Recently I filled you in on what your Client Experience truly begins as a photographer. Truly, at the heart of my business has always been people first, and today, I want to uncover the #1 Thing You Can Start Doing to Build a Better Client Experience. And it may be easier than you think! 

If you want to build a killer Client Experience, one that results in better images and happier clients, you must start preparing your Clients for their sessions.

That’s right. If you’re failing to prepare your clients for your sessions,  you’re leaving a crucial part of their Experience out. The time between when a Client books you and when they show up for their session is vital in building trust between you and you Client and can make a difference in turning a one time Client into a Ride or Dye till the very end client!

That being said, let’s break down three ways you can start better preparing your Clients for their sessions:

1. Send and Experience/Welcome Guide

Right after a Client signs on with you, there’s no better time to show them they’ve made a smart investment in you than by sending them an Experience or Welcome Guide. I prefer to call mine an Experience Guide because I’m constantly trying to train my Clients to value their Experience with me and not just their images, since it’s one of the number one ways you can stand out from a saturated market. I didn’t have one for the first two years of my business and once I put it into place…  GAME  CHANGER! It drastically cut down on back and forth questions between me and my clients AND had them raving about how awesome it was!

An Experience Guide is a great way to help build Confidence in your Clients. Remember that a photo session is not an every day thing for them like it is for you,  so anytime you can answer all of their questions in one place, you’re  going to build trust in their eyes.

2. Communicate with them BEFORE their session

Now this may seem obvious,  but I can’t tell you the number of photographers I have hired in the past (pre being a photographer myself) that I never heard from between the time I paid my deposit and showed up for my session. This in  between time is an easy opportunity to continue to build trust, and equally as important, EXCITEMENT for their session.

Even if it’s just a quick check-in to ask if the have any questions, you’ll show that you care about their Experience, which is SO IMPORTANT for how they will feel about it. Having go-to email templates also makes it super easy to send just like that!

3. Continue to  Prep them When they arrive to their Session

The first 5-10 minutes of your sessions, you should not take a single photo. Instead, you should spend this time chatting with your clients and making them feel comfortable. Don’t talk about the session at first, but instead just ask questions  about them and make small chat.  It will give them the opportunity to get out any lingering nerves!

Imagine if you arrived at a session and a photographer immediately started posing you without this buffer time. It’s likely  your nerves would kick in! That is something that is so easily avoidable!

In conclusion, properly preparing your Clients for their sessions will help boost their confidence in themselves and you, build trust, and will ease their nerves, making their experience with you worthy of five star reviews. Speaking of which:

Ready to start gathering reviews about how your client experience feels? Grab my 5 tips to getting better client reviews below!