Testimoni

Jumat, April 17, 2009

Web sebagai sarana menghasilkan uang atau sebagai salsesman bagi perusahaan keberadaannya mulai diperhitungkan oleh para pengusaha. Selain bisa diakses dari seluruh dunia tanpa mengenal waktu alias 24 jam, juga biaya pemeliharaan dan pengadaannya pun relatif murah dibandingkan harus memelihara Salesman/girl yang banyak. Namun sebagai salesman yang baik, sebuah web harus cukup memberikan informasi bagi calon calon konsumen yang datang kepadanya. Oleh karena itu sebuah web bukan hanya cantik secara tampilan namun juga memakai kalimat kalimat yang sangat persuasif sehingga tanpa bertele tele tetapi langsung membuka bawah sadar calon konsumen sehingga langsung melakukan transaksi dengan perusahaan atau take action saat itu juga, meski hanya membaca sales copy yang ditulis pada web tersebut. Pentingnya menerapkan sales copy yang bisa menghipnosis pembaca akan sangat mempengaruhi banyak sedikitnya transaksi yang terjadi melalui web tersebut. Salah satu hal terpenting dalam sebuah sales copy adalah testimoni. Testimoni adalah pernyataan pihak ke tiga akan jasa atau barang yang sudah dipakai oleh pihak ketiga tersebut. Tentunya kesaksian tersebut adalah tentang manfaat apa yang diperoleh pihak ketiga ketika mengkonsumsi/membeli produk dari perusahaan tersebut. Sebuah testimoni diperlukan guna meyakinkan calon konsumen akan sebuah produk/jasa yang dijual. Sangat hebat lagi bilamana testimoni yang diberikan itu berasal dari publik figure, orang terkenal atau orang yang punya basis masa yang kuat. Maka testimoni tersebut akan semakin mempunyai nilai yang tinggi dan dipercaya. Contoh ekstrim adalah testimoni dari presiden akan lebih dipercaya dibandingkan testimoni masyarakat awam. Testimoni dari pakar atau orang yang berkompeten juga lebih dipercaya dibandingkan testimoni orang kaya tetapi tidak mengerti dan paham bidang tersebut.
Dalam bisnis yang real ( bukan di internet ) testimoni pun tetap diperlukan. Rekan saya seorang fotografer yang mempunyai foto studio kecil yang bergerak dibidang dokumentasi dan foto studio sempat bertanya pada saya tentang bagaimana meningkatkan penjualan studionya karena dia sudah membuat contoh contoh foto dan sudah ia pasang di tokonya. Saya pun mencoba mengusulkan testimoni pihak ketiga. Pihak ketiga adalah konsumen yang sudah pernah memakai jasa foto darinya. Beberapa hal penting yang saya sampaikan adalah seperti :

  • Membuat testimoni dari konsumen yang puas setelah memakai jasa Anda, nantinya testimoni itu akan dipasang disamping contoh cetakan foto dari yang bersangkutan. Kemudian sebagai rasa terima kasih berikanlah kepada konsumen kenang2an berupa pigura atau cetakan foto ukuran besar agar nantinya foto itu juga dipasang diruang tamu konsumen tersebut.
  • Buatalah testimoni yang sudah Anda tuliskan terlebih dahulu. Buatlah beberapa bentuk kalimat testimoni, misalnya lima macam kalimat. Kemudian konsumen diminta memilih yang manakah kira kira yang sesuai dengan rasa puasnya. Misalnya saja : “ Saya sangat puas dengan pelayanan studio anda, pertahankan dan tingkatkan”. Atau “ Pelayanan yang sangat ramah dengan hasil yang memuaskan, saya sangat puas. Akan saya referensikan teman teman saya kemari” Itu beberapa contoh kalimat kalimat yang kita buat sendiri. Namun tidakmenutup kemungkinan konsumen akan membuat kalimat sendiri.
  • Pasang testimoni anda ditempat yang mudah dibaca konsumen, sehingga banyak konsumen akan membacanya.
Nah itu sedikit tips dari saya tentang pentingnya testimoni dalam berbisnis. Mari kita belajar lagi dari dalam kehidupan ini.

Photo Marketing

Kamis, April 16, 2009

by: Mandy Chagger
Photo marketing is really marketing for photographers and a way for them to sell their photographs. There are many different photo marketing tips and resources out there and the Internet is a vast resource that can provide you as much information as possible to help you with your photo marketing.

Whether you are a beginner or a professional photographer, if you want to sell your work you will need to understand and use photo marketing. Photo marketing is all about increasing your exposure as a photographer and selling your work too. There are five basic elements that will help to make up your successful photo marketing plan.

The first of these five elements is to ensure that you define your photography market. What this essentially means is that you should find the best words to define your individual style and the identity you want to assume. You should then use these words as your main photo marketing plan guideline. If you specialise in wedding photography then you need to focus on the weddings and the type of people associated with them. If you specialise in photographing children and families, then you need to focus on attracting such clientele.

The second element that you need to focus on will be creating a portfolio that will reflect your skills and your own unique style. Your portfolio will be what will sell you as a professional and you should take a great deal of time and care when creating this.

Once you have completed your portfolio you can use what is known as push marketing to get yourself known. This can involve sending your portfolio to clients, buyers, editors, art directors, and even agencies. You can also send flyers and advertisements to your target clients. You can use your portfolio to start exhibiting at galleries, cafes/restaurants, entering competitions, and more. You can also use your portfolio to begin work with an agency that will actually do your photo marketing for you.

You can also use your portfolio to use what is known as pull marketing. This is a broader approach and for this type of photo marketing you will generally use mass-media outlets. These can be print advertising, TV and radio, the internet, and newspapers. For this type of photo marketing what you will be doing is pulling in potential clients by using a promotional method. It could be a discount, a free sitting, or anything that will appeal to your target market. The objects of using pull marketing for your photo marketing campaign is to reach thousands of potential clients in one go.

The third element involves some research on your part but for your photo marketing plan to work it is essential. What you need to do, is identify who the decision makers are in your market area. These people are out there and they are the ones who are buying photos. You need to find them and then grab their attention. You can do this by using your portfolio, your website, and advertising campaigns.

The forth element of photo marketing involves understanding your own unique value as a photographer. You need to be able to present yourself as a professional and in a professional manner. This will earn you a great deal of respect and people will also start to believe in the value of your work.

The fifth element will be creating the perfect photo marketing plan. This should help you to attract the opportunities that you desire. These opportunities will not come along on your own and your need to plan for them. In order to be a successful photographer you need to start with your photo marketing plan.

There is what you could call a sixth element that should be a part of every photo marketing plan and that is the use of the Internet. The Internet is the newest medium when it comes to photo marketing but it can by far surpass the radio and TV when it comes to attracting potential clients. You can also use the Internet to target specific individuals and even more so, the Internet can actually prove to be the least expensive way to carry out photo marketing.

The downside to the Internet though is that websites are everywhere and it is up to you to make your website stand out from the rest. This is done through site ranking and getting this right can be difficult. Most photographers get this part of their photo marketing wrong. They either don't show enough of their work on their website or they show too much. Despite having its challenges however, the Internet still should be a vital factor in your photo marketing. If you don't use it you will miss a lot of opportunities.

Once you know about and understand all the basic elements that make up photo marketing you will then be able to focus on your photo marketing message and your photo marketing image. It may sound like a lot of hard work but photo marketing really is essential if you want to succeed.