Understanding Zook Rewards!

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On April 1st we proudly announced the launch of Zook Rewards, a customer loyalty rewards program for Zookbinders and zookie pro customers. We know that there are so many other album companies you can to choose from and we want to show you how thankful we are that you continue to choose us!

Since the launch photographers are wondering how does it work?

It’s pretty simple. The more you spend each year, the more rewards you earn. It doesn’t matter which product you order, you will benefit from any purchase made within the year! The reward redemption is based on calendar year sales and you can redeem your rewards when your yearly sales volume reaches one of the various five levels. Your rewards can be redeemed immediately or saved for a time that best suits you. All rewards must be redeemed by the end of the calendar year. Repairs, tax, and freight do not count towards your annual sales and annual sales are counted post-discount.

Now that you know how it works, let’s dive into the rewards! First, you can read below and check out each level and the benefits you can earn and then you can log directly into your account to see what rewards level you are currently at!

How do you log in to see your rewards?

First log into your account in the Zookbinders website. Once you are logged in, and are in the Customer Center links under “Custom” you will find the “Zook Rewards” link. A screen will come up showing you your sales for the year and the benefits you currently have and also the rewards you can choose from. If you find one you would like to use, a redemption code is available in the right column for you to enter during your next order. A screenshot image has been provided for you in this post or click here for a flickr image as well.

Level One is reached once you have spent $1,000. This benefits package rewards you with:

Your choice of:

  • (2) Upgraded Packaging or
  • (2) Free Shipping or
  • Free Rush Service or
  • Free Design Service

Level Two is reached once you have spent $4,000. This benefits package rewards you with:

(2) Free Design Service AND a choice of:

  • (2) Upgraded Packaging or
  • (2) Free Shipping or
  • (2) Free Rush Service or
  • (1) $100 Credit towards Sample Album

Level Three is reached once you have spent $7,000. This benefits package rewards you with:

(3) Free Design Service AND a choice of:

  • (2) Upgraded Packaging or
  • (2) Free Shipping or
  • (2) Free Rush Service or
  • (1) $100 Credit towards Sample Album

Level Four is reached once you have spent $10,000. This benefits package rewards you with:

(2) Free Rush ,(3) Free Designs ,(1) Free Sample Album (Zook Book or Matted) with Parent Albums (PhotoBooks or Lustre) PLUS your choice of:

  • (2) Upgraded Packaging or
  • (2) Free Shipping

Level Five is reached once you have spent $15,000. This benefits package rewards you with:

(2) Free Rush Services, (3) Free Designs, (2) Free Sample Album (Zook Book or Matted) with Parent Albums (PhotoBooks or Lustre), and a Frame, PLUS your choice of:

  • (2) Upgraded Packaging or
  • (2) Free Shipping
  • (1) $150 credit towards Sample Album

We know this is a lot of information, but let’s admit….it’s a lot of GREAT information! Feel a little confused after ready through the levels? Here, let me explain a little further:

Let’s say Client A has annual sales of $8,000.  This means that Client A is a Level Three. This also means Client A will receive benefits from Level 3, 2, and 1. (How great is that!)

An example for product redemption’s for client A would be:

  • (5) Free Designs (Free Designs from Levels 2 and 3)
  • (2) Free Rush Service (Level 3 choice)
  • (2) Free Shipping (Level 2 choice)
  • (2) Upgraded packaging (Level 1 choice)

So we hope that sums it up a little bit for you! Although if you have any further questions please feel free to call our customer service team weekdays 8am-4pm.

The Importance of Vendors

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Sometimes vendors will even personalize their products with your branding, like our studio stamp dies!  For a one-time $40 fee, you can have your logo in all the albums you order with us so all your clients friends know you were the artist behind the beautiful pictures!

Last week we featured a Zookbinders customer who revealed to us, a talented vendor she had previously worked with during a wedding shoot in North Carolina; Tre Bella Florist.  So this got us to thinking about vendors and their importance in the photography business…

Vendors are there to help you, wouldn’t you agree? Their purpose is to help you grow your business. In some cases, the products and services offered, assist you in your ability to create a unique and worry-free day for your clients. Other vendors help you with the work done after the event, for example: providing you the finishing touch on a stellar print job. Point being, vendors are there to help you shine. Their help is essential to your work and to your success. Your ability to foster great working relationships with your vendors will also play a vital role in the success of each and every client you service. Miscommunications or even lack of communication with a vendor could seriously hinder any word-of-mouth marketing in your future. So in the end, make sure you are building great relationships. A good vendor knows that your success is just as important to them, as their own.

Wondering how to create better vendor relationships, or start new ones? Dont worry,  we wouldn’t leave you without a few quick tips!

  • Call your vendors and touch-base with them. Tell them your needs. See how they can better help you!
  • Vendors can be a great referral tool! Introduce yourself, interact, and give them your contact info.
  • Keeping it local has its benefits too! Stop by your neighborhood florist, tuxedo rental, etc.
  • Swap business cards at conventions, workshops, or local events.
  • Call vendors you may have only used once or twice. See if they have anything new to offer.

