Business Day Thursday: Be The Holiday Gift Wizard For Your Clients - 7 Ideas For Using Gift Baskets For Your Studio This Holiday Season

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Our days are drawing to a close here in Cabo. And, I just heard from home that we have a HUGE winter storm that is suppose to hit this coming weekend. Uhmmm.... maybe a few more days down here in the sunny south is in order ;~)

Hey gang, I think I've got a pretty good Business Day Thursday post for you today, so let's get right to it.

Be The Holiday Gift Wizard For Your Clients - 7 Ideas For Using Gift Baskets For Your Studio This Holiday Season

I got this idea from our friend Sarah Smith whom we have been staying with these last couple of weeks. She thought too many stores like Pier 1, Bed, Bath and Beyond, etc. were missing the boat when it came to holiday shopping. She pointed out that several stores had pre-made gift baskets ready to go for their customers, but suggested it would add a much more personal touch if these stores would offer a "gift wizard" to assist the customer in custom designing a gift basket instead.

I loved the idea and got thinking about how this idea could be incorporated into a photo studio operation. Here goes.

First of all the whole gift basket idea could really work well for a studio. Here are my 7 ways to make gift baskets work for your studio.

Hit the "Read More..." below for the rest of the story.

1- Package up three different gift baskets - one for weddings, one for families, and one for children. Each gift basket could include an assortment of items. For instance, an 8x10 frame, portrait collage, mini electronic frame with images, complimentary photo session. You get the idea.

2- Spend some time and some thought into putting these gift baskets together. You want them to be enticing and inviting. Talk over your idea with your clients, fellow photographers, family and friends and see how the concept and product selection sound to them.

3- Plan to promote your studio's gift baskets via your monthly email promos. Suggest that your studio gift basket may be the perfect gift for that "hard to buy" person on your client's Christmas list.

4- Let your clients know that you can be their personal "gift wizard" too. Invite them to come into the studio where you can work with them personally to put together a custom collection of items for that special someone on their holiday list.

5- Think gift baskets from husbands to wives, wives to husbands, girl friends to boy friends, boy friends to girl friends, fiancés to fiancés - the list can go on and on. I think you get the idea.

6- Look to the local charities to help spread the word too. Around the holiday season, most churches are involved in raising funds for the needy. You could donate a gift basket to the cause to help get the word out to the others in the faith community about the gift baskets your studio has available.

7- Don't forget to get your vendor buddies involved. Maybe you could collaborate with them and do some of what I call "cross pollination" and include products and services from several of your vendor buddies in the gift basket.

The secret to your "gift basket" success is to get the word out to your clients - past, current, and future. Your best way to do that is with personal notes to your clients and e-newsletters.

By including your vendor buddies, you'll all get more coverage for everyone through everyone participating newsletters, promo pieces, in-house samples etc. It's a win-win for everyone just by spreading the word to your potential future clients.

I hope you'll give the ideas I've outlined above some thought and see how the gift basket idea could work in your studio. If you've got some thoughts that expand on this idea, why not add them to the "Comments" section below for the benefit of all our DPT readers.

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Hey everybody, that's it for today. Two days to go and then back to the frigid north. Have a good one and I’ll see you same time, same station tomorrow.

Adios, David