Eye on Business | How to Market to Senior Guys
Welcome back to Eye on Business! I'm Suzanne and I'm a chronic over-thinker. Over-analyzer. Stressball.For instance, I stressed myself out trying to think of a snappy title for this post and THAT'S what I came up with up there. But, I digress. You're here and that's what I love most about you.I put a call out last week on the SSG Facebook wall and special thanks goes to FB Fan, Alannah Horne Photography, for her request to hear more about how to market to senior guys. GREAT question! At first, I thought this would be a rather short post. I mean, guys are simple, right?! Show them something cool and they'll immediately want you to be their senior photographer. And then I started thinking about how I actually market to the senior guy demographic in my area and it hit me.When booking a senior guy, who is typically the first person that contacts you...the senior guy or his mother?BOOM!The Mama. Now, I realize not all of you may have children and or more specifically, sons. But, humor me and for one moment, think like a Mama Bear as you read through these scenarios:
- The moment when you stop in the middle of the children's clothing section of a department store and cry because your son just crossed over from the toddler to little boy section.
- The moment when you stop in the middle of the boys' clothing section of same department store and cry because your son just crossed over from the boy into young men section.
- The moment when your son scores his first or his 100th goal, basket, touchdown or just played his first or last recital
- The moment when your son who now towers over you, gives you a giant bear hug coupled with, "I love you, Mom."
As a parent, moments like these remain in your heart forever. Or another way to say it:
So how does all of this apply to how we should market to senior guys?Talk to mothers. Think like mothers. But do NOT act like a mother on the shoot ;) During the PRE-SESSION CONSULTATION, talk to both the senior guy and his mother. Make sure she realizes the experience that you can provide and how amazing her baby boy will feel about his images before he flies the nest. Let her know this will give her bragging ammunition. Be good to Mom too, because this is really hard for her.And now a few more specific tips to market to those Mama's boys:
- Wow them with other seniors' signature images that showcase their interests: sports, hobbies, cars, instruments, etc. Make sure to find out what they love and make suggestions on how to include it in the session. Their friends will see their images and be jealous. Score. Great word-of-mouth marketing.
- Be in the know about and make an appearance at the latest and greatest goings-on in your area: sporting events, cars, music, etc. Post on social media and your blog about what you find out. Maybe a Facebook congratulations to students at a specific high school for their football win or their latest theatre production. Post a few images from a sporting event on your page and encourage tagging.
- Ask some guys you know to tell you what they would want from a photographer. Now's the time to hit up the cousins, little brothers, nephews, etc. to get into their male brains. Know what they might say?! "My mom figures that stuff out for me."
- Perfect your guy posing. No self-respecting guy wants to be made a fool, especially in his images. Make sure your portfolio is full of guys who look masculine. Hey, we can't offer them a make-up artist.
- Be good to their girlfriends. High school girls pay attention to our images and then they tell their boyfriends ALL about us.
- Food. When all else fails, bring snacks.
What's the senior guy market like in your area? I want to know! Join me over on my WEBSITE or on FACEBOOK and let's get the discussion started!