Being successful in the photography business isn't just dependent upon your creativity and your skill as a photographer.
Instead, you need to have the ability to get people to like you, to communicate with them in a way that makes them feel important, and have a commitment to customer service that leaves them happy that you're their photographer each and every time you take their photo.
You also need to produce results that are high-quality, that meet the needs of your clients, and that look great.
The reason why I bring this up is because I think you can find valuable lessons for building a more successful business in all sorts of places.
Just the other day, I came across this press release that highlights CanvasHQ, a company that produces top-of-the-line canvas prints.
CanvasHQ was named by TopConsumerReviews.com as the best canvas printing company for 2018, thus the press release.
As it turns out, CanvasHQ has won this accolade for seven years in a row!
I've been a customer of CanvasHQ for years and have ordered dozens of prints from them for my home. The image above shows just a smattering of my orders.
Ironically, CanvasHQ is also a PhotographyTalk client.
That being the case, I knew these guys were good at what they do, but I had no idea that they had won this award, let alone seven years running.
But then I got to thinking about my experiences with CanvasHQ, and it's not at all surprising that they're at the top of the heap.
Every print that I've ordered has been beautifully done, from the vibrant colors and gorgeous contrast to the perfectly stretched artisan-quality canvas to the stick-straight frames made of kiln-dried wood.
On top of that, the ordering process with CanvasHQ is incredibly easy - just upload your images on their website and you'll be done in a jiff.
And if there's a problem or issue with the image, or if you would like feedback on the best options to choose for your print, a real, live human being at CanvasHQ will help you out. No robots here!
But that's just the start...
When you work with CanvasHQ, they make you feel important, as though your print is the only print they need to make that day.
If you have questions, they are happy to answer them. If you have a problem, they'll make it right. They offer a lifetime guarantee against things like bubbling and fading, and a 30-day money-back guarantee if you don't like your print.
Now that's customer service!
They even have a quick turnaround time, so you aren't waiting weeks and weeks to get your print in the mail. In fact, there's been times when I placed an order on a Wednesday and had the prints on Friday. They're that quick!
And did I mention that their prints look like a million bucks??
So, the lesson here is that if you want to find similar success, follow the CanvasHQ protocol...
Commit yourself to customer service. Craft beautiful products that your customers will love. Back your work with a quality guarantee. Get things done quickly without sacrificing quality.
These might seem like no-brainers, but at least in my experience, precious few companies bother to check all these boxes.
Like I said earlier, there are plenty of other factors that will influence how successful you are in this business, but if you work hard to get clients to like you and appreciate the hard work you do for them, you'll be working in the right direction!