Rebel Fish noticed a good discussion going on over at OSP. A photographer was asking the forum how best to market to high-end brides. Rebel Fish has taken the liberty to cut and paste Kevin Swan’s response below:

Before I get flamed, all of this is just my opinion and it’s based on my experience. Your milage may vary.

You need to define “high-end.” Do you mean $50,000 weddings or $500,000 weddings or $5,000,000 weddings? Who is your target market, because you need to shape your business to that goal. Don’t just say you want people who are spending more money than the ones you currently serve–that’s not a very concrete goal.

Bridal shows are good to get started, because they get you some gigs and you can work on your craft. Until you’re very comfortable, selling to high-end brides won’t be happening. Do not continue them after you get your start because the mediocrity of the mass of photographers at such events will pull your brand down to their level. The brides leave feeling overwhelmed and frustrated and you just become “another photographer.” All the high-end clients I’ve shot have found me through referral or through a high-end event planner. I doubt you will ever see a high-end bride trolling a bridal show (again, this will depend on your description, but I’m talking about brides who are spending at least $100,000 on their event and around $20k on photographer). Their time is more valuable than that–that’s why they hire planners to recommend them 1 or 2 of the best options, rather than sifting through 30 photographers at a show.

You should consider things like packages and how you word your pricing. Do wealthy people really want to know nitty gritty details, or are they used to someone just taking care of their needs? When you buy an Aston Maritn, do you go in because you heard about a sale going on? Not likely. Do you have the work to support a high-end clientele? Do you have references in their circles? Who plans their weddings; have you taken them to lunch or bought them a nice book?

Consider your focus (or lack of it). On your site you basically say, “I specialize in shooting everything,” which is to say, you’re not specializing in anything. That looks desperate. High-end people prefer specialists. In fact, everyone prefers specialists.

On your site, why do you separate “philosophy” from “about me?” Just to have another tab? You are your business; don’t make people have to click around more than is necessary.

Consider how you “speak” on your site. High-end folks like to get to the point. You say, “What I have found that I love with photography is the ability to showcase the power and beauty of life as it is without bias.” That’s the long way around of saying, “I love photography because it shows the power and beauty of life.” (Of course photography is biased, by the way… what you chose to shoot and not shoot an an event, how you crop something out or leave it in, the angle you select–they are all formed from your bias and perspective of the event.)

You say, “I began my artistic career nearly 10 years ago as an Interactive Designer and Art Director which transitioned into a passion for photography as my career.” You shouldn’t use the same word twice (career) in a sentence. This is also the long way of saying, “Over the last decade my passion for visual art has brought me to photography as the perfect career.”

If you want to appeal to high-end folks, you need show that you can hang with them. Wealthy people are generally smarter, more efficient, better educated, and more perceptive than the average people. If your materials, your dress, your speech, etc. don’t match up, they will notice.

Ultimately, I think the most important thing (and this is true for any level of customer) is do they trust you? Do they feel you could hang at an event that may have famous people attending and you won’t act like a star-struck little girl? Do you have the proper etiquette for their class and their event? They want to know you’ll dress and act the part if they’re putting on a million-dollar, black-tie wedding. They want to feel you understand them, that you can hang with them, and, at some level, bond with them. If you’re nervous about getting the gig, and show it, they’ll suspect you’ll be nervous shooting it as well.

You should also consider that the fewer weddings you do, even at a higher price, means you’re in front of planners and other vendors less often. The less you are seen by influential vendors, the less likely you are to be referred. The genius Jim Kennedy has made more than probably 99.9% of the photographers in the US by going after the upper-middle market bride. His company is shooting multiple events every weekend. He has wedding planners asking HIM to be put on HIS referral list. He realized early on that there is MUCH more money to be made in the mid-level market than the high-end market. So, again, define what you’re going after.

So, those are some thoughts, in no particular order. You should probably grab Mike Colon’s “marketing to the high-end bride” DVD if you’re interested in pursuing this more. He’s a master at it, as his work and client list will attest.

I’m just an Indiana bumpkin.

$.02

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Lots of photographers think they have the stuff to make their own logo. Usually, they are disastrously mistaken. Fortunately, Rebel Fish will share with you all a fun resource for getting a logo done GOOD and CHEAP.

Click here

It’s called Logosauce. You put up a description of what you need a logo for, you commit some cash (minimum $200) to the winner, and then it’s open season. Whoever wants to invest the time to design can, and the submissions are all voted on. You can give feedback and the designers can respond. You award the winner with the cash you proposed.

It’s smart, and you get some pretty savvy designers jumping on your brand, which can be a good thing.

Check it out!

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Rebel Fish knows that when you blow your knee out in a soccer game, you don’t want to go to a general doctor–you want to go to the orthopedic surgeon who specializes in knees. The guy that does nothing but knees; day in, day out, and has done it for 20 years. The guy that can point you to hundreds of successful surgeries–on knees.

The same is true in any business you might have, but _especially_ wedding photography.

A bride doesn’t want a photographer who “specializes” in parties, architecture, portraits, children, weddings, corporate, models, and animals. She wants a wedding pro. She wants the specialist who eats, breathes, and sleeps weddings.

What’s your branding look like?
Are you a specialist or a generalist?

