We were lucky to catch up with Tori Hughes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tori, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

As a small business owner, I find it both incredibly fulfilling and necessary to show customers how appreciative I am of their business. One of the most effective ways I feel a small business can demonstrate to its customers that their business is valued is by simply expressing gratitude (audible or written). Customers will also know if they are appreciated by how their product/service is delivered. Most consumers desire a positive overall experience – this includes honesty, consistency, and quality. Aside from expressing thankfulness to my customers, I concurrently provide a superior experience; in turn I believe they feel valued and return to support my business.

Tori, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Tori Nichole Photography is an Omaha, Nebraska-based, award winning and international photography company that uses imagery to tell a story. As a business owner and lead photographer, I specialize in photographing my clients through meaningful life milestones; this could be through a couples or engagement session, an annual family session, a big local wedding, a small destination elopement, or even introducing a baby. I love to capture it all. It’s what sets my passion on fire and places me on a totally different playing field from my competition.

What started me on my photography journey was becoming a mother in 2013. I fell in love with taking photos of my daughter. I knew motherhood was the most beautiful journey I’d ever taken – and I recognized each moment, each year, would fleet quickly (spoiler alert: it has). My goal was to photograph her as much as possible and to live in moments as deeply as I could. Later, in 2019, I realized I had a gift, and I wanted to give that gift to others. My primary goal is to serve each amazing client with an incredible experience. In this, I strive for my clients to live in their most special moments and utmost profound milestones, while I capture it for them. I want them to look back at their photos that I’ve delivered and feel those beautiful memories all over again.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

It was a chilly fall morning, and I was headed to a rooftop in downtown Omaha for an engagement session. The couple was absolutely amazing, and we completely hit it off. We had a great time talking about how they met, where they’re from, and what their marriage plans were. The couple shared they were getting married in Jamaica the following year and I thought to myself how badly I would love to photograph their wedding. Well, I didn’t shoot my shot and that could’ve been a huge mistake on my part because it put me at a 0% chance of photographing their wedding. I mean, think about it, if you at least shoot your shot for the sale, you’re in the 1%, right?

Well, the soon-to-be-bride loved her images so much, and the overall experience she had with me, that she texted me sometime that next spring out of nowhere and said, “I wish we could bring you to Jamaica with us!!!” and I responded, “You can!” It was all history from there. That August I was in Jamaica, photographing my first international wedding with the most amazing couple at the most beautiful location.

What made it even sweeter was knowing that the resort photographers they had on site weren’t highly skilled, and (with humility) I was. I had grown quite close to the couple over the course of that year, and I wanted the absolute best wedding photographs for them. In order for them to have the best, I knew that it was me.

The odds for that sale and the positive outcome for the couple’s wedding photos were heavily stacked against us both because I didn’t even shoot my own shot. My client had to come to me asking for her own sale. Moral of the story: Provide products, services and experiences that blow your client away. And then, ask the client for the next sale. It’s yours if you just ask for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.torinicholephotography.com
• Instagram:@torinicholeweddings
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/torinicholephotography/
• Other: Pinterest: @torinicholephotography via https://www.pinterest.com/torinicholephotography/