Lessons

Lesson Info

Client Database

Database stuff, so I used the term database isa rolling back a heads and studio, but we've gathered the information, but now what? We're going to use the database that is the usually large collection of data organize, especially for rapid search and retrieval. But for us, we also know going to utilize that to maximize marketing and money and everything else. My brain is good, but it's only so good. And then what happens if I bring somebody on? They don't know what's in my brain? What if I get hit by a car on my husband used to finish out client relationship, then he may not know if something happens to me like I just said, what if what? I d'oh, I need to be able to have all this information somewhere that's readily available for them to access. So why to use frontloading of information is easy access inefficiency later, we've already talked about that once it's in it's in we've already automated all we're gonna have it all. You can have it to the end of time as long as you do backups a...

nd utilize it at any time. It's easy marketing because you're tagging a clients in the information resource you could do a birthday or anniversary email, you can schedule it if you give that information up front stored now you know what? I'm impressed when I get cards and stuff around my birthday course now that I'm doing this on like thursday's in a database to see me that postcard but it's pretty awesome that I like getting my little free meals at restaurants and stuff in my birthday. S o if that works, obviously having with me it's going to work with your clients as well, andi, it also gives you a really solid foundation, for example, just like I had the boudoir, a client that his husband's deployed, so I knew to capitalize on thie family session and her kid session and couple session when they got home, she if she inquires, is a family, I may be able to say hair, you also interested in food war at the same time, I conclude, include that online template and email this could be information I'm going to use in the database because this little bugs and they're here, they may not necessarily know that you offer other things. I'm very conservative on my boudoir stuff, a lot of its because I allow model release waivers and may not be on my site. Ah, but they don't know that you can't order what you don't know is offered. You know, for the most part it's product placement if you show them or say it to them they're more like kid to buy into it easy marketing leisure identified clients dettori it solid foundation to give great customer service all right, so how do we want to create a database just like we did in creating the temple it what exactly information do we want to track? We pretty much have already done the work now of the baseline information that we're going to want to track must bits in that initial inquiry but you want to find or create a system that works for you, not every system out there there are so many systems I'm gonna show you two main ones that photographers can use that are fabulous but there's so many out there if you just search like client management systems, your head would probably explode because it that shows how pivotal this isn't business between client list and the importance, but I'm gonna show you guys more of a pared down once you need to figure out that it has the functions that you need to be spent on your time building up a database and it doesn't have one critical function that you need you have to change, then you gotta relearn it out of this you got to find the time to transfer to cross him and I'm not doing it at all we're having to hire someone to do it for you tracks enquiries, leads and network so again, actually. And then what I said last segment where the only list were, um, the leads like the people not ready to pull the inquiry's your clients, but you also want have networks that you're going to have, like photographers and that type of stuff that you're going to develop, you want them in the database as well. So this is the key information the name they're physical address so you could send a physical card it's kind of hard to go back and ask for them physical address later I still always in my temple it'd email of when I have their product orderto let them know that it is in I always say, can you confirm the address? I don't put the others that they gave me, I just say, can you confirm the address too can make sure that when I'm shipping that four hundred violators accounted dollar album to them that it's going to be able to make it to the right location email address may pretty much already have this but it's really important cause I'm gonna put them on those quarterly marketing campaigns and I want to get the most bang for my buck the session date. The products they ordered, the products they were interested in, the type of session that we actually did on day note section for all that extra stuff, such as family drama or mobility issues, whatever else it may be for that. So this is a key information, any database you look at least, at least have this for photographers if it doesn't have its stock and needs to allow youto have an option to be able to amend them. And that's. Why? When I mentioned the newsletter mad mimi and mel trip a little bit ago, I kind of like because they don't give you the function to put all this information in it. Basically, ling is you and name an email address, and then you have to put all this into a mid section because it kind of gets lost, you can utilize it, does it is a freer system for you, and it is all in one place, but you're going to see the million. You'd have a little bit more flexibility. So there's three main tools where I just kind of got ahead of myself, the streaming tools that you can use as the database to get all these benefits the first winners excel, spreadsheet I mean, if you love xl, I love excel and you are relatively low volume. You could utilize excel spreadsheets really easily. It is going to take a little bit more time and dedication to make sure actually getting it on. But if you're using your checklist, you don't have a problem doing that, um, newsletter list or the formal database programs that I'm going to show you guys to use. So for the spreadsheet, one me boat, back up the spread, she wanted simply just a spreadsheet, multiple