Could anyone offer some advice please.

[Mnp123]

We have a family business which has been running for 25 years next year which was primarily photography however with the digital age we've really taken a hit and most of our business is for bespoke picture frames as we hand make frames and have a cnc to cut custom mounts. 2 years ago we invested in a printer cutter to enable us to also do vehicle graphics, banners and general advertising signs which I feel gives us a lot of coverage in the imaging industry. However and I guess there's no simple answer but weve been really quiet lately and struggling to make ends meat. Now I know "what's new" we're all struggling but I genuinely feel like we have so much equipment in our shop that any decent marketer etc would most likely be very well off. I Don't expect a miracle but I'm at a dead end as to what we're doing wrong I feel like you could install a button in our shop that pays £50 every time it's pressed by a customer but I just can't get the customer's in. Were brothers and always treat people with respect as we like to make friends not just clients but we just have no idea how to advertise/ market or just generally sell our products. Please ask if I've missed anything important out and sorry if this is the wrong sub but we could really use some advice here. Thank you

 

[MOIC]

Are you relying on existing customers as well as local passers by to enter your shop? If so, then this is the first problem you need to address.

I see your website is under construction, so this is a start, but take professional advice on how to set it up to make it easy for people to understand your business & history, as well as ordering directly from the website.

Marketing your business to potential customers is vital for any business. Concentrate on all potential avenues to reach your target audience on a national (and later international) level.

Start approaching local businesses that may require your products and offer a discount to attract sales.

Are there any exhibitions or trade fairs that you can attend to attract customers?

Finally, how does your pricing compare to similar products available from your competitors? Whilst local customers will appreciate your service and family business history, online prices may well be more competitive and may need adjusting to attract business. (Many businesses offer cheaper prices online)

Any marketing will need investment.

Wish you luck!

 

[Caroline Davies]

Hi there. I run a sign company and specialise in vinyl branding. I ran my business in the South East for 10 years and sold it before relocating us and our equipment up to Scotland. I'm back to square 1 so we're in a very similar position. One thing I would say is that you can't SELL sign work. The more you push people - the worse the jobs are... small poxy jobs with no profit. You have to make it so that they come to you. Your website and social media is the first place to push. If you've got a database of photography customers then get them on your facebook page and encourage them to share discount & promo posts to their friends who own businesses.
It's TOUGH and I feel your pain 'cos I'm doing it all over again right now!

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

We have a family business which has been running for 25 years next year which was primarily photography however with the digital age we've really taken a hit and most of our business is for bespoke picture frames as we hand make frames and have a cnc to cut custom mounts. 2 years ago we invested in a printer cutter to enable us to also do vehicle graphics, banners and general advertising signs which I feel gives us a lot of coverage in the imaging industry. However and I guess there's no simple answer but weve been really quiet lately and struggling to make ends meat. Now I know "what's new" we're all struggling but I genuinely feel like we have so much equipment in our shop that any decent marketer etc would most likely be very well off. I Don't expect a miracle but I'm at a dead end as to what we're doing wrong I feel like you could install a button in our shop that pays £50 every time it's pressed by a customer but I just can't get the customer's in. Were brothers and always treat people with respect as we like to make friends not just clients but we just have no idea how to advertise/ market or just generally sell our products. Please ask if I've missed anything important out and sorry if this is the wrong sub but we could really use some advice here. Thank you

What else can or do you offer as a service - that cannot be replaced by the digital arm of photography?

If anything, sell some of the equipment that is now redundant, unless of course you use every single piece of equipment...

go online and see if the competition around you have begun to do things at a cheaper rate, see if there's any new companies opened up in the same field... spend a couple of hours researching your surrounding area a little bit... it could be invaluable.

Adding on to that, have a drive around and see if there's any new businesses looking to open up in the area that may need your services... again, a couple of hours driving around, you never know what you may find.

If the work's not coming in, you've got to bring it in one way or another.

 

[menetworkjadaltd]

I see your website is under construction

Do something about this. No website is better than an "under construction" website

 

[Josette]

Hi there.
From the advice you've already been given:
1. Absolutely get your website up
2. Checking out the local competition is good, AND, you need to find your unique selling point. What makes you different from everyone else that is out there?

Just a couple of suggestions:
1. Focus campaigns. rather than talk about everything you do, develop campaigns for select services. For example: for the custom-frame service.... 'Some memories are too good for digital'... promote the idea that framed photographs are more 'special' than digital because they are easier to access, i.e. sitting on a shelf that you don't have to boot up first! You need to find a way to bring frames back into vogue.
2. Having a website is all well and good, but you need to find ways of inserting it into conversations people are already having. For example, I use what I call 'storyteller testimonials', whereby instead of just posting someones testimonial on a page among many, you ask the client to answer a few questions and invite them to send you an image of them, with your product. If it's presented well, on a page of its own, the client will share it with their own social network group. Offer a small discount (say 5%) to friends of the client. One of my clients recently did this and got a nice spike of 73 new visitors to her site. And, as it's an easy strategy to do, you can repeat it over and over.

Finally, whatever you're doing with your website, make sure it is being built on either Joomla! or WordPress, then you will easily be able to update it yourself without difficulty.

Please post again when your site is up. I will put my thinking cap on!

Good luck

Josette

 

[Nochexman]

It's TOUGH and I feel your pain 'cos I'm doing it all over again right now!

Worth noting this thread was last active in April.

Maybe start a new thread about your business, Caroline?

 

[Caroline Davies]

Since it was only 4 months ago I thought they'd still receive a notification that someone had answered on their thread.... Or do things move more quickly on here?

 

[Scalloway]

Since it was only 4 months ago I thought they'd still receive a notification that someone had answered on their thread

The OP last logged in to this forum when they posted their query. You only continue to get notifications here if you continue log in again, so the OP is blissfully unaware of any interest in this thread apart from the first reply.