Are We Listening?

Are we listening? For most of my adult life, I’ve been a marketer. Yes, I’ve also been a photographer but the titles I held that paid most of the bills were marketing titles: Director of Advertising, Director of Marketing, Director of Account Services, VP of Marketing Services, etc. And the one thing I used to practice as well as preach was the importance of listening to the marketplace.

When we were launching new products – and for a period of time, new businesses – it was essential that we listen to what the marketplace was telling us. Would they buy that product? Would they do business with that company? What would they pay for those new services? How would they benefit from what we had to offer them?

When we listened to what the market was telling us, we were successful. When we arrogantly pushed what we had to sell and ignored what the marketplace was saying, we were not. Sometimes we were able to adjust and garner a modicum of success once we started to listen. Sometimes we were not.

So, now that I’m exclusively a photographer and have to rely on that profession to generate enough income to sustain my lifestyle, I’m starting to wonder if I’m listening to what the marketplace is saying to me. Or am I just pushing my products, services and pricing at a marketplace that is telling me it’s looking for something else?

Specifically, in dog event photography, is the $30 8X10 win photo passé? Is the $50/file charge for one Herding image beyond the expectations of most of that market? If amateur photographers can gain significant traction in these market by selling ring candids and entire CDs of Herding photos at the price we charge for one image, are we wasting our time whining about it and asking for event exclusivity when we could be figuring out how to compete effectively and still make a reasonable living? Are we listening? And do we hear what the market is saying?