Are you worried about turning work away? Statistics show that, by specializing, you will attract more business than you do by generalizing. Sure, you’ll scare the persnickety pet owner looking for that perfect portrait with her beloved beagle, but you’ll attract more than enough blushing brides to make up for the lost cash.

Trust Rebel Fish. Or, read the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing. Either way, Rebel Fish don’t lie.

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We talked about picking a hill and claiming it. Here’s Seth Godin’s take on the same concept (Rebel Fish thanks Rachel from LaCour for this heads-up!):

The opposite

The opposite of up is down.
The opposite of in is out.

Those two are easy. They are one-dimensional.

The opposite of Steve Jobs is Bill Gates.

Sort of. That’s because Bill and Steve have a lot in common (outsize personalities, many Google matches, successful tech companies). But it’s useful to consider them as opposites because we learn a lot about their approaches, personalities, and yes, brands, by looking at the inverse.

The opposite of Starbucks is Dunkin Donuts.

Not an independent coffee shop, and not coffee at home.

On the other hand, the opposite of Dunkin Donuts is not Starbucks. The opposite is ‘not having coffee out.’

That’s because when someone considers getting their morning coffee, the choice is usually home or Dunkin. That person doesn’t have Starbucks as part of their choice set. Defining your brand in this way makes it easier to ignore the irrelevant competition and easier to figure out what you are (and aren’t).

Bill Clinton and John Edwards aren’t the opposite of Rush Limbaugh. Al Franken is.

The Blackberry isn’t the opposite of the iPhone. A plain jane Motorola phone is. Apple understands this. Blackberry doesn’t seem to.

The opposite of the Food Network is hours spent poring over cookbooks at a local independent bookstore. Or perhaps it’s Good Housekeeping magazine. Or Gourmet…

One of the hardest things to do is invent a brand with no opposite. You don’t have an anchor to play against.

Does your team agree on who your opposite is?

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Rebel Fish recently received this photo from Kevin Swan. It’s of his most recent wedding and the response the guests had to his on-site slideshow straight off raw pictures that have been quickly selected, edited, and displayed in Lightroom. Rebel Fish would say the photo spoke for itself, but Swan felt the need to embellish it (he’s so subtle)…

RF

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From Kevin Swan’s post on OSP:

When you’re trying to compete as a photographer in a market, it’s pretty much true no matter what part of the country you’s in: don’t fight on a hill that’s occupied. I simply went to where other photographers weren’t and the market responded quickly.

It’s probably easier to display this principle with the KISS Wedding Book brand I recently launched. There are plenty (and I mean plenty) of album manufacturers in the market. When I looked to start a company in that field, it seemed pretty obvious where to go. Most the hills were occupied… Quality (owned by Queensberry. Incidentally, this is a retarded position to own as a company. You always want to be opposite of someone else in your positioning… who stands for NOT QUALITY?! hahah. But that’s another conversation…), speed, price, whatever. It was all owned. And, in fact, there are a bunch of companies stacked on each hill.

When I looked around, all the companies thrilled themselves by providing options. Everyone was crowding on that hill. Of course, as photographers, we’re overwhelmed by the ridiculous number of options now, and the companies all blur into one, disorienting company.

I looked over to the opposite of that hill: simplicity (freedom from options), and there were 0 companies on that hill. None. Zilch. So, we were able to create a brand that quickly distinguished itself in the marketplace. We spent very little money compared to what you’d have to spend to try to compete on a hill that’s already crowded, the word got out, people liked it, and they started ordering books. From concept to our first order: less than 60 days.

All that is to say, LOOK IN YOUR MARKET FOR THE OPEN SPACE. Don’t compete with someone else if they’re already known for something. “Me too, only better!” Never works. Don’t try to stand for everything in your business–you’ll end up standing for nothing. Pick a hill, stake your flag on it, and rock out!

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(From a post by Kevin Swan on OSP when he was told his logo didn’t make anyone think of weddings… but instead it looked like a beer label.):

A logo doesn’t have to make you think of the product. It has to fit the overall brand promise and style, which mine does. Mine says professional, modern, bold, confident, competent. Those words mesh well with my personality type, my office, my cards, my car, my clothes, my speech, my photography, my billing, etc. It’s about the _experience_ — not about photography.

What does a naked siren have to do with coffee? Nothing, but it’s part of the overall experience of walking into a Starbucks. What does an apple have to do with computers? Nothing, but they make it work (especially after they updated it to just white) with the entire look and feel of their store/site/product.

I think it’s totally cheezeball when people try to cram their entire marketing message into their logo with some symbolic whatever-it-is. It’s not at all necessary, and it usually ends up making a mark that is unsatisfying. I don’t own a single professional self portrait with a camera in it (sorry DJ! hahah), because I don’t think it’s necessary (or advantageous) to put your camera in your photo. We get it. You’re a photographer. Don’t smack me in the head with it.

Photographers seem stuck on the idea that their signature is their logo. Trust me, no one remembers your signature, and it doesn’t set you apart or really help define your brand. Yes, it says artistic and personal, but it’s pretty weak, ultimately. I know I’m stepping on a lot of toes with this, but I’m reasonably confident in the market research and my 15 years in advertising.

So, it could be that I failed — since people don’t think of “photography” when they see my mark — but a lot of my clients register deeply with the branding I’ve done, and that’s where it counts for me.

$.02 and

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