IPS Pricing Strategy
In person sales (IPS) for photographers can be a difficult subject to talk about especially when it comes to pricing strategy. In order for your products to sell, you have to have a great IPS Photography pricing model. If you don’t have a good model then you are wasting your time with in person sales. Make sure you read this blog till the end to learn our step by step process for determining your IPS Pricing strategy.
Products for IPS Photography
This is the MOST critical process to determining your IPS Pricing strategy. Without products that clients want to buy, you won’t be able to sell anything. How to determine what products to sell can be a very difficult process but it doesn’t have to be. The first thing you need to do is to list the products you WANT to sell that match your price point. Our advice is to start small and start with basic albums and prints. Choose an album from a quality company like H&H Color Lab that fits your price of your photography. You don’t want to sell a fine art album as your base album when people are paying only $1000 for 8 hours of coverage. It will create a disconnect with your clients and cause them not to buy.
After you have the products you want to sell, get your customers feedback. Ask them if the products you picked they like and if they would like anything else. This can be done using Instagram polls, Twitter, or Facebook. You might get a wide range of answers, so try to stick to the majority of what your clients are saying. You can’t please everyone but it’s important to try and please the your ideal clients. For more info about how to select your ideal products read our BLOG.
Cost of Goods
If you are a photographer then you are very familiar with determining your COG’s. In IPS Photography, it is just as important. Determining your COG can be a little trickier especially when dealing with items that have multiple options (i.e. albums). If you look at wedding albums they have so many things to choose from such as additional pages, different types of fabric, leather, debasing, and the list goes on. When you have this situation, price out an album that is basic. I mean an album with a basic cover, and minimal amounts of pages. This will be considered your base album. Once you have this all other upgrades can be priced accordingly. Make sure to also include any hidden taxes, shipping, or processing fees as well.
In regards to how much you charge your client, that is up to you. You have to take into consideration your business and how much it takes to run your business or your operating costs. Think of this as the “can’t live without” expenses. Iso if your business stopped getting money tomorrow what would be the bare minimal stuff you would need to keep it open (i.e. business license, insurance, etc). No matter what you charge you have to make sure your business is covered and you are profitable. This profit will allow you to invest in other higher end products to sell to your clients.
IPS Pricing Model
In the most general terms there are generally three popular pricing models: a la carte, packages, or hybrid. The a la carte model allows clients to only pick what they want and pay for just those items. The disadvantage of this model is that clients can’t take advantage of bundles or special deals. Since they are buying items individually, they have to pay full price for each one. The packages model is an option that allows clients to purchase bundles to take advantage of pricing deals but doesn’t allow for modification or upgrades. The last deal, the hybrid, takes advantage of the packages model but allows clients to upgrade or buy a la carte. We use this model as it gives the best advantage of all of the models. No matter what model you pick, make sure its right for your business.
There is one more step to your pricing model and if you want to learn it make sure to watch this video below and subscribe to our You Tube channel:
Conclusion
IPS Photography can be a very confusing subject full of uncertainties and questions. One of the first steps you have to do when taking the leap into IPS is to make sure that you have the right pricing strategy that fits your business. By picking products your clients want, determining their COG, and the best pricing model, you will be off to a great start with your IPS journey. If you are interested in IPS but not sure how to integrate it into your business, schedule a complimentary discovery call at this LINK.
What are your top products that you sell during your IPS session?
