As we close out the summer of 2009 it brings on the realization that the year is closing in on 3/4 completed mark and the new year is about 4 months away. The coming new year always provides an opportunity to reflect on the past year and plan for the next. The positioning of your studio for the upcoming year is important so that there is an efficient use of resources and a defined schedule of marketing communications. Although these are still early days, here are three observations that will hopefully help you to start to frame your strategy for 2010. I will continue to add to these thoughts over the next four months and I will hopefully try and make some predictions around them.
Consumer Confidence Index: The new index was released today and the number was an improvement over the last two months. The index is back to a yearly high and at a level last seen 10 months ago (except for May 09). Although the index is not an end-all-be-all, it does provide valuable information when making predictions on the health and well-being of the consumer market. Is the consumer going to have more disposable income to spend on images for weddings, portraits, seniors and babies in 2010?
Markus Klinko and Indrani:Â PDN reported today that NYC-based photographers Markus Klinko and Indrani have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Is this a start of a trend given Annie Leibovitz’s financial issues of last month?
My take on this is twofold: 1) the high end fashion magazine business has suffered significant economic hardship over the last 24 months and editor’s, photographer’s and journalist’s job loss has been the unfortunate byproduct of this trend, 2) as is typical when cash flow is good, financial discipline is usually not. This leads to significant issues when the cash flow dries up.
PhotoOne Clients: We continue to hear all kinds of stories in 2009. I think the most common theme is one that is focused on the tools and process around marketing to their clients. We have an endless line of questioning about bulk email, marketing plans and how to execute in the most efficient manner, email reminders and confirmations, system upgrades and the tweaking of daily communications to their clients. There is plenty of engagement on their business and a sense of challenge to produce a new and improved model and workflow.
If you feel like you are just scratching the surface with the features in PhotoOne please call into our Sales or Technical Support lines and get a couple of tips from our knowledgeable team. As always, continue to subscribe to the PhotoOne blog and we will make it our mission to bring you timely and relevant information about PhotoOne and how it can assist you to better deliver your studio offerings.
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