Intending couples
Expectant Mothers / Parents
Corporate Organizations
Families
Event Planners
Individuals
Religious Organizations (Wedding Coverage)
Registries (Wedding Coverage)

Photography Business SWOT Analysis

We are quite aware that we need to leverage on our strengths if we intend building a successful photography business in the united States of America and that is the reason why we have taken time to analyze our Strength, our Weakness, the Opportunities available to us, as well as the threats that we are likely going to face in the photography industry.

Strength

Our strength is not limited to the robust professional training, certification and experience we have acquired prior to setting up a photography business, but also our rich network, passion and ability to convert leads to loyal customers within a short time – frame.

Weakness

Part of our weakness as a start – up Photography Company is that we have fewer employees and experts, and also we have limited cash to execute all we intend executing before launching the business. For example, we would have loved to build our own customized CRM Software.

Opportunities

The United States of America and New York City in particular is one of the cities in the world that attract tons or diverse classes of visitors, coupled with the fact that some of the finest photography schools are located in New York. It is easier for a start – up photography business to leverage on these factors to build to their businesses and that is exactly what we intend doing.

Threat

There are well established photography businesses / photographers in New York City who may not need much stress to convince new clients to patronize them. There is also the threat of the huge cost of running businesses in New York City, as it is on the high side. Hence, we need to be on the top of our game if we must grow our photography business to profitability.

Our Competitive Advantage

We are fully aware that there are several top notch photographers in New York City who already have their own loyal clientele base, but we are have done our due diligence and we are ready to give them a run for their money. Despite the fact that we are new in town, we have been able to critically study the existing photography businesses around our location and we were able to identify some lapses on their part and we plan to work towards making their lapses our strong selling points.

One of the advantages we are bringing to the fore is excellent customer’s service. It is no doubt every business owner will work hard to keep their customers, but if they are not operating on the same page with their customers, they will find it difficult to meet the need of the customer. In addition, if they can’t meet the need of the customer for a period of time, the customer will definitely source for another company that can meet their need.

In view of that, we have designed a CRM Software that will help us effectively engage our customers from time to time. We will be able to know what our clients want and we will work hard to meet their needs per time .Also the fact that we are new and are willing to deliver photography services at a price that is about the lowest in our location is also an advantage to us.

Photography Studio SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Sources of Income

Much more than generating income from covering events like Weddings, Parties, Thanksgiving services, Naming Ceremonies, and all forms of events that will require taking pictures; we will also engage in the sale of digital photography cameras and accessories as earlier mentioned. After a period of 5 years, we would have succeeded in selling our brand to the entire populace in New York City and beyond.

That should give us a platform to generate more income via providing photography related consultancy services and trainings to as many aspiring photographers that will need them. After a period of 10 to 15 years, we will start selling franchises of our company in the United States of America. These are basically the areas where we will concentrate on to generate income for our photography business.

product pricing

In as much as we will not compromise quality in any of our jobs, we have decided to enter the market with rock bottom prices in our business location. Our prices will be the prices to beat in the industry. We will offer discounts to loyal and repeat customers.

Part of what will enable customers get discounts, is when they successfully refer clients to us and if the cost of the services they want exceeds a certain amount of money. The amount will be determined from time to time by the management as the business grows; so there should be no fixed amount for now.

Our philosophy when it comes to pricing is that; ‘We appreciate making smaller profits from many clients, than making huge profits from fewer clients.’

Our Unique Selling Point; What Makes Our Photography Company Superior to Our Competitions

Our unique selling point as a photography company is that we are not only going to operate a standard photography studio in Las Vegas, but we will also engage in outdoor photography. Aside from that, we will be one of the few photography companies in Las Vegas that has a standard children’s photography studio.

Another unique selling point that will give us leverage in the market is that we will ensure that we sign contracts with parents to become the official photographer of the children. For example, if we sign any contract with an expectant mother / parents, it means that at least we will cover the child / children from birth to their one year birthday and then present a photo album / photo book to them at the end of the one year contract.

