1. 50%
2. 10%
3. i am not on facebook really
4. 30% wedding guests (they see our contact on gallery so no need that couple refer us)
5. 10% other (ads, etc)
FotobyMomo wrote:
Would you guys do simple advertising? Such as putting your name/phone/website on your car? Like magnets or on your rear window? It cost me $40 for window sign so at least my name is visible to people on the road which I am a lot.
Social marketing is king in our market. We do 30+ weddings a year and we don't spend a dime on advertising. Never been to a wedding show, never had a print ad. SEO factors in as well. 90% of our brides find us on Facebook/Google search. And keep an eye out for those $100 coupons from Google AdWords, they're always sending those to us, free Google advertising is wicked nice
Can't tell you how many times people say "so and so referred me" and after I ask, find out "I saw a recommendation to your page on the right hand side of fb with my friend's pic" -- yeah that's an ad, and facebook sponsored stories are pure gold for my business. The best way to generate business in a referral based industry.
Otherwise there have been a handful of actual referrals from past clients.
50% plus from previous couples word of mouth.
20% direct referrals from the venues we work at regularly and have built a good relationship with.
30% from our website.
We made the decision at the start of 2011 here in the UK that 'traditional sources of advertising for us were no longer working. The market here is flooded with new wedding photographers and money spent on bridal shows, magazine adverts and web ads were being completely swamped by the sheer numbers out there all trying to do the same.
We now spend the same budget for advertising and marketing on our website and promoting good relationships with the nicer venues we work at by supplying high quality albums and larger format printed products free of charge. These venues tend to attract our target couples and we get the benefit through the 'drip, drip' effect.
Thankfully bookings for 2012 and 13 are starting to show us that we made the right decision for our business.
Robin Usagani wrote:
What do you think the % of your clients come from these combined?
1. referral from your previous client
2. referral from your friend (word of mouth)
3. from people seeing their friends facebook page and see your photos
I am just trying to figure out about how many % comes from purely from old school marketing (bridal show, ad, google ad word etc.).
1. Probably about 25-30%; mainly because if a client's getting married, it doesn't necessarily mean they know another couple that fits my calendar, location, and their plans overall.
2. Not sure how to quantify this really. I have numerous friends. That said, they don't all know someone getting married all the time. I guess I'd say 100% of my close friends would recommend me. THAT said, refer to number 1 as to whether I can book them or not.
3. I'd see number 1 again.
Seriously though, this is not really math that can make sense. The field of variables is far too wide. Generally speaking, I'd say 33% of my bookings could come from any of the three mentioned. As long as the bookings continue, I don't really care if they come from the three sources mentioned. I want people to book me because I fit what they want - not because someone told them they want me. Quite frankly, I think a high number to any of these might not be such a good thing really. I want to know my marketing is not going to waste and that my clients desire my style first and foremost.
All that said, of you can book your desired number of weddings per year from these groups, then saving some marketing money is all good.
kellystonelake wrote:
Can't tell you how many times people say "so and so referred me" and after I ask, find out "I saw a recommendation to your page on the right hand side of fb with my friend's pic" -- yeah that's an ad, and facebook sponsored stories are pure gold for my business.
1. referral from previous client 5%
2. referral from friend 0% (people in my social circle don't get married)
3. from people seeing facebook page 0% (I'm not on Facebook)
unblinkable wrote:
I would just copy/paste TRR's comment as my own.
Those were last year's numbers. We've changed quite a bit regarding our brand and approach and now we're at about 90% vendor referral and 10% client-to-client referral. This has been a deliberate change away from client-to-client referrals which I've found aren't necessarily the best way to ensure that I get the weddings I want. I've had best friends hire me for weddings happening a few months apart and not talk about who their photographer is. For the future we're trying to go as close to 100% vendor referral as we can.
100% WOM, never yet booked a single wedding from advertising in the 9 years I've been in this business. Wasted a huge amount of money that way. I do work in a niche ethnic market though where the general trend is never trust an advert but 'always trust your aunt's mother who heard from someone who she met at the store'.
