Let me tell you why first impressions count:
Have you ever been on a date and the other person turns up looking a bit scruffy and looks like they have not made much of an effort for the date? What did you immediately think when they walked in? Probably something like this: ‘Hmm not sure about this person’ ‘If they can’t make an effort for the first date, what would a relationship be like with this person?’ This may seem a little harsh, but we all do it, we all have these unconscious thoughts on first impressions of well anything really. The same applies in business. If your customers first impression of you is bad photography taken on your phone? A dodgy selfie taken on a night out cobbled together for your about page or your profile picture. You may be really excited as it’s been so long in the planning, now your products are finally ready to sell and you just can’t wait to get them online. What a waste of all your hard work to just take some quick pictures. Quality pictures creates the feeling of quality in the minds of your customers.
Great product photography is your shop window to your business, and it says everything about you and your business. I am a single mum of two and NEED a good diary to keep track of all the comings and goings of busy family life. I looked around on the internet for a family diary. I stumbled across a diary that looked ok, BUT the product photos were very low quality and did not convey the quality of the product. It looked like someone in the office had whipped out their phone in excitement exclaiming ‘I can do that! No problem! Leave it to me!’ Consequently, I had a bit more of a mooch round the internet and found another company and the photography was beautiful, very professional. I immediately made an emotional connection to the product and the company. Everything was clean and fresh looking. They had beautiful lifestyle photos of their diary. I was hooked and I purchased one. I am now a repeat customer of this particular brand of diary. Do not let this happen to you!
Great product photography tells a story of your products, it can be in keeping with brand colours, it can highlight usage of your product; something your customer may not be immediately aware of. It leads them in to making that all important sale with you instead of your competitors.
Etsy recently conducted some customer research on what was important to them when considering to make a purchase. Can you guess what was the number one factor when deciding or not to buy? Over 90% of Etsy customers said it was high quality professional looking photography. This came above shipping costs, reviews, and even price of the item itself.
Do not miss YOUR opportunity to make a great first impression with your customers!
Suzanne x
