Marketing your wedding services

[Harry]

I would like to get everyone's input on some of this.
I am operating off of a skeleton website that pretty much breaks all of the suggested rules of marketing, for our wedding services. I am working fiercely behind the scenes to put something together that is more professional and makes more sense.

I offer three packages and show my prices.

• Blue - Ceremony only, includes small album, low res disk and a gallery wrap.
• Gold - Ceremony and reception, small album disk and gallery wrap.
• Silver - A la carte, for very small weddings

My prices, I believe, are ok for my market area, but I am giving away the farm to try and make packages more attractive than the competition.

My plan:
Create three, or more, new packages.

1. Oh-my-god - So big and expensive, that no one in their right mind would buy it. Jammed packed with everything. If someone should buy it, it's time to raise the price, outrageous.
2. St Peter - I aint in heaven, but I can see it from here, package. Pull some of the stuff out of #1 and drop the price.
3. Preacher man - This is where I want you to be package. This would be my target market. Pull more stuff and set my price where I need to make money.
4. Down here I may add a package that is bare enough that it encourages you to move up a step.

I also plan on getting some professional help with the website.

What is your marketing philosophy, what works for you and what is your set up?

[Harry]

Am I posting these types of questions in the wrong thread, or does no one have a website, marketing plan or pricing ideas?

I thought about posting this in the Business of photography topic, but thought it would be more appropriate here, with the wedding shooters.

[JeRon]

The questions on the pricing of our services is something personal to my opinion.
There are those who choose to post their Rates on their websites and others don't.

For those who post, looks like they are already established and very much sure and confident with their compensation for their effort/services.

But, some do not post for the reason that they want it secret and can only be with the clients' knowledge but not for everyone to protect their marketing strategies.

I used to post my Rates, until I noticed that some of my competitors visit my site and compare theirs and attract my client-to-be by lowering their prices than mine.

[Harry]

Thanks, at least part of your reply was useful. I'm not looking for anyone's price list, just wondering about peoples marketing philosophies and strategies.

[kameraman50]

The package I offer is total a la carte. I do the wedding, the reception, departure of the bride and groom all the standard wedding shots plus any personal shots they may want ( family portrait type stuff). I give the an album with 4x6 shots as proofs ( I include all the shots from the day) and those are them to keep. They then order the sizes that best fit their family needs from a price list of sizes. I use online posting in a password protected album for our of town family members to order. If they want a Cd of the wedding, I provide a high res cd at a price that will allow me to make money. With photo scanners and photo shop they can scan the photos and make copies so I think best to give the a Cd with good res so you have a shot at keeping your business in tact. They will opt yo scan a photo print a substandard photo and when ask who did your wedding your name is give out and people say I don't want him his photo look like junk. A word of clarity here is the bottom line.
I charge a fee to shot the wedding
(no photos give except for proofs)
Provide reprints at a reasonable price
(A la carte)
Offer a high res CD
( priced to make money but reasonable)
Post low res images on line for out of town sale
( this has made me the most money )( they dont have proofs to scan and low res cant get more than a wallet out of these even if photo shopped)
I hope my idea may help you I got ideas from your post also.

[bhphotographycdn]

I have 5 set packages (that can be modified)

Top of the line: $10 000, includes limosine service and photography on honeymoon, not designed to have anybody purchase this one
2nd best: $4900, still expensive, includes limo, I've booked 1
Targe: $3000, this is the one I want to sell. Has everything they need, nothing they don't (like limos). I put "most popular" under the name. 90% of clients book this package, looks like a deal compared to $10k
Low1: $2400, takes away high res files and albums, smaller time frame, designed to bump clients up to the next level
Low2: $1900: 4 hours, no albums, no high res

Make your middle package the best deal, put most popular on it and make some way over priced packages (but be prepared to sell them!)

[Harry]

Thanks. This is the kind of ideas that I am mulling over in my head.

[Arved]

Marketing is NOT my forte, but I'm studying, learning, and refining. Take these comments for what they're worth:

Originally Posted by Harry

I offer three packages and show my prices.

• Blue - Ceremony only, includes small album, low res disk and a gallery wrap.
• Gold - Ceremony and reception, small album disk and gallery wrap.
• Silver - A la carte, for very small weddings

OK, most expensive to least expensive, right? Since you're showing pricing, make sure to note how much the client is saving by taking a package over an A La Carte purchase. So the only way you'll shoot the reception is in the middle-tier package? I'm a it confused - your client will be, too. Explain this, or delete it.

Note: there's a theory that the purpose of web site is to move the client one step or two further along the path toward a sale. Prices can help by prequalifying you leads, but there are drawbacks. Basically, you have to decide this - you need a marketing plan. Don't clutter up your web site with stuff that doesn't help the prospective client move toward the sale.

What do you want the client to do after seeing your web site? How are you getting them to do that? Is there anything on your site that distracts them from doing that?

