Fostering client engagement for loyalty and referrals: A post-delivery strategy for photographers.
June 13th, 2025
Other than an ability to consistently deliver beautiful work, what do you believe is the number one driver of customer loyalty? Is it low prices and affordability? Is it a solid marketing plan? Is it inconveniencing yourself and turning your world upside down to satisfy even the neediest customers at any cost? No, no, and, thankfully, NO.
As someone who has built a successful business on referrals and repeat customers alone (as of 2025, I am fully booked with existing clients and taking no new clients), might I suggest that the missing puzzle piece is simply this: stellar customer service. To tap into that, you have to play the long game and change the way you view your clients… they aren’t just clients for this job, they’re clients for life. The client relationship should and will outlast the wedding you’re planning on shooting, the family session you’re planning, the graduation event and volume portraits you’re shooting. Not only do you have to create a positive client experience on the day of by showing up (early), treating people kindly, and relating to them as actual humans beyond the shoot you’re executing, you have to engage post-job to foster this kind of loyalty.
So, what does a positive client experience look like for me and my business? I’ll hit the highlights and then we’ll dive into the weeds.
In-session strategy:
First, I show up early, thoroughly prepared for the session. My clients received welcome packets before our first shoot together, and I reshare this when I’ve made any updates that would affect repeat clients to highlight the changes. I’ve done the legwork of sending a pre-session client questionnaire which tells me everything I need to know for the session ahead–from the family’s must-have shots, to little Timmy’s favorite TV show character (so that I can be ready to revive him with talk about Lightning McQueen when he inevitably starts to crash.)
I greet the family with genuine excitement… it’s our fourth session together and it’s been a year since I’ve seen them. I build in time for chit-chat; we enjoy reconnecting as humans, as friends. Truth be told, when you grow up with a family as their photographer, they feel in some bizarre way like family. Side note and hear me out: you cannot fake this, and it will bite you if you try… if you cannot show genuine excitement to see these people again, maybe consider whether or not you are a good fit for each other moving forward. Moving on–I shoot the session with excellence according to my own standards that my customers are already familiar with–there are no surprises. We say our goodbyes, and then? The real fun starts.
Follow-up strategy:
My gallery delivery motto is, “under-promise, over-deliver.” Expectations are set in advance that galleries are sent out 6-8 weeks after the completion of the session; I turn them around in 4-6. Galleries are intuitive, user-friendly, and beautiful, allowing for easy navigation in terms of viewing, choosing their favorites, downloading, and purchasing.
Because of the consistency in my process over the years, there are rarely questions regarding my process or the “how-to’s” of navigating it all, and I think this is something that my clients appreciate as much as I do when I look at my email inbox. They don’t want to learn a new process… they simply don’t have time for it. You know what they do have time for, though? Sending a quick word of praise and thanks via email, and telling their friends. And that feels good.
At this point, client communication: closed… right? Wrong.
How do you deliver a gallery? Do you just drop it in their inbox and roll? “Donezo til next time!” Absolutely not. After you deliver your client gallery (or their print/product order), offer an opportunity for questions and feedback. Let them know that you (as always) genuinely appreciate–not just their business, but their loyalty–and remind them that you also appreciate their client referrals. Encourage them to stay connected on social media, “I’d love to connect with you on Instagram!”
Set the tone for what they can expect from you in the future, “I’ll keep in touch throughout the year with some reminders and a promotion or two that may help as you navigate the holidays.” And encourage them to spread the love, “Love your images? Share them on social media. Thank you so much for providing credit so that your friends know where to find me!”
If you are in the beginning of building your business and just starting to build on referrals, it may be a great idea to incentivize your customers. You can do this in a number of ways… offering a percentage off their next session, a discount on packages, or a print/product credit for each referral. I think, though, you will find that monetary incentivization isn’t really necessary unless you want to expedite the process. I personally prefer a less salesy, more organic, “spread the word” kind of love… It has incredibly genuine, deep roots. Because let’s be real: if they have a fantastic experience with you from start to finish, they’ll come back, and they’ll tell their people.
Reopening online galleries:
Let’s circle back to gallery delivery, and look at things in terms of customer loyalty. If you’re your client, don’t you think it would be lovely to be able to revisit old galleries easily? Not only is this wildly nostalgic (literally prompts so many tears), it’s a reminder of their loyalty to you. Why would they ever find another photographer–you’ve been with them since their middle-schoolers were babies!