tabs. The great thing about this is that the the entries are endless. So if I decide later on that I need at another calling me out another column, I need to find more information. I had another one of my business plans change I. My basics, are the date, the name, the address, their email, the phone over, the children's birthdays, product amounts notes and potential cells opportunities. Pretty standard was pretty much my home lost. Paige um, and then I can also include all of their stuff based on the spreadsheet numbers. The only problem with this is you have to create your own. You have to keep up with it. It doesn't. Automate for you in any sense. So its low cost it's simple input you khun stored in dropbox so I can access it anywhere from my phone. But it doesn't head clients. You have to separate out them my list by hand. So? So I had multiple spread sheets on here. Here's, my boudoir clients here's my potential in my family clients that girl with the boudoir has been deployed. I'd have to go in. Put her on two, two places onto the potential list and under the grid war I would have been having a hand jan, a lot of work, that's the downfall, national and efficient. Then you have the newsletter systems that they capture that contact information, the leads and your enquiries and all of that. Even if you do utilize a formalized database system, you still need to have some sort of newsletters set up to be able to respond and reach out to the inquiry's and clients no matter what it sends the email campaigns and should always look for a system that gives report it's so I can tell you who's actually opening the emails. What are they clicking on to see if they're interested? Eso if I sent out an email to my entire client list about mommy and me event coming up in the studio and I linked tio an example blogged feature of a mommy and me I want a report that's going to show me all the people that clicked on it so it's interested newsletter systems can sometimes set up to automatically take those people who clicked on that and put them into an interest list for you other ones well one of these in particular both of them maybe I have to hand go in download them and add them to a new less so it's another step but I still get that information databases they're going to do that for you all of that s o newsletter systems all everything's kind of all in place that's the benefit and it's free up to a certain number of context that you have put on the website to gather the leads and you can this is where you can sit up all your scheduled emails I still think you need one and you're going to see here in a minute okay so this is the inside of the male chimp one I could put an image of my client if I would like so if I have associate shooters and I want them to recognize someone they come in the door I need to remember what they look like got their email address I have details activity of things that I've sent them all this sort of stuff along here but I only have the note section, so all of that information could be put in there, but I still have to dig through when I come back to look so that's what the inside of got campaigns, which are my schedule e mails that go out the list? Damon reports in an auto responders so like would be the other responders the set up for the questionnaire in the same thing once it submits it sends so the vantage are that flow costs puts in clients and a list based on the type of their session in their interests, but the downfall is that you can't tag them. You may have to download a noon put it for a long time I was utilizing a spread sheet newsletter combo, so I was having at all in spreadsheet and then I still have us being able just check the analytics on the newsletter this exact platform here on dh then because it exports all the contacts and stuff like all that clicked on the mommy mealy, it'll put them all into an excel file that I downloaded that I could to stick it in the spreadsheet are moving over into a lit segmented list on within the within the dashboard, but it's another a step and it's relatively low cost all right, so we have the formal database systems either two great ones that are available out there on the first one is from joy, a marketing that sarah petty and aaron burr beck from julia marking their fabulous love them. They have a database for the exact same reason because you've heard how many times I said about marking me, obviously, this was an efficiency class, but we want to be efficient in marketing. And so they have set up a database that allows you to have a calendar, the contact record of all that information we just talked about it's integrated with mel champ, which is integrated with all my scheduled email. So they all end up being consistent and looking assistant across the board. I can put images in I have reports on it allows for tagging, which I'm gonna show tagging that is what is going to automate all of this for you guys and then an appointment calendar as well. This is internal. This is not that external calendar, so you could utilize that are going to utilize your home calendar that syncs with everything another one is picks. If I they kind of take it a step further. I have them on there both of these on the resource list, but he has to do list the contact record, see the baseline, everyone knows you knew that. Same information allows for tagging on there they also allow for the payment to be done in contracts all within one dashboard. So we're taking all these tools that we talked about and integrated it into one and these air specifically set up for photographers there's a lot of the content management systems out there that are just general, but these air really keyed into photographers, so this is the joy of marketing one this is exactly what it looks like on the inside for the contact record we have the first name last name we have a job how an organization in case there in network lead that we're trying to follow up and get to know then weaken tagged them the tags or what we're going to identify them as boudoir a girl with husband deployed she was a boudoir client, but I can also have a tag created that is potential family client potential couple client I would add three tags to her, so when I'm ready to, you know, potential couple clients for valentine's day, it was she will be on that list I don't have to