It is a way of giving them a long lasting memory of their first 12 months on earth. We will always give them the room to renew the contract; perhaps to continue to cover and document every milestone they achieve.

Benefits Our Client Stand to Gain When They Patronizes Our Photography Services

We are set to become one of the leading photography brands in the whole of the United States of America hence we will do all we can to ensure that anyone who patronizes our photography services will always look towards doing business with us again and again. Our ultimate goal as a photography company is to give all our customers long lasting memories that they will never forget.

In view of that, here are the benefits our customers and potential customers stand to benefits when they patronize our photography services:

Good quality and long lasting pictures (picture frames, photo albums and photo books et al)
Opportunity to request for a reprint of their pictures irrespective of the year the picture / pictures was taken
Good value for their money

Guerrilla Marketing Strategies for Our Photography Business

Creating Brand Identity for Our Photography Company

When it comes to creating a brand identity for a photography company, loads of creativity must be put in place to achieve a compelling result which is why we have decided to dedicate a good budget to help us achieve our aim of becoming one of the leading photography brand in Las Vegas and in the whole of the United States of America.

One thing is certain in the photography industry, if you know how to leverage on the internet cum social media platforms you can achieve outstanding results. All you need to do is to roll out creative and quality pictures on the internet that can show to the world what your photography company is capable of producing.

Here are the ways we intend creating brand identity of our photography company

Place adverts on both print (newspapers and photography related magazines) and electronic (radio and TV) media platforms
Sponsor relevant community programs like beauty pageants, fashion shows et al
Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Flickr, Fotolog, Pinterest, Shutterfly, Tumblr, WordPress, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google+, Snapchat and other photo sharing sites and photo sharing mobile apps et al to promote our brand
Attend local and intentional photography expos
Regularly organize our own photography exhibitions in different cities in the United States of America
Promote our photography company on our own official websites and online photography community
Build relationship with celebrities especially in the entertainment industry and sports to endorse of Photography Company.

Strategic Marketing Alliance with Our Competitors in the Photography Industry

One thing about the photography industry is that loads of photographers out there are engaged in general photography hence it will be difficult to form a strategic marketing alliance with any photography company that is an active player in the photography industry.

Be that as it may, there are very limited opportunities to enter into a strategic marketing alliance with a photography company especially when professionalism of the highest order is required in delivering a specific photography job.

For example, we are one of the very few photography companies that are specialized in children’s photography in Las Vegas which gives us room to enter into partnership with any other photography company that may not have the required equipment and technical knowledge to handle children’s photography. In essence if such photography company secures a deal to cover children’s events, they will outsource it to us and then get some percentage as agreed by both parties from the job.

Our Client Retention Strategies (Ways to Improve Our Customer Experience)

We are quite aware that the success of any business is directly proportional to the numbers of repeated business they are able to generate. The truth is that, if a company is able to achieve over 60 percent retentions the company will sure experience huge turn over and such company is classified as a healthy company. We have perfected plans on how to improve our customer experience from time to time.

These are the ways we intend utilizing when it comes to improving our customer experience so that we can create a good impression and generate repeated sales from them:

Ensures that we produce pictures (frames, photo albums, photo books et al)? of the highest quality
Ensure we get feedbacks from our customers at all times
Give our customers the options to choose from a wide range of photography packages as it suits their budgets et al.
Make use of effective customer relationship management (CRM) software to effectively manage our clientele base.
Ensures that we carry our customers along when making decisions that directly affect them.

Possible Ways We Intend Offering Incentives to Our Customers / Clients (Bonus, Discounts, etc)

Part of our marketing strategies which is clearly stated in our business plans is to ensure that we offer our customers incentives in order for us to retain them and of course to continue to generate repeated sales from them and also to attract new customers. We know that if we are going to win our own fair share of the existing market, then we must be willing to outsmart our competitors.

