2. What are the specific short-term goals you are trying to achieve with photography?

3. List specific long-term goals you are trying to achieve using photography services (in the first 1 to 3 years).


4. List the major purposes for the service, the reasons for it (in order of importance, i.e. name advertisement and promotional campaign, branding, paper-medium, electronic (www) presence, because that's what everyone else is doing, etc.)?


5. How often during the year do you anticipate updates to be done photographically and/or in printing that you need to be done? What will be updated? Which subjects? Employment opportunities, monthly specials, contests, new products, your new merchandise, new properties, employees, etc. -- all should be updated periodically, nobody wants to see you look the same all the time.


6. If this is for your advertisement and /or promotional campaign, please list audience demographics - who you want to reach and how this will be accomplished, by which means (if you know how). Be as specific as possible (age range, profession, interests, etc.)


7. Whatever your image happened to be, whether you are a company or an individual, in order for your image(s) to appeal to your primary audience, what style or "voice" will you use (conservative, hip and trendy, etc.)?


8. Choose a primary color scheme for the background, text and graphics (we recommend contrast, black background with white text or white background with black text and 2 or 3 colors for highlights for most layouts, but we can do as many as you would like to have). This is the easiest to look at and to read. Be mindful of visitors with poor eyesight or color blindness when choosing text, background colors and graphics. Many of the most successful images in photography and printing follow a simple scheme.


9. List a series of the professional photography and printing with designs or schemes that appeal to you and give reasons why.


10. List some of competitor images and/or campaigns (if any).


11. What is your budget for the completion of the photography and/or printing, advertisement campaign(s) and yearly maintenance?


12. What is your budget for marketing the image you are after and how do you intend to market both on and off the Internet? Are you interested in the webdesign services? If you are, please visit and fill out the order form for the webdesign service(s) by clicking here.

13. Just as simply having pictures and printed mediums is not letting your audience see what you have, because it needs to be delivered to them and one must know who the audience is, unless one does, advertisement and promotion requires special consideration and attention. Just as simply putting up a website and submitting to search engines is not marketing. It is only one small tactic in an overall campaign. You need to draw up a marketing battle plan. We can help here if needed.


14. Do you have any custom photography needs (still photography, product shots, stock photography, video)? Will you supply all of the images required, or we can do this for you? For any images (and other materials) supplied by you, if you require the printing only, do you own the copyrights? If not do you have the rights to use the materials in the paper-medium and/or on the website? Please check with the copyright owners if unsure to avoid any copyright violations.


15. Are there any specific advertising sources such as magazines, radio or tv that you would like to use in order to address your audience, directories or sites you would like to submit your advertisement to including the industry standard that are specific to your business or industry?


16. Do you need a higher end service? Such as managing your entire advertisement and promotional campaign?


17. Are there any special needs required that are not already covered?


18. Describe your vision for the campaign? How will your audience interact with it? How will you know what they will do after they see your image(s)?


19. Define the criteria you will use to determine the campaign's success (i.e. real time orders of a certain volume, walk-in traffic of a certain volume (this should not be used as the sole definition of success), X amount of sales as a percentage of visits, increase in productivity)). There should be a trackable method to determine success.


20. If you do not already have a campaign name (i.e. your name & co's grand opening) choose 5 names. These names could be anything from My Wedding to Buy Our Steel! Your choices may already be taken. You can check on the web and in the printed directories as well as patent and copyright authorities for availability. Consider a few general and specific variations. Your compaign's name should be easily identifiable, easy to explain over the phone and print on a business card. Most short names are usually taken; long names can be good if they click in someone's mind. Try out your ideas on several people. Then ask them how to spell it. Try out the name on the phone to see if it is easily remembered and spelled by others. Resorting to lengthy explanations or spelling means problems.


21. List images and feelings you want associated with your name, service(s) or product(s). Do you have mulitple addresses, businesses and names that you would like people to have to go to, or it is all at the same site, same location?


22. List any existing telephone numbers, addresses and websites you want mentioned in your advertisement. These should be only those that are related to your business, or to you and not direct competitors.