Originally Posted by Harry

My prices, I believe, are ok for my market area, but I am giving away the farm to try and make packages more attractive than the competition.

Go back and read Stephen Covey's book "The 7 Habbits of Highly Effectve People." Pay particular attention to (or skip directly to) habbit 4: Think Win/Win. If it's not a win for you, don't do it. Don't "give away the farm" just so you have the sale.

Originally Posted by Harry

My plan:
Create three, or more, new packages.

Employ the KISS principle. I'm actually considering reducing my pricing scheme to two options - a price for the image to be put in an album, and a price for the image to be burned to a DVD. The client can scale the deliverables based on their budget.

Originally Posted by Harry

1. Oh-my-god - So big and expensive, that no one in their right mind would buy it. Jammed packed with everything. If someone should buy it, it's time to raise the price, outrageous.

This is known in some circles as "The Whopper." Remember, it's always easier to negotiate down the price scale, than to negotiate up it. And if you have a $20K wedding package, the seed will be planted that you are a wedding photographer that's worth $20K, so when I book you at $4K, I'm getting a heck of a deal, aren't I? Compare that to starting out with a $299 Shoot 'n Burn package, and trying to negotiate adding an album or a wall portrait.

Originally Posted by Harry

2. St Peter - I aint in heaven, but I can see it from here, package. Pull some of the stuff out of #1 and drop the price.

3. Preacher man - This is where I want you to be package. This would be my target market. Pull more stuff and set my price where I need to make money.

4. Down here I may add a package that is bare enough that it encourages you to move up a step.

The bottom package is where you're competing on price as a "commodity shooter." This is where the people who buy on price will be looking at, so plan accordingly. You don't want seller's remourse when Cathy the Coupon Clipper books you for your minimum package for her June wedding, and then have a call the next day from a bride eager to book your "Whopper."

I contend that, in the end, you have to make a certain amount for your time. More expensive packages have more product, and require more of your time. But you should still make as much for your time investsment with your bottom package as your top package.

It may help to think of the business paying you a labor rate for the work you do. So many $/hr, and I see a lot of photographers who end up paying themselves less than minimum wage (guilty as charged in my past). If you're making less money with a package, it should be because you don't have to spend as much time on it. You definately need to make more money shooting weddings than you would flipping burgers at McDonalds, so don't end up paying yourself less than minimum wage.

Originally Posted by Harry

I also plan on getting some professional help with the website.

Good idea, if properly executed. Web developers tend to build fancy web sites that look impressive, but aren't necessarily effective as sales tools. Find someone who can build an effective site, rather than a fancy site. Talk to the people they've designed for - how have their businesses been impacted (bottom line) by the web site your designer has done? What's the Return on Investment (ROI)? A good copy editor can be more valuable than the best flash coder.


Good luck to you, and have a great weekend!

[Harry]

Hang on, looks good and informative, but it's going to take me a while to reply with any sanity.

[Harry]

Originally Posted by Arved

At this point, almost anything helps.

Most of the "experts" are saying not to show prices, but I lean towards those that do. I have been working on my A La Carte selections, so I would know where to start. The example I used originally is what I have now, and it's listed least expensive (ceremony only), then most expensive (includes reception and a couple of upgrades) and the bottom is a basic a la carte for small stuff. This is not the current, more marketing savy, menu that I am changing over to.

I am working on the "whopper", "drop", "TARGET", "a la carte" theory right now. I am setting up my whopper with the idea that nobody should want to buy it. If they do, I make money and it's time to raise the price on that package.

My "drop" package downgrades, time and add-on's. 8hr wedding coverage.

My "target" package downgrades from there. I am struggling with time - 8hr vs 6hr. I list this package as being the most popular.

My "base" package downgrades to what I am calling "Just the Essentials". Designed so that they can't see why they wouldn't just upgrade to my "target" package.

Something else that I'm struggling with. New site content is streamlining the information.

Will have to work harder on this.

AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH! Can I just listen to the tape? I do try to give away the farm, but I'm learning to watch the profit line to see which direction things are going. I still have work to do in this area. Problem that I have, personaly, is making my services look more attractive than someone elses, while not giving away the farm.

I don't see any way for this not to happen in any case. If it happens too often, then you have to adjust your pricing, but you have to start somewhere. I guess I would like to banter this back and forth with you a little more. Maybe I need to make some more adjustments. I can see where this really puts a hole in my a la carte stuff, I need to visit that more intensely.

I have been running my services at a good hourly rate, but I suck at charging for editing time and such, so it negates the whole purpose.

Not sure if this formula applies to wages, or just COGS, I think just COGS:
Cost x 2 + desired profit * multiplier for the government (1.5) = x, round x as needed to suit the area.

The problem you find with this, is finding one. Web designers are pretty much just geeks that design pretty sites, like you said. Where to start looking for someone to help with "wedding" website marketing?

Good luck to you, and have a great weekend!

Thanks for the great reply, don't get too far away.