Part of the incentives that we intend dishing out to our highly esteemed customer is to give them 50 percent discount on all our photography packages when they make us their official photographer and when they sign a contract with us to cover their children for at least a period of 12 months (from birth to their first birthday).

We will also create a loyalty plan that will enable us reward our loyal customers who have been consistent in patronizing our photography services and who also refer our services to their family members, friends and colleagues. Rewarding them could be giving our customers discounts anytime they patronize us and also giving them gifts during special occasions like Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving, Independence Celebrations and Easter et al.

After Sales Service and Customer Support Services

The nature of photography business does not warrant after sell services unlike other products. However we will still ensure that we do all we can to give our clients the assurance that we are not just after their monies but after their total satisfactions as far as photography is concerned.

In view of that we will maximize our customer relationship management software applications so as to keep in touch with them and to make sure we carry them along when we have any promo that we know will benefit them. We will also ensure that we offer free photography consultancy services to our loyal customers.

10 Possible Questions We Intend Asking Our Customers During Our Market Survey

Are you satisfied with the quality of our pictures (frames, photo albums, photo books et al)?
If you are not satisfied with the quality our pictures what areas would you want us to improve on going forward?
Would you love to sign a contract with us to become your / family official photographer?
How would you want us to communicate with to you when we want to pass useful information about our photography company to you? Through text messages, e – mail, or via mobile apps (BBM, twitter, 2Go, WeChat, WhatsApp et al)
Aside from Las Vegas, which other cities in the United States of America would you want us to open Studio Zero?
How often do you visit a photography studio to take pictures?
Are you satisfied with the prices of the various photography packages that are available in our photography company?
If you are giving the opportunity to change one thing in our photography company what would that be?
Can you comfortably recommend our photography company to your family members, friends and colleagues?
Are you satisfied with our customer service delivery? If not what areas would you want us to improve on?

Actionable Marketing ideas for Our Photography Business

Cost EffectiveWays We Intend to Advertise / Promote Our Photography Company without Using the Internet

Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on when it comes to advertising and promoting our photography company in the market place;

Place adverts on both print (newspapers and photography magazines) and electronic (radio and TV) media platforms
Sponsor relevant community programs like beauty pageants, school fashion shows et al
Attend local and intentional photography exhibitions
Regularly organize our own photography exhibitions in different cities in the United Stated of America
Build solid business relationship with wedding planners, event planners and celebrities especially in the entertainment industry and sports to endorse of Photography Company.

Low Cost Ways We Intend to Advertise / Promote Our Photography Company on the Internet

We are quite aware that the internet is presently the biggest platform when it comes advertising / promoting any business and one good thing about adverting on the internet that is far cheaper than other conventional advertising platforms. This is why we will ensure that we explore all available means on the internet platform to promote our photography business.

Here are they ways we intending leveraging on the internet to advertise / promote our photography:

Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Flickr, Fotolog, Pinterest, Shutterfly, Tumblr, WordPress, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google+, Snapchat and other photo sharing sites and photo sharing mobile apps et al to promote our brand
Design an interactive corporate website and we will make use the platform to promote our photography company
Place adverts on high traffic websites
Engage in blogging and make use of the platform to promote our photography company
Leverage on email marketing strategy to advertise and promote our photography business.

Creative Marketing Ideas Specific to Our Photography Business

The photography industry is such that your photography work is your major marketing tools and one need to be pretty creative in other to attract customers. As a matter of fact, if you visit any photography studio, the first thing that should catch your attention is perhaps the pictures that are on display in the studio.

Part of the creative marketing ideas that we intend leveraging on to market our photography business is to make use of photo sharing websites such as Instagram, Flickr, Fotolog, Pinterest, Shutterfly, Tumblr, WordPress, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google+, and Snapchat to market our photography business.

We will also organize our own photo exhibitions in different cities in the United States of America with the aim of attracting our target market. As part of our CSR, we will offer pro bono photography services once in a while in and around the community where our photo studio is located.