The awesome thing about Zenfolio’s galleries: you can actually create each family’s gallery to be contained within their own personal archive (aka: a folder you create on the photographer backend management of your website) and share this link with them, meaning that when they access their most recent images, they can take a quick and easy trip down memory lane (and buy a quick print or two from last year’s session, if they want to).
If you prefer to keep each year contained, you can still easily re-open old galleries for this nostalgic customer journey, whether it be for targeted promotions or incentivized coupons at certain times of year. Not only is this helpful in terms of sales, it’s also super helpful in terms of encouraging future bookings, just by jogging the memory. If you are a parent, your brain is in approximately 27 different places at any given moment, and, “family pictures” are rarely at the forefronts; this proactive communication takes that legwork away for clients and ensures that they recall the importance of getting the next session scheduled.
Pro tip: Zenfolio members, when reopening galleries for your clients, be sure to enable Upsell. Offering discounts or free shipping not only enhances customer satisfaction but also encourages repeat business.
Long-term client engagement:
Circling back to the importance of email marketing in the context of long-term engagement for customer loyalty… It’s crucial. A lot of this can be automated, so don’t let this stress you. Get personal with each family–what is the mom and dad’s wedding anniversary? Set up an automatic email for each client on their anniversary to say, “Hey guys–Congratulations on another year. Y’all are killing it. Happy Anniversary!” You can plug a sale if you want to, but you don’t have to. They’ll likely appreciate the shout out just as much with no reference to selling anything at all. You didn’t have to send that email, but you did, because you care. And guess what, that means something to people! Holidays rolling around? Kick out an automated email with links to galleries and prices slashed as they prep for the season.
Pro tip: When holiday season is approaching–tell clients you want their Christmas or holiday cards. It will make their heads explode with excitement.
And no lie–getting cards from my clients with their favorite images intentionally picked and displayed alongside their warmest wishes is absolutely one of my favorite things of the season. I even have several that reply wanting my family’s Christmas card, to which I always happily oblige.
And, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of consistency and planning when it comes to long-term engagement communication strategies. Take my Fall Mini-sessions, for example. Every August, my existing families expect a brief email from me with upcoming mini-session dates, and an opportunity to sign up attached. It’s first come first served, so they’re looking out and they jump on it to get a good slot for their family.
About a month later, more details come: mini-session location, booking proposal, rainplans, a style-guide for help on what to wear. A week before, they get a reminder email for their session–date, time, location–and specific instructions as far as what to expect… where they’ll park, where to meet me, how early to be there, what happens if they’re late. I recycle these emails year after year for ease and predictability, with necessary details swapped out.
Can you imagine if I didn’t have this process in place? The number of emails I’d receive requesting mini-session information would be astounding. This way, there’s a predictability about the process that my customers appreciate, and that also saves me an unspeakable amount of time.
Building repeat business and referrals:
There was once a time when client referrals were everything for me. Over time and changing seasons and strong and steady growth, I’m now to the point that I operate exclusively with existing clients. And to me, that has been one of the most telling indicators of success in photography. It’s not the money, it’s not the number of sessions, it’s having built a business on people sharing the genuine notion of “Hey–I trust this girl Elizabeth with our precious family memories, and you should, too.”
It feels really good to book a mini-session day, and to have it be filled exclusively with families I’ve seen several times before. It feels really good to know they trust you like that, and to know I consistently meet their needs in photography. It feels really good to know the foundation of my business is built, not on SEO search engines or cheap marketing ploys or gimmick-y sales opportunities, but on deep-rooted customer love. That means something to me. Do you know who else it means something to? My clients, who are willingly trusting me with their precious moments and memories.
So there you have it! If you want to foster genuine client loyalty and encourage heartfelt referrals, it’s clear that showing up and taking the pictures is merely a small part of what makes that happen. We have to prioritize the relationships that we have with our clients throughout each part of the process, but especially beyond gallery delivery. Prioritize ongoing communication with your clients; create a predictable process for them to engage with throughout their session and beyond; and for heaven’s sake, get personal with them–treat them like you like them, not like strangers. Doing so will prompt an organic growth for your business that cannot be forged or faked.
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