Photo Cred: La Vida Creations

Hello everyone! We are hoping your 2017 has been going great so far. We've been super busy here at PhotoSpark so far this year. We've been recording episodes, planning new show topics, discussing our WPPI strategies, and more. We figured this is a great time to remind ourselves about the importance of keeping our clients happy, and who better to chat about that with than Bethel Nathan! She's the awesome wedding officiant/business-woman extraordinaire who runs both Ceremonies by Bethel and Elevate by Bethel. She is also an absolute EXPERT in the customer journey (I mean... have you SEEN her Wedding Wire reviews?!) so we knew she'd be the perfect person to have on the show! If you think about it, your clients' journeys begin the moment they know they need your service... that part is mostly out of your control. Once they reach out to you, you are in complete control of how their customer journey unfolds from start to finish. We want to make sure this is a positive journey! Tune in to hear the full episode, but feel free to check out some of our favorite talking points below! Key Takeaways

1. Find your weaknesses. Take a look at your business from the customer's perspective. Pretend you're your own client & you're on your customer journey. What parts of your experience are lacking? For example, Ashley feels like the gallery selection process could be a little confusing for her clients, while Kate feels her email response time should be better. Taking time to determine the weaknesses in your business model will help keep you on track to fixing them. Sometimes it's a super easy fix that can make a world of difference in the customer journey!
2. Remember this is a BIG DEAL for most clients. It's easy for us to forget how special, exciting, and crazy photoshoot day (or wedding day!) is for our clients because it's something we do every single day. However, to your client, this is an experience they're not likely to forget! If you're a portrait photographer, your client has likely spent days or weeks figuring out the perfect outfits, making hair & makeup appointments, and imagining what her photos will look like. If you're a wedding photographer, we DEFINITELY know your client has been dreaming of this day for a long time... sometimes their entire life! So we definitely have to slow down & make sure our clients feel appreciated, special, and significant during their shoot.
3. Make sure their expectations meet your expectations. Clients likely have different expectations according to what they're paying for a shoot, and you might not even know what those are! Make sure they know exactly what to expect from you. Behind the scenes videos are a GREAT way to do this (hello 2017 goals!!). If expectations are clear from the get-go, you're ensuring their customer journey is as successful as possible.
4. Don't underestimate work done behind the scenes. Oftentimes, the networking you do and connections you make within your industry (and related industries) benefit the customer journey without them even knowing about it! Bethel gives the example of how she always hand delivers marriage licenses to the county. This isn't a required thing, or even something all of her couples even really care too much about, but it's something she loves doing. Because of this, some couples have benefitted from her connections at the county clerk's office when they've needed a service above and beyond what they would usually get. We can't forget the importance of everything we do to improve the customer journey, even when they don't know we do it!

If you enjoyed this episode and are local to San Diego, check out Bethel's upcoming workshop ALL about the Customer Journey on 1/25/17 at The Bash Boutique in North Park. There's more info on the event's Facebook Page... take a look! AND THERE'S MORE! Bethel is awesome and put together a quick one page summary on the customer journey FREE for you guys! Just click here & download! (You'll also find free downloads from her other two shows with us as well!). As always, thank you for listening & have a great week! Relavent Links:

• Elevate by Bethel
• Bethel's Freebies!
• Upcoming Workshop- The Customer Journey: Their Path to Your Success
• The Elevator (Bethel's Facebook accountability group!)

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