go in dallas anything do it all with stones I said it the contact record and I just think for two second hello what's her family dynamic well, I already know because I've done that all of my question there I can add it phone numbers, contact information, obviously got in contact with the clients, their websites and addresses, including physical. We've gone over all the super to establish that we need this information, but it's all automated for you. And so I literally from on the phone type it right in boom it's all saved, um and right there is for you. And so this is where the tags come on, you can create them. They have ones that are already set up like prospects. Temporary clients. You can create your own minor simply by the type of photographer they are session that they actually inquired to book for, whether they actually became a client, thie ones that they could show potential interest in and more that I would like to get them interested in. Um and I can also take them on there. If I have a client that comes to me and the on ly ever partaken my events throughout the year, the marathons and many sessions of those types of things do I want to do some target marking to convert them to a full time client? I might do a certain tagged with that. I might call it convert this person you know where do I just want to spend my time reaching out to them through email campaigns and I'm sending by just about the marathon said if I know there are consistent person's gonna keep booking me for that they're going to be than the v I p list so they think it sounds awesome but they're just in my list and then they're going to try to get that book because I know I can pretty much count on that and I don't want to miss that spot that could easily been filled and it shows customer service by being able to reach out and I didn't do any more work taking is like mind blown when I learned about this was like oh my god it's fabulous so these are the tags on and they have all sorts of other things that you can set up here it has the mail ship integrations you can email directly to the tags list that you've set up there's no extra work you have to dio so you're scheduled emails and that being an exact same platform and it's also male trip integrated as well and it ties to their calendar if you utilize their calendar also and it was a cross market and they have a marketing activities tag is extra o in google calendar so that we've got all of these working parts we've talked about that integrated together this is the pics if I won a little different that pretty much the same setup of information that you need, they actually allow you to have an image there of the client. I like to keep a picture off the climb. The last session I did, because if I just pull a picture from their facebook, they may not look like them socially, they're taking like clip selfie or something, but if I took a picture of that, I've had them in the past, then I'm one more readily identify and I can say, oh, yeah, we shot at chad a meter last year. Do you want to do that again? Right there, it's there for me and it's that quick instant response of familiarity without having to dig into the note it's going to take me longer to read something that in pictures going to invoke for me, same information a cz before contact information as well on. And this is what is to show you. They have the contracts you can copy, paste the contract that you have, you can amend it any time as you need, you're not tied tow one it's. Kind of like the whole client guide being hosted on your site, you can change it any time. Because once it's your hands out of your hands there's nothing you can do about it but here if you want to change something before a client has signed it you khun you could do it if we well, because it's all right here as it doesn't physically send it to them it's all online on that has questionnaires available as well if you guys want to see all these tools are starting to be integrated and these air specifically for photographers so for building the information you want to offer your visitors these air just those leads we want to offer a way for them to sign up we want to get them into these databases it's a given that we're gonna put clients and right I mean we just know that we need to manage that client information but we want to capitalize on those that are fly byes on our website and those that actually have inquired so for me I want to encourage people that aren't ready to pull the trigger to sign up because I want to maximize my essay if I'm blogging and I'm doing a ceo and I want to know for sure that's working to I want to capture those people well how am I going to get them onto the list I want incentivize them a little bit you could just do a stay updated it kind of depends on what your method of approaches or if you're a wedding photographer, you could do a little guide not your pricing client guy but maybe like I'm you know sign up to get the top ten d I y tips for the fall of twenty fourteen wedding x or something that effect it's a tangible thing a little value that you're adding to them it's an incentive to get them on here so they start getting into the rotation of your campaigns and following up that's just an example you could do it for families I gave you guys the example yesterday about blogging when you go to the aquarium and stuff took the big old honking camera because I'm going to use it my husband always goes because he knows I won't take pictures to be ableto blogged about, but then I can also take all of those blog's about different local things that are going to help my search engine optimization crease them into a guide. If I'm a family photographer, it could be the top ten things to do in washington d c area if I'm targeting families for moms or some of that effect on it's gonna help search an optimization and then the walls to be that hey you need to go check out what rachel has on her site go sign up and then right there I mean I haven't made any money about gaining stuff out of that so incentivize it they put all enquiries and leads that come into your inbox it does seem little inefficient but sometimes you're going people just email you directly because you want your email address available to them in case the client form is not working I mean a contact form is not working you don't