My Client Experience + How I use Honeybook

Have you ever purchased a product and you were obsessed with the product but you left with the worst client experience? It made you not so happy about the overall product, am I right? This is why client experience is so important. You want your client to leave not only happy with your product but the overall client experience as well. That is ultimately what is going to keep them coming back and referring clients to you. Having an efficient system in place not only makes your client feel cared for but it also takes a lot of stress off of you as the business owner.

Here are some ways that I have elevated my client experience in order for my clients to feel take care of, served, informed and educated.

01. Onboarding with Honeybook

From the very beginning and when someone fills out my contact form, their information from the form goes straight to Honeybook (client management software) and creates a specific project for them. It gives me all their details and automatically sends over my Pricing Guide and any information that could be helpful for them to be educated and informed on the front end of the process. From there, I send over a proposal with a contract, invoice, and payment plan so they can easily read, sign, and pay from their computer or their phone. Convenient is key for a client. Once everything is signed and the retainer is paid, they are officially booked and put on my calendar! WOO HOO!

02. Planning Process

In Honeybook, I have many different workflows set up for all the different clients I get to serve whether that is Wedding, Elopements, Couples, Labor and Delivery Sessions, etc. With each one of those workflows, I have created different customized guides, questionnaires, and emails that are going to bring a lot of value to the client and serve them well. For example, if it is a wedding client, I will select the “Wedding Workflow” and it will send all the goodness like a Bridal Handbook to help with all things wedding planning, a Couples Handbook for all things for their couple session, and lots more. The awesome thing is that all my workflows are already pre-designed and I only had to create them once. They are set to automatically send all the information and all I have to do is click the workflow I want to assign and Honeybook and the magic it is, does all the work for me.

Example of my Wedding Client Experience Workflow ::

Once receiving their inquiry, I will send a questionnaire that is basically just to get to know the client more. It asks questions about their contact information, how they met, their favorite coffee order, and lot of other things.
Once they are booked, I send my Bridal Handbook which is one of my clients favorite things they get from me. They love that it comes straight to their inbox and it has all the information to make sure they get the most out of their wedding and their photos. Topics in the guide include, example timelines, how to break the mold with your wedding, Spotify reception music playlist to give your DJ, a wedding day packing list, pinterest mood boards, and wedding vendor recommendations. It brings so much value to someone that is planning a wedding.
Also after they have signed their contract and paid their retainer, I send them a MTP Welcome to the Fam box in the mail. It is a little gift and a handwritten note to just say thank you for trusting me with telling their story.
Once we have scheduled their couples session, I will send over a Couples Handbook with lots of tips to help guide them in the planning process of how to choose their outfits, what to bring, and how to have lots of fun.
120 days prior their wedding day, I send a Pre-Timeline Questionnaire that gathers all the information I need to create their timeline and prepare for their wedding.
60 days prior their wedding day, I send a Family Formal Detail Questionnaire. The questionnaire asks for specific shots for family portraits.
60 days prior to their wedding day, I also send a Vendor Information Questionnaire where I gather all the details about their vendors so I can give them credit in posts and blogs.
2 weeks prior to their wedding day, we will go over their timeline and make changes as need be.
The week of their wedding, I send an email basically to encourage the heck out of them and to pray over them. This is very important for me and my business.

The entire workflow is an automated system that I set up at the very beginning. It is tedious at first and somewhat time consuming, but once you do it once, you don’t have to do it again because it is already done for you. SO WORTH IT!

03. Shooting – Post Production

I have an entire blog coming about all the things shooting, backing up, editing, and gallery delivery because this is a lot to tackle in this already very long blog post! So stay tuned!

Day of the Wedding – I make sure to have a few things with me… My camera bag with all my camera gear, timeline and family shot list that I keep on the Loope app, polaroid camera, and alllll the other things. Something special I decided to put in my client experience are polaroids. At the end of the night, I hand my client a stack of polaroids that me or my assistant have taken throughout day for them to look at as they drive off as a married couple.

Backing Up – As soon as I get home from the wedding, I backup all RAWS to 3 different external hard drives.

Culling/Editing – I use Photo Mechanic to cull and then I drag everything into lightroom. I edit around 15-20 images as sneak peaks and get those sent to the client within 5 days of their wedding. I deliver their entire wedding gallery within 4-6 weeks from their wedding day. When I deliver their wedding gallery, I send an email that has instructions on how to download their photos, keep their photos safe, and the best places to print their photos.

04. Wrapping Things Up!

After everything is delivered, I send my clients a handwritten card with a gift to say thank you! I also send a questionnaire asking for feedback and a review. I am always wanting to grow so by sending the questionnaire, it gives your clients a safe place to talk about their experience.

WHEW, that was a lot and if you are still here, you are the real MVP!! Now you have my entire process from start to finish on what I do with each client. My biggest advice, is to put yourself in your clients shoes and think, “how would I want to be served if I were the client.” Having a system in place allows me to stay on top of things, keep my client informed, and doesn’t allow for many things to slip through the cracks. But the main thing is that it allows for my client to feel taken care of and that is the most important to me.