Feature Photo

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Today’s Feature Photo of the Month comes to us from a very creative and talented Zookbinders customer out of Richmond, VA: Beth Furgurson of Beth Furgurson Photography. While talking with Beth she told us that the bride in this image was actually a childhood friend. Both of their mothers have shared a lifelong friendship, in return, creating a special bond between their daughters. Now Beth, a mother herself, still remains close friends with the bride and says “I was honored to document her day. She was a gorgeous bride!”

What really stood out to us in this image was not only the creativity in the setup of the shot, but also the incredibly interesting moss-letter props used! So we asked Beth about them, as we tried to wrap our own minds around how exactly those were created… or what they were even made of for that matter. Beth said, “The letters are made from green sheet moss over styrofoam and hung from double face satin ribbon.” Although she takes no credit for the creation of these unique decorations, we did get word of the secret “floral Einstein”, Tre Bella Florist (also friends with the bride), who she proudly boasts of and tells us is located in Durham, NC.
To see more of Beth’s work please visit www.furgphoto.com.

WPPI Wrap-Up

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You’ve probably just settled back into the normal routine of things from WPPI. Whether you were there for the entire week’s events and classes or just a few days—it’s a whirlwind of information and excitement.

The Zookbinders booth was no different—we had great conversations with current and future clients and learned A TON about what matters to photographers:
To no surprise, our satin paper option for all PhotoBooks and PhotoBook Plus was a big hit among our booth’s visitors. This option is a cost-effective way to get the look of photographic paper in a press-printed product. Photographers couldn’t believe it wasn’t real photographic paper and were amazed by the thickness of this press paper! We even had a few people confused thinking they were looking at our photographic product, The Lustre Book!
The display cases at our booth showcased our new fabric covers, which seemed to catch everyone’s eye! Our customers were thrilled to see a new modern cover option for all PhotoBook and Lustre Book products. The Cinnamon color seemed to be a fan favorite! (Click here to request complimentary fabric swatches)

The huge take-away from the three days at the tradeshow was that at least 75% of the photographers we spoke with were looking for a way to ease their workflow. Whether they were looking for a company to host their images, or a cost-effective way to get albums designed quickly, the majority seemed to have one common theme: they want to spend more time shooting and less time with all the “extra” work. They also didn’t want to work with five different vendors to fulfill all their business needs. The Zookbinders booth was packed as CEO/Founder, Mark Zucker, explained to these photographers that working with Zookbinders would fill that void of the needed business partner. Many listeners were unaware of all of the features our in-house design system includes—image color correction, design turnaround in just 2-3 days, designs averaging just $60-$80, and a completely customizable shopping cart that features photographer’s branding as an easy way for your clients to upgrade and purchase additional products—at no extra work for you!
Plus, we’re currently building Zook Ware—a new ordering system that will have countless capabilities—including all of the upsell features in zookie pro, be extremely interactive and most importantly, user-friendly. We learned even MORE from photographers when Mark discussed this new addition, coming in May, and have added those requests to our IT team building Zook Ware.

All in all, this year’s show was fantastic. We launched our new customer loyalty program, Zook Rewards, showed off our great new product line-up and learned so much from all the photographers with whom we spoke. Whether you took a full load of classes, or just enjoyed walking through the tradeshow, we hope you found new resources and better solutions to help your business grow. Give us a call today, because that’s exactly why we’re here: to help your business grow.

Putting the Service back in Customer Service.

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The New Year is well underway and Zookbinders is on the move as well! Lately we’ve spent a great deal of time exploring how we can move past just serving photographers, and develop ways to truly partner with them. The first steps have already been taken with the formation of our Customer Advisory Board, or CAB.

We realized that to know and understand what photographers want and need, we have to ask them! So we assembled an even dozen of our customers from across the country, from Philly to Maui, from Seniors and weddings to boudoir, high volume studios to one-(wo)man shows, 40 year veterans to only-ever-known digital photographers. They have graciously agreed to participate in quarterly, formal meetings as well as being available as sounding boards and virtual crash test dummies for all things Zookbinders. They’ve told us what we’re doing right as well as what they’d like to see changed about our company. They are becoming like the best friend who’ll be honest and tell you, yes, you DO look fat in that dress.

Partly in response to what we’ve learned, Zookbinders is now offering extended customer service hours in the form of Live Chat. If you just have a quick question about products or need a simple answer that does not require a phone conversation, you can click on the Live Chat icon on our website and reach one of our customer service agents–the very ones you would talk to if you picked up the phone and dialed Deerfield, IL. It is available from 8:00am to 8:00pm Monday through Friday.

Another big initiative for 2012 is our new customer loyalty program we’re calling Zook Rewards. The program is designed to reward repeat customers by offering real benefits based on actual sales. For every dollar spent, Zookbinders customers will earn points that can be redeemed for such things as free album designs, album upgrades, free shipping, or sample albums. The program launches some time in second quarter 2012, so stay tuned!

Listening is, as they say, why we come equipped with one mouth and two ears! From sales to billing to customer service reps, we are refocusing our attention to listening to what drives photographers’ businesses, and shifting our approach from being merely reactive to problems to being more proactive in identifying solutions and how we can help make photographers lives easier and their business more profitable. At the end of the day, good business is less about how many transactions you execute, and more about the relationships your build.