Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: dgberg on June 15, 2018, 04:28:09 pm
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I have about five gift certificates out for some time and no one is cashing in for some reason.
About 3 years ago a good customer was in and purchased a $200 gift certificate for their boss for printing and mounting of his choice.
All of his office staff chipped in for this too. I never heard from him.
My local photo club purchased several gift cards last year and then ran a contest giving the gift cards to the winners. Never heard from anyone.
Gave a $200 gift card to a relative this past winter for prints from their wedding as a wedding gift. Not a word from them.
Sent about 25 mailers out to photographers promoting our printing and mounting services. Offered a free medium sized canvas to anyone coming out to take the 30 second tour. No one.
Thank goodness I have paying customers but what is wrong with these folks.
Maybe free isn't good enough anymore?
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That is depressing.
It looks to me like other evidence we've been hearing that printing is taking a back-seat to sharing photos on devices; and especially for large scale works, many people simply don't have room on their walls. The more obvious target markets for these products are boardrooms, professional offices, restaurants, galleries and museums, with many people offering their work - for free - just so it will be shown. In today's environment it's probably important to cast a very wide net, do the networking and hope for some catches.
I wish you more successful outcomes going forward.
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Another take on it is EVERYONE will come (to cash in their gift card) ALL at the same time, on a Monday. <smile>
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They better not all come on Monday. ;)
I live and breath printing so it is extra tough to figure this out.
The age of my clientele tells me a lot.
Ages 20 to 40 10%
40 to 60 40%
Over 60 50%
Planning another mailer to wedding photographers. This time no promises of a free canvas print for the print studio tour.
I am sending a ColorLyte 5x7 glass print to each one with a 25% off coupon off there first order.
I am gonna hook them yet!
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Yes, that age distribution is indeed very telling, and similar to what one finds on photography workshops and at antiquarian book fairs. I kid you not. So the question is whether today's crop of 20~30s will develop the tastes of today's 50+ once they get there, or is this a permanent cultural sea-change we are seeing working its way through the demographics.
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It's not just you. There are many offers made by companies large and small, and very, very few of them have a large take up. Sometimes rebates or free products worth $1000- or more are left unclaimed.
Never underestimate the power of apathy. I'd expand on that point, but I can't be bothered.
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So the question is whether today's crop of 20~30s will develop the tastes of today's 50+ once they get there, or is this a permanent cultural sea-change we are seeing working its way through the demographics.
There is still hope.
A few months ago, our two granddaughters—14 and 16 at the time—agreed to restock the bookshelves in our basement library following a minor renovation project. I shot some pictures of the books in the shelves prior to the renovation so they would know where to replace them, and made a couple of 17x22-inch prints so they could easily see the titles and authors on the spines while they were working in the library. The prints were just intended to identify the book locations. I don't even recall for certain whether I bothered to soft-proof them. (Well, I probably did because that's part of my mentally burned-in workflow. But I doubt I spent a lot of time trying to get the colors right.)
The older girl was entranced by the photos, and when she and her sister finished the project she asked me if she could keep them. "They're so cool," she said several times. "I want to put them up in my room." I suspect it had suddenly dawned on her that a large printed photograph was quite a different animal than a tiny image displayed on her cellphone.
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50% of gift certificates never get redeemed. That is the valuable ones that people have actually paid for. The stores love them for that reason.
My letter box is full of free stuff and it usually goes straight in the recycling bin.
The value is not apparent, hasn't been demonstrated or it doesn't exist. You need to work out which.
If people want something pretty to cover a wall then I recently saw a 6 x 4 ft canvas prints that looked pretty good for $25 at a "$2" shop. When they move out they just put them in the garbage as they have no perceived value.
To get real money for art you have to tell a story and create an emotion.
For family photos to need to point out that images on Facebook don't last. Corporate CEOs often don't last either. It is a changing world.
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For two years in a row I donated a gift certificate for a custom large print to my local photo club. Very happy recipients at the give-away, neither ever followed up.
I think the age distribution you shared is very telling.
Rand
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Dan, I feel your pain, but that said, my own work regarding print permanence is undoubtedly two or three orders of magnitude lower in value to those who might consider making or buying a physically printed image. My audience not only needs to care about actual prints, my audience needs to care about how durable the images will remain over time. A very minuscule part of the print buying/collecting population in this modern age indeed.
Believe in what you do. All the rest falls into place eventually :)
kind regards,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com
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You may want to change how you approach these things. Instead of giving a photographer a print, help them with their marketing materials. I'd bet they don't have much to show a perspective client as to why they should be hired. Help them put physical products in to a clients hands, free or discounted. Have the photographers send you their 3 favorite engagement photos, and their logo/watermark. Make a print or two and associate what the client value is, and what you charge the photographer to produce it, and tie in any volume details. The shoot & burn crowd isn't great, but to target the up and coming shooters in your area could lead to a long relationship.
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I've read that unclaimed gift certificates represents such a profit center that companies promote the selling of gift certificates with the knowledge that only a portion of the sales will actually be redeemed. Doubt there is any personal message i this Dan.
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My experience has been a little better . If people spend money on them, the chances are better they will get redeemed. My previous company sold a large sum in gift certificates each year, redeemable for a specific picture package at one of the children portrait studios I owned in various states. Our redemption rate was around 80%, but we also requested an email address of who the certificate was given to and if it wasn't redeemed within 60 days occasional email would go and and remind them to use it before it "expired" and right before they expired a reminder email would go out, telling them to hurry and even offering them a little "bonus" if they came in within a couple of days.
We also gave away certificates for various contests through the years, and those were still redeemed at a decent rate, but if I recall it was more in the 40-50% range.
currently I give free Kodak metallic prints and gallery wraps to winners of various contests at my store as well as places like the local camera club, and most of those are redeemed.
The recipient has to appreciate the value and the product being offered. They usually don't have any skin in the game since it was a gift and if it isn't something they are interested in they most likely will file it away and forget about it.
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I have about five gift certificates out for some time and no one is cashing in for some reason.
About 3 years ago a good customer was in and purchased a $200 gift certificate for their boss for printing and mounting of his choice.
All of his office staff chipped in for this too. I never heard from him.
My local photo club purchased several gift cards last year and then ran a contest giving the gift cards to the winners. Never heard from anyone.
Gave a $200 gift card to a relative this past winter for prints from their wedding as a wedding gift. Not a word from them.
Sent about 25 mailers out to photographers promoting our printing and mounting services. Offered a free medium sized canvas to anyone coming out to take the 30 second tour. No one.
Thank goodness I have paying customers but what is wrong with these folks.
Maybe free isn't good enough anymore?
I won a $200 credit from KissBooks at a photo event. The offer was good for 30 days. I now have a beautiful photo book!!!! And someday I might even make another copy, at my own expense :)