Photographers, Did You Know Clients Brag About Your Work a Lot More When They Pay For Your Service?
This article is dedicated to the hobbyist who wants to transition to business and the pro who is already in the business.
You have heard potential clients praise your work to other people or even to yourself. A potential client is not a client yet, which is why we say “potential.” It means possible but not yet actual. We use potential because a potential customer is someone who might buy a product or service but has not yet done so.
When a prospect (potential client) comes praising you and your work, you feel good.
Why do you feel good? Because it triggers the release of dopamine in your brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with pleasure and reward. When you continue to receive praise for the services you deliver, you receive some psychological benefits including increased happiness and self-confidence.
You can understand how important it is to hear people praising your work, whether from a client or prospect.
It’s the same way you’re going to feel when clients brag about themselves because you provided a service for them that they enjoyed.
There are psychological reasons why people brag when they pay for a service they enjoyed genuinely, and I’m going to state five.
1. Social Proof
When people brag about a paid service, what they are doing is that they are providing social proof to others that the service is worth paying for. This is free marketing. Always photograph your best.
This means you moved heaven and earth to provide quality experience and photos.
Social proof is a psychological occurrence where people are more likely to do something because they see other people doing it. It is a form of conformity, and it is based on the idea that people want to be right and avoid making mistakes.
So it’s like this, if person A brags about your photo service to person B, person A is telling person B directly, or indirectly that you’re worth every dime to be spent on. And person B will probably want to choose what’s already working. People rarely like to test unknown waters.
In the context of photography and many businesses, social proof can be used to convince potential clients that you are a good photographer.
An example will be if you have a lot of positive reviews from past clients, prospects are also more likely to trust you.
2. Justification
Bragging about a paid service is a way to justify the purchase and make themselves feel better about it. They want to feel like they made a good decision when they spend their money on your service, and if they made a good decision, they’ll keep talking about it.
To justify a purchase means to provide reasons or explanations for buying a particular item or spending money on something. Give your clients/prospects good reasons.
If the client is the one justifying a paid service, it is a good sign. It means that the client understands the value of the service.
There are a number of reasons why a client might justify a paid service, even if there are free or cheaper alternatives available.
- Quality
- Peace of mind
- Convenience
(I’ll write about these three in a different article)
3. Status
We often associate spending money with status. When you brag about a paid service or product, you are subtly signalling to others that you have the financial means to afford it. It’s why people buy expensive stuff anyway — to show they can afford it.
If you build your brand as a photographer to the stage where your name is synonymous with luxury, you’ll draw these kinds of prospects, and they won’t shut up! They always want to talk because they want to validate their self-worth, feel superior to others and fit in with their peers.
You should note that not everyone who buys expensive things brags about them. Some people simply enjoy owning nice things and do not feel the need to parade their wealth. Notwithstanding, bragging about expensive things is a common behaviour among people who are motivated by status.
4. Identity
This could be worse, but we often define ourselves by the things we consume. Bragging about a paid service can be a way to express our identity and values.
This happens when our lives consist of the abundance of things we possess.
Jesus was saying that no amount of wealth can secure our lives with God when He said, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15)
We should be careful with this one.
5. Reciprocity
We feel obligated to return favours. When we brag about a paid service, we are essentially doing a favour to the person we are bragging to — do you remember the last time you did this? How you bragged so much about something you bought that it influenced your friends to buy the same thing?
This favour could be repaid in the form of a recommendation, a purchase, or simply positive feelings towards the bragger.
Reciprocity is the idea that when someone does a favour for us or provides us with something valuable, we often feel an obligation to return the favour in some way.
In this case, when we passionately talk about a paid service or product we’ve purchased, we are basically doing a favour to the person we are talking to.
Now that you know why clients brag, what do you plan on doing with this information?
Thank you for checking out this article. I can only hope you found it valuable. If you’re a beginner photographer interested in learning the basics of photography and more, check out my book, The Photographer’s Companion: Picture Perfect, A Beginner’s Guide to Photography.
