When I was in college, I started off as an art major. Notice I said “Started off as”…. I didn’t graduate as an art major. Why? Well, there was this little thing called 3D design that completely turned me off to the entire degree! I can design one dimensionally…. but add two other sides and I’m sunk. I just couldn’t do it! I BARELY made it through Sculpture 101 and I knew that this wasn’t for me! It’s hard enough to focus on one side, much less THREE! There were times when I felt like I was really making progress on my sculpture and then I would turn it around and realize that I had neglected the other two sides!!
This is a lot like the dimensions of value in a business. You can focus SO HARD on one side that the other sides suffer! This can happen and you don’t even realize it until the other dimensions start falling apart from being neglected.
We recently increased prices a little bit in order to keep up with the demand right now in our business. This really got me thinking about how I could BEST teach photographers about raising the VALUE of their business. I started paying attention to what other people VALUED in our own business and I realized that we are in demand because of FOUR DIFFERENT AREAS of our business. After realizing this, I named the FOUR DIMENSIONS OF VALUE and I sent out a massive series of emails educating our NEWSLETTER list about these! Sign up so that you get more in-depth information right into your inbox!
the four dimensions of value
So what are the FOUR DIMENSIONS OF VALUE?! These are four areas that determine how much people are willing to pay for our services. When people hear about our prices, SOMETHING makes them book! Something makes them realize that what we offer is worth the investment! And you know what blows me away? The most common response we have from our couples is that we were the best investment of their wedding day. Whenever we hear that feedback, it just makes me want to cry. We work so hard to make sure these couples have a wonderful experience and I have found that we get this feedback most often when ALL FOUR DIMENSIONS OF VALUE are healthy!
So what are the four dimensions of value? Let me explain! Here are the determining factors that makes people decide if we’re worth what we charge!:
1. Our image quality
2. Utilizing our personality
3. Our reputation
4. The client experience
So lets break these down a little bit! Read through this next section and pay attention to where you’re THRIVING and where you’re just SURVIVING.
1. Image Quality!: This matters! Your images MATTER! But images will not keep you booked for the next 5 years. There is too much amazing competition out there! If your image quality is BLAH and your work isn’t standing out, here’s my advice: Determine what’s not cutting it in your images (composition? posing? lighting? editing? clarity?) and focus on getting education to fix it! Also, make a conscience decision to focus on ONE AREA of the wedding day to grow in each wedding season. This year I’m focusing on Bridesmaids pictures! I’m working hard to do NEW and exciting things to make sure my image quality is constantly being enhanced. Two years ago, I focused on my OCF shots!! Commit and make it happen! :)
2. Utilizing Your Personality: You have such a HUGE opportunity to WIN PEOPLE OVER when you’re working with them. We create raving fans during family formals and bridal party portraits…. the most STRESSFUL part of the wedding day! How do we do it? We’re different than what they normally experience. We work hard at handling the stress in a loving, service-minded way and we use our personalities to make family members and friends of our couples feel loved and valued. We also showcase our personality online so that when our couples and their families meet us on the wedding day, their love for us is amplified. USE your personality to your advantage. I honestly believe that if you took Michael and I out of our business, you would have taken 40% of our price point out too. We’re MORE valuable because of the way our personalities enhance the experience!
3. Maintain An Incredible Reputation: I’m not just talking about your reputation with your clients, I’m talking about your reputation EVERYWHERE!! Clients, bridesmaids, vendors, venues, friends of the bride, your personal friends, etc. etc. The more people that hear about you and fall in love with you, the better! On multiple occasions, we have had brides book us even though we aren’t in their price range SIMPLY because of what they HEAR about us from others! Think about your business… are people building up your reputation? What is your reputation? If you don’t have one… that leads me to my next point! …
4. The Client Experience: You’ll know if your client experience is suffering if you don’t have any type of reputation. Why is this true? Because if you were killing it with your client experience, people would be TALKING ABOUT IT! What your clients experience via emails, via your online presence, at their engagement session, during the in-between time, on the wedding day, after the wedding, on social media, etc… it all matters!! Give your couples something to talk about! You ESPECIALLY need to master this part of the system if one of your other dimensions is struggling. If your personality doesn’t naturally make people fall in love with you instantly… you need to catch your clients by surprise with the way you spoil them!! When your client experience is thriving, so will your reviews!! :) How do we start our official client experience? We impress our brides with THIS!
Whew! What a post! If you made it through this, you’re a champ!! I hope you enjoyed the FOUR DIMENSIONS OF VALUE! There is so much more that I could share but I’ll save that for another time!! :) Have an amazing week!!!! 
Thanks for reading!
— Katelyn
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