even just the bears so you may still get people to email you directly because there may be a referral just gave an email address they don't actually go to the contact for him if you're going to hand do some of the stuff, we're going to make sure you input them that part of that work flow that when they come in even if I mean even if they tell me that I hate my words I'm gonna adam no but if they if they're telling me they're expressing interest I'm gonna add them no matter what pretty much no matter what they'd ask because I don't know remember their circumstances even they sound too expensive I don't want to eliminate a lead because of temporary circumstances in life. I don't know if it's temporary or permanent but I will I had no chance to convert them or find out if I don't keep them on and you make it a habit we want to make sure that we're doing all of this consistently because once it was all in the weight is lifted and it's going to do the work for you all right, so questions on the use of the database and examples of actually how to use tagging I mean, questions on yeah go for it you feel like no one's that's what we're here for when you're when you're setting up the database is that an automatic thing from the more you have to manually go in and set that up initially we use ok like for the bigger ones for the joy of marketing or the fix it guy, how are those contacts getting in there and all that there's different ways? Every database systems a little different for the most part most out of a systems when they sign upon this subscribe form or that or that contact for me automatically populate that contact record that's all that and you know she talked about but you may get someone who e mails you outside of that so you're going to go in this create one we'll cut away yet in general it will take it from the web site and it'll down that relation in those categories into the database for you well, you're gonna have to attack them because they may aid only can only put the information it knows so like that boudoir I may have had it coming in that she was interested in food war, but the data base is not going to know that I found out that she has a kid so when I go into her record to update stuff and put in like what she's interested in and all that type of stuff, I'm going to go ahead and tagger onto interest now that's that would be an additional add on, but initially it's going to go in if you have it set up to do it, yes, it will, but then if you get the outside emails, you're gonna have to go in and to do it and how and then think about this too is that it ends up doubling for like accounting records if you didn't keep up with your mileage for the year, but you have a record of who it was when you shot and where you shot you could sit down in that quest it and figure out how far the mileage wasn't quickly run through and do that sort of digging through email trying to remember all that kind of stuff, so it translates across a lot of them also have I didn't see them on here and include, but you conclude the products that they purchased, so if they were big example like we talked about a little bit with them favorite ing the digital images in the gallery that they're interested in the world favorited thirty two but they only about twenty that's something that I may put as a tag potential digital file up cell that could be a general thing that a lot of people could go under that when I am completely close out really close out, but when I close out that transaction, I'm gonna go in and tagged them cause I may want to do a campaign at the end of the year, an archive all digital finally that get the rest of digital files from the session type of email, and it'll automatically take everyone that I know didn't purchase every single image, because if I put servicing limit, I don't want to see that email, you know, but I can potential up sell for that gap, and you tag within the database. Yeah, right in the database on the dashboard. I mean, they're different depending visit for here, it says, and this tag okay? And the next slide was just how you edit the tags. So for this one, yeah, it's simply and they're all depending on the database to use, they're all going to look different pretty much this is a primary function. You need to have two segment out who is doing what, but they've been set up properly and you have a form that can next because they that database system provides it, and you have it set up on that form. Check the box food war that's what they're interested in the tag automatically be done for you. Okay, but then again, if you have cross marketing, you want to do, and it doesn't know you have to handle it. Okay? Um, I really, really strongly recommend that you guys look at putting this on a global list of some to research because the newsletter and spreadsheet functionalities or okay, way to go. But if you really want to capitalize and everything you have, you need to start putting the database stuff in now. That's a global item that you want to add like we're talking about when you're in the hot seat yesterday, all the past blogging features, you know that you're going to for clients, get a database start, including a room from now forward, but put it on your globalist to go back and add all this contact records for people later don't try to eat it all at once, we're going to break it down, use the art of the checklist and get that done. This is something I would strongly recommend doing and slower season we're almost out of it because we're starting to get better weather, he doesn't fabulous weather here, by the way, it's great, but light for us, we just have it. I felt like one hundred feet of snow two weeks ago and so during colder times if you don't have a studio and you rely on outside and slower the's the types of things you should be going in when I'm doing my marketing campaign I want evaluate are there any extra tags that I want to dio on my wanting to start offering mommy and me sessions this year and I'm wanting to start offering many sessions or something to that effect? What events can I do so I can start now thinking about who to target because if I'm going to all of a sudden decide oh mother's day is coming up which one is that if that lake soon I have a feeling is like super soon okay? And so I have mommy and me sessions coming up I