What is a CRM ?

You are a photographer, and you keep hearing about studio management systems, also named “CRM” ?
However you don’t know - yet - exactly what this means ?
Let’s demystify it !

First of all, we will define the CRM concept.
Then, we will look more deeply into Fotostudio, CRM dedicated to photographers.

CRM stands for “Customer Relationship Management”. When talking about a CRM, we are referring to a tool helping to organize and optimize communication between a company and its customers.
You might have had a career before being a photographer.
Guess what ? You might have used a CRM without knowing it.
Most big companies use such management tools in order to track their business performance.

The tool allows for example :
- tracking new requests and prospects
- organizing meetings
- follow-up until contract signature
- tracking revenue, business objectives and much more key performance indicators

This software can be provided as :
- A product : the tool is installed on your computer, you need to update it regularly, take care of hosting and backups
- A service : the software is available online from any device. The provider takes care of everything : maintenance, backups…

Most famous tools on the marking are essentially know for their pre-sales features.
But the CRM features don’t stop at contract’s signature, fortunately !
Indeed this precious software helps you optimizing your time and selling.
But is also a great tool to take care of your clients, make them feeling special.

Let’s have a look at the Fotostudio suite.

Fotostudio : a management tool dedicated to photographers

Today, how much of your time do you actually spend shooting ?
10, 15, 20% ?

As free-lance photographers, you are an entrepreneur above all.
As a consequence, you spend lots of hours :
- Communicating on social networks
- Updating your website
- Answering request about photo shoots
- Sending contracts
- Creating invoices
- Following-up on contract signature and paiements
- Sending preparation guides to your customers before their session
- Reminding them about your appointments
- Editing your photos
- Creating your galleries and products (albums, prints…)

Fotostudio is a bit like your virtual assistant.
It helps you with a big part of these tedious tasks.

How does it work exactly ?
Before all, the tool is totally flexible and easy customizable.
Each photographer chooses what features to use and the level of automation he likes.
The tool is available online, as a managed service.

Instead of writing and endless list of features, here are 3 examples of photographers’ profiles.

Marie, starting up her photography business

First of all, when registering at Fotostudio, she benefited from included legal templates, such as Terms of Uses and photo shoot contracts.

She currently uses the system in order to :
- Centralize inquiries : all messages sent on her website contact form are automatically retrieved in Fotostudio
- Share pricing and information very easily thanks to the built-in catalog feature
- Plan photo shoot and get contracts signed online
- Create invoices in a simple clic

Marie saves a previous time on her daily administrative tasks, and centralizes everything in one place.
She didn’t have to look for contract template, create a brochure in a complicated software or buy a billing software.

Thomas, wedding photographer

In addition to centralizing his contracts, invoices and inquiries, he uses Fotostudio to make couples feel special.

Before each wedding :
- He schedules personnalized e-mails containing advices for the bride and groom
- He sends a questionnaire to get to know their needs better before the d-day

He also uses schedules e-mails after the wedding date, in order to :
- Send a promotional offer on wedding albums
- Wish wedding anniversaries

By scheduling e-mails, Thomas has peace of mind. He doesn’t forget to send them out, and save time to dedicated to other taks.
Scheduled e-mail does not mean impersonal message : each of them is personalized by Thomas for the couple.
Couple are happy to receive such support. Of course Thomas still meet them “in real” to sign the contract and call them from time to time !

Julie, owner of a photo studio

Julie manages a flourishing photostudio and a team of several colleagues.
As a consequence she wants to organize and automate a maximum of things !

This is how she uses Fotostudio management software.

Tasks management

Legend : customizable work dashboard in the CRM

Tasks such as shooting, editing or album design are shared across the team.
The dashboard allows to assign tasks to each team member. Each colleague can then view and follow-up his own tasks in his dashboard.

Business performance

Legend : financial dashboard

Thanks to the centralization of data, Julie can track the business performance.

Example of key performance indicators :
- Provisional et realized revenue
- Average basket per customer and type of photo shoot
- Types of session performing the best
- Channels of acquisition : social networks, recommendations…

Gift voucher and kitties

Legend : online shop for gift vouchers (customer view)
Copyrights : www.lucilleimages.com

Julie also increased her revenue thanks to :
- The gift voucher module allowing to sell a voucher in just a few clicks
- Kitties for newborn shoots : parents-to-be who book a shoot with Julie. Then they add the kitty link to their birth gift registry. Their close friends and family members then contribute to the photo shoot in a few clicks, with an online payment.
Thanks to the kitty, a lot of families choose a higher package than originally planned.

Conclusion

Today, you probably manage your business manually or using different (free or cheap) tools and spreadsheets.
You are happy with it because you consider that your business size doesn’t justify investing in a CRM.

In reality, by using a CRM you will drastically improve your work confort.
You will save precious time on administrative tasks each week.
Time is money : feel free to use this spare time as you like. Some will enjoy more family time, others will book more sessions !

Your investment will be quickly profitable thanks to :
- Time saved to book additional shoots : taking pictures, isn’t it what you prefer doing ?
- Gift voucher module bringing fast and easy additional sales
Today people are often impatient. They sometimes need the voucher for the same day, to offer it at their colleague farewell cocktail for example.
An online shop with instant delivery by e-mail can surely make a difference in your favor.
- Online kitty. Do you offer newborn sessions ? This precious feature will help you increase your average basket on these shoots.
- Your professional image : customers are impressed by the level of service offered.
Online contract signatures and payments are so convenient for them. In addition, by using automated e-mails to guide them before and after their session, they will feel special and surely come back and recommend you.

After reading this, would you like to try out the platform ?
Register here and benefit automatically of 2 months free trial (no credit card required). After that, the price to use Fotostudio is 29€ per month or 24€ per month if you pay annually.
In order to discover the tool during a demo and ask your questions, register here to a webinar.