At the weekend I went to my local drug store come beauty and perfume shop and when talking to the shop assistant, as I made my purchase, she told me that the shop is moving to a retail park out of town; which will make it far more difficult for their day to day customers without transport to get to.
It got me thinking more about something that had already been on my mind; how can I meet the needs of my customers? Here is a company that isn’t thinking about it’s customers in town, as when it moves it’s closing the town shop; making life difficult for their regular customers. I started to have a serious think about my business and other businesses in general, where do we make life difficult for people because it’s easier for us? Or because possibly, there is a greater profit margin in it?
In essence, how I can best serve the community in which I’ve become a part of by being a photographer? How do I make a product that people can use, and one that everyone has access to? So that people don’t have to physically come to me to get this product, they can have access to it right from the computer in whichever country they are in.
Is there something in your business that you are doing that is mainly for your convenience that isn’t working because your customers aren’t receiving the benefit of it? I think more and more as social media becomes an important way of building a community, and a customer base, and we establish a good rapport with people, we can begin to ask them what they need and how best we can provide it. My customer is the best person to tell me about my business, what could I be doing differently? Does the photo arrive with my customer by courier on the day my supplier tells me it will?
I try to be authentic with my customers and my suppliers, so they get to know me, which means no tricks. A business coach, whose book I have and I am also signed up at his site so I get his regular emails, left me a bit disheartened recently. Every month he does a telephone call, where you can submit your questions and he will try and get around to answering them during the time he has. Even if you don’t have a question, you can listen for free to the call. As he was offering the option of being able to listen to a recorded version of the call, (he is based on the west coast of America and a 5pm time there isn’t kind to anyone in Europe), I signed up.
However as I was going through the process of signing up, I didn’t have a question to ask him, I just wanted to listen, I suddenly hit a final screen telling me that to listen back to the audio was going to cost me $10. It didn’t tell me this in his email or on the first page of the site promoting the call. I felt a little cheated, firstly because when I got to the second sign up screen it prompted me, ‘Are you really sure you don’t have a question?’, so I thought hard and came up with one, and secondly because I felt manipulated, now I’d asked my question they expected me to buy the recording if I couldn’t make the call. Out of protest, and of course I was the only one that heard my protest, I didn’t buy the recording, or make the live call.
However this experience has had a knock on effect, I still receive his emails but I don’t open them, I feel resentment build up each time I see one in my inbox.
The only reason I haven’t unsubscribed is because I know he’s a great coach and I feel I should heal the resentment that I feel and carry on reading his emails and buying his other products. What if we offend or mislead our customers? How likely is it they will continue to follow us on our social network sites and stay subscribed to our emails?
Like the drug store that is moving out of town I felt let down, and I felt let down by the business coach who didn’t warn me an audio replay was going to cost me money. They are perfect reminders to me of what is more important, making a quick buck or serving my customers and community in the most sincere way I know how.
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Living in the beautiful rural county of Yorkshire it was perhaps natural for Ruth to have an affinity with the countryside and its wildlife. Creativity is Ruth’s driving force finding an outlet in television & radio she worked for many years as producer for BBC & ITV.
However a love of photography and for being surrounded by nature called her to go back to her photography training and bring pleasure and joy to people through her connection with our planet.
Staying in the moment when taking her images allows her to experience the natural magnificence unfolding before her eyes. It is this moment of mediation, of gratitude, that she evocatively conveys through her images.