don't want to have to sit and think about every client that I ever had that's a mother example I don't want to send a mommy and me session to somebody that's not a mother necessarily mean they may have a mom that they're totally like I want to buy a gift for that's another tightly could put in there but I don't really want to market a mommy me session to someone who's not a mom a dad to do door there's a man I don't want include him for mommy and me was he wants to do mommy me with mom, I don't know, but, you know, I'm here okay, moving on from that example, but yes, so that those are the types of things is that I don't want to have to sit and think about it on time for it by the time I got how was it the thought process probably stepped on a lego or have to do laundry at that point worse if it's all done for me, I'm going to go. All right, let me get back to where we were. Tio okay, so client management workflow these are only just key parts of the work flow. I mean, the database thing and something's running in the back of our mind the entire time using the information we've gone over the inquiry. We've gone over the client guide a little bit, but there's so many more aspects to your workflow that you need to make sure you know down. Oh, we don't have time to go every single one of those kind of showing us the process of how each one has a working part. The beauty is that we have choices we can do work flow certain ways, everyone's going to be different. Um all right, let's see here, so why not have it saves time every step of the way, broken record? Are you spending too much time on one thing that goes back to the list that we were talking about yesterday? And what did you star that you felt was an efficient or had this big? It wasn't fitting into this chunk of time that's part of the work flow that is identifying inefficiencies, it's keeping that consistency for your clients in yourself and can keep you on track at the flick of a knife. You know what I was thinking? I wrote that, but it keeps you on track because then I could just look at a workflow and I'm good to go. So, like, I have my global list, global and local list, I also have a client workflow so now you're public. Oh, my god, all these checklist but the reason is I don't want include every single thing I need to do for a client on a local globalist because all the other business stuff and he's get done is kind of lost it. I still need to be able to know where at with my client. Do I need to do that? Follow up. Is it time to send a thank you email? What is it? I have a physical white board on my wallet actually took a wrote how it like this whole big chart checklists and everything that I could just look up and it's it's inside a frame and I can write when a white eraser and just check off and it keeps it so everyone gets the same consistent process across the board you know, as we know it was spending too much time on one thing like if I am spending a lot of time on album design is taking forever mean get to check that off maybe I need to look at outsourcing that and can identify the inefficient she's so how to create it all look the same steps that can think what are the repeated things that you're doing for all your clients and on the flip side of that what are things that you're wanting to be having but you can't do because you don't have enough time once you institute all of this then you know right away what when you start freeing up your time what more you can start instituting in tow workflow double check past e mails of again I mean same stuff right here we evaluated you go along then you could start with some pre written workflow exact same process that I watch you guys threw in creating the email templates so start with things that you have to do for a client, not what you would like to dio the baseline things you need to find out we're going to shoot you actually going to show you got to deliver the product got to take the order that is baseline what you need to dio right there then you can start adding in all the other extras on top the blogger feature the bank you email the up sells the tagging the database stuff and then you could out on the nice things such as the end of your client gifts ran and e mails to the client I am big on this I think I think I'm really weird or it really works and thinking it's the first one but I'll randomly think of a client and I'll just without my phone email and really quickly and say hey just thinking of you and it actually did it so much that it became the very last thing before I can close out a client file was this a random thinking of email no sales nothing else just checking a little timmy soccer camp how did it go though that plain and simple on dh it takes no time at all so things that you could do efficiently the three to one rule and add on things that would be nice sorry kind of jumped on that have each fought have a file for each client digitally I don't recommend putting it print in having all digitally spreadsheets are perfect for this and I had the white board so is when the client is still active I I actually considered clients always active like we've seen with a cross marketing but for that transaction just that boudoir session when I've done that final thank you and thinking of you email that's when I can erase you and I can finish filling out my database and or excel spreadsheet trees in the database right there your whole work flow is put in for you and we go ok, so what information can you use individualized experience and we pretty much already have been talking about this. What kind of circumstances do they have in their life on those air little things you can work flow but you have to get it by referring to the initial questions and the seas that could be a key part of a workflow people think oh yeah I know I need to do it now write it down like after the session what is something I can add that specific to them on dh this is before the cell session because if it's something specific such is the girl whose husband was deployed I referred to the initial questions and knew he was deployed the whole purpose for the session I was able to provide that little mini accordion for her to mail refer to communications. She told me that on them for any more client workflow information is on that resource page that I have for you guys as well