23. Map the directions from major airports, ports, ternibals, stations, recommended places to stay nearby (if people visit your location).


24. What are all the different ways visitors can contact you at?
Name
Address
Phone
Fax
1-800
E-mail addresses
International offices


25. List hours of operation, time zone (PST, EST) and days closed.


26. List 30 words or phrases that describe your business. Pick words/phrases relevant to your business. List all keywords that people associate your business or you with. Phrases should be both specific and general.


27. Are you a local, regional, national or international business? What areas do you want to specifically target?


28. Do you have a business slogan or catch phrase?


29. Write a 25 words description of your business to be displayed and used in the directories. Describe what your business offers, to whom it is if offered and a succinct and special reason your business should be considered.


30. Give reasons why your business clearly beats the competition. What is your USP (unique selling proposition)? Customers tend to look for information as a priority over shopping. They may go at other places for the same or similar goods or services, but they will continually return to the merchants they trust intuitively and can solve their problems. A visitor to your business may need to return many times before making a purchase (studies suggest as many as 5 times). What can you do to encourage customers to purchase now and abandon the need to continue to search for someone else instead of you?


31. People have short attention spans, may not remember your business and will probably not return unless you give them a compelling reason to do so. How can you encourage repeat visitors and referrals? Every measure should be taken to encourage visitors to voluntarily revisit your establishment. Free offers, contests, referral forms, surveys and requests for information forms can be useful tools to encourage repeated business. What can you offer that can be delivered to your customers (offers, special reports, coupons, affiliate programs, etc.) and is free?


32. How does your business and products benefit your target customers? Please specify a clear list of items of benefits. What can your business offer your clientele, what's in it for them, how can you help them? What problems do your prospects have that your business solves?


33. List features of your products and/or services? Please specify a clear list of items.


34. What does your company do?


35. Who do you do it for?


36. Who will maintain the advertisement campaign? If you do not have the time we can help you here.


37. What can be done to add value to products and services? If your prices cannot be competitive, what other methods will showcase your products/services? The addition of free bonuses, lifetime warranties, free shipping and handling, upgrades, etc. will often be perceived by the consumer as value-added especially if a dollar value can be attached to these extras.


38. What are the needs your business satisfies for your customers? What words or images will impart those needs? It is important to paint a mental picture for customers using words, colors and images. What analogies can be used to explain offers in simple, understandable terms?


39. Will you use a survey form to gather information from your visitors? What questions would be included on this survey? Will you offer an incentive to customers for taking part in this survey?


40. Do your customers have buying seasons? September is the ideal month to prepare your business for the upcoming Christmas shopping season. Should the advertisement be updated according to each season? What enticements will you offer during off seasons?


41. Will low price lead in products be followed with sales on the back end for higher priced products and services? Products up to $20.00 meet little resistance while products in the hundreds or thousands of dollars may require a longer sales process. Complex services might only be closed using real sales people. Is a plan in place to secure and qualify leads? How can you remove as much risk from the buyer as possible (warranty, return policy, etc.)? What is your sales cycle? Can you close sales on-line without human interaction or do you need to follow-up on leads generated?


42. Do you have a brick and mortar or other off-web locations or contact point (like a mail order catalog)? How do you see the advertisement and your business working together? What are the weak points of each and the strong points that can be exploited? You can use the printed advertisement and web-presence to drive people to your physical location. To handle customer service support after hours, offer on-line coupons that can be printed and redeemed at the physical location (and vice versa) use the physical location to promote the website and the printed advertisement and web-presence to promote physical location.


43. Is this a new market you are trying to create for your product/service or is there already an existing market? Selling in an existing market is easier and less risky. The understanding of what you are offering already exists since other companies have paved the way. What existing distribution channels are you able to tap? Are there any 800-pound gorillas and if so, how can you compete against them? Microsoft and Toy's R Us are considered to be gorillas in their markets.


44. What process will be used to integrate the advertisement you need into the business on a daily, monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. Who will manage each aspect of the advertisement campaign once it is complete (i.e. mail management, e-mail management, maintenance of the existing channels, new content, testing various mailers and forms periodically, marketing, etc.)?