Lori Nordstrom owns a studio that will open in 2008 on the main square of Winterset, Iowa, a city of around 5,500 located 50 miles southwest of Des Moines. Despite the small size, Winterset has no lack of photographers. The downtown area has four photographers and another dozen in town work out of their homes, says Lori. The family photographer began her business – Lori Nordstrom, Celebrating Real Life In Photography – in 1998 and went digital in 2000. Originally, Lori leased her own studio before moving in 2003 to a home studio staffed by two employees. After experiencing strong growth over the past two years, she decided to buy a building and go back to having a stand-alone 3,500 square foot studio.

Lori focuses on maternity and baby photographs. The studio also shoots about 30 to 40 high school seniors a year, and six to eight weddings. The challenge for Lori, with her new studio, will be to grow the business while competing against Winterset’s other photographers – many a touch less expensive than her – as well as offer clients unique products they cannot find at photography websites or from other shooters around the city. Another goal is to raise the amount of money clients spend with Lori through new product offerings.

New business comes 90 percent from word of mouth advertising. She has displays at a large hospital, in a handful of children’s clothing stores and at an obstetrician-gynecology clinic, which she believes "gives us more qualified leads than general OB." The doctor’s office has a White House Custom Colour (WHCC) produced book of photographs and bookmarks with her contact information for interested parties. She also has an extensive web site. She publishes no price lists and keeps advertising collateral to a minimum, preferring qualified leads come from current clients.

New WHCC products have boosted Lori’s sales and existing ones have contributed solidly to her revenues. Many television design shows have featured a version of WHCC’s "Gallery Wraps" and that has helped push sales of them. "We’ve had those available two years and they’ve sold well," she says. "People see them as an upscale product we offer that you can get in large sizes – and they’re quite unique. We still do a lot of framing because not everyone wants a Gallery Wrap but I think it’s a cool product and I’m excited to show it to clients."

Of course, clients want smaller photographs too, but again, they want something unique. Lori likes the Press Printed Products and Greeting Cards, pointing out the 5x7 accordion fold and the 5x5 tri-fold have captured the imagination of clients. "Everyone can do cards – you can get interesting designs from Martha Stewart’s website or other photo sites – but WHCC keeps coming up with new ways to present these products," she says.

Since Lori concentrates on maternity photography, she can sell her own talents and WHCC products throughout the birthing process. The Press Printed Cards can be used for birth announcements, baby showers and thank you cards. The maternity and baby shots can be grouped together into a Press Printed Hardcover Books composed of 60 to 80 images that make great keepsakes and gifts. The hardcover books also serve nicely as guest books at baby showers, she says.

Typically, clients will want smaller 5x5 or 5x7 and wallet shots for friends and family, adding to the average sales per client. The same products she promotes for babies and mothers are highlighted for seniors, too, although she has found success in one higher end product group for that market. Seniors have taken to having their photographs mounted on foam board, canvas on masonite and styrene board. "The reception has been very good for those products," she says.

Another interesting twist Lori has incorporated is Press Printed Rep Cards for use to invite children to playdates (with the tagline "call my mom at…."). She’s sold photographs of clients that appear on return address labels and on stickers that can be used on packages and mail. Those same images can be used for gift tags, too, on packages. "There are a lot of ways to help clients personalize their packages, correspondence and gifts with photographs," she says. "I use WHCC’s products for these orders and it has been a nice add-on for clients and for the revenue stream of our studio."

Lori has been a WHCC client for several years. Though the company’s workforce has skyrocketed, Lori remains impressed with its timely attention to customers.

"The service is excellent, I’m always surprised and pleased when I ask for something and it is there the next day," she says. "I’ve been very impressed with the fast turnaround."

In the past Lori dealt with photo labs that experienced rapid growth and had customer service nosedive afterward. WHCC, she says, "has managed its growth exceptionally well."

Business name: Lori Nordstrom
Location: Winterset, Iowa
Website: http://www.nordstromphoto.com/
Focus: Maternity, families, seniors, weddings
Strategy: Increase sales through WHCC Gallery Wraps, Press Printed Greeting Cards, Rep Cards, Stickers, Hardcover Books, Thrifty Prints