Who else is tired of the doom and gloom?
A few days ago Pictage set a record. We actually sold more in a single day then we ever have in the history of the company (outside of the Holidays). I got tweets and emails and Facebook and forum messages from people who were celebrating their unexpected emails telling them they’d closed a sale. I got one email that stood out.
“Hey Jim, I’m not sure you’re aware of how meaningful this is. I had a long day. I got home and opened my twitter stream to nothing but doom and gloom and clients don’t want to buy this or that or whatever. You tweeted in the middle of the day that it was a good day for Pictage photographers so I went and fired up my studio email. Sure enough, in addition to a couple of fun inquiries, there was an email from you guys letting me know that I was getting $837 in cash I wasn’t expecting. I don’t know how you guys do it but whatever you’re doing keep it up. My clients are loving what you make for them too!”
Here is a fact. For those photographers who are letting Pictage do what it does best we’re actually doing better than ever. Our per-event yield is higher than it’s ever been. This after taking all of our promotions to true opt in. Clear unsubscribe on every email. Did you know that 80% of visitors opt in and of those, 96% click the confirm box letting us know that they want it all!
Here is another fact. The creative photo products market is growing at a rate of over 40% per year. I know, I know. The worldwide photofinishing market is shrinking. It’s true. But the piece that’s shrinking has nothing to do with what most Pictage clients do, unless you also own a corner one-hour-photo store. You don’t? Then why are you afraid of trying to provide products to your customers? Consumer demand is clear. People are figuring out ways to get images off of their phones and computers and on to their walls and the growth of the market for everything from simple large format prints to more complex treatments such as photobooks, even albums, fine art products, collages and canvases proves the point. (Over $1.8 Billion dollars in growth this year alone!) Are you getting your piece of that pie?
I dunno. I’m kind of tired of the doom and gloom. Yes. Consumer confidence is low. The Dow is down or up or whatever. Congress has a deal or they don’t or it’s good or it’s bad. “Everyone just wants shoot and burn.” These are all distractions. Universal truths apply. The only economy that matters to the average consumer is their personal economy and the level to which they choose to let outside factors influence their decisions. Congress is congress. No one will buy something you don’t sell.
I’m choosing to move forward. I’m choosing to look at the data and understand what it’s really telling me. I’m choosing to be positive and know that at least in my corner of the world things are actually pretty good and getting better. I’m choosing success.
What are you choosing?
Written by Pictage CEO Jim Collins.
Jim joined Pictage after a long and successful career in managing and growing a variety of businesses that focus on small business services. Most recently Jim was the CEO of Affinity Internet, an internet hosting provider to small business. At Affinity, he successfully grew the company from 11,000 subscribers to over 450,000, and showcased his relentless focus on customer service. Jim is an avid photographer, and he is excited about having direct access to the industry’s leading pro lab.
Get more tips for using Pictage and ShootQ on The Photo Life and check out Jim’s article about Prepping Your Clients to Use Pictage!
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