We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Crockette Leible a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Crockette thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

As a wedding photographer I’m always so deeply thankful when clients choose and trust ME to document their once-in-a-lifetime memories out of the thousands of other photographers to choose from.

I always express my gratitude in MANY ways throughout our time together….

My brides receive a candle, flowers, and a hand written love note days after booking their wedding with me.

When I deliver their printed engagement photos (preferable where they work) … I often bring them coffee, smoothie, or tea to enjoy. If they offer to pay…I always say “Please accept this as a small gift. I really appreciate your business and you’re a pretty awesome person!!”

On the day of the wedding I bring a little custom Crockette’s Images wine tumbler of flowers with a love note from me.

Before I leave the reception I hug and thank as many people as I can for letting me share their day with them. And I take a photo with the bride and groom 💜

After I leave the reception I call & leave a voicemail (I know they won’t up their phone because they’re still dancing). I tell them how much I loved celebrating with them and how excited I am to work on their highlights.

I tell them I’ll have their highlights done by Friday…but I surprise them by delivering 200-300 by Wednesday.

At Christmas time…they receive a Christmas Card thanking them for their business and for the relationship that I’ll treasure forever. Inside the card is a custom photo ornament for their tree.

Crockette, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Let’s be honest….photos are the only things we have left to remember our favorite people, biggest adventures, & greatest milestones.

I became a photographer because I wanted to help people remember THEIR favorite people, adventures, and milestones….forever!!

Don’t you loooooove looking back on photos of your family vacations, fishing memories with your grandpa, hunting trips, float trips, your last mountain hike, camp out, and kayaking adventure? I know I sure do!

I believe I have one of the best jobs in the world because I get to bring joy to others because I’m helping them remember some of the most exciting times in their lives….forever!!

It all began in 2011. I was fresh out of college & photography had turned into more than just a side hustle. It was my breading-winning job!! But I still held on to my server job at Red Lobster and picking peaches in the summer till 2013. I just loved taking care of people and working outside.

Now that Crockette’s Images is a completely full service photography company…I still get to take care of people and work outside. It’s just waaaay more rewarding now.

My clients receive hair & makeup from my talented Style Team, clothing suggestions, and have access to many exclusive photo locations. I specialize in sending my clients home with beautiful printed art like canvases, mounted photos, albums, and regular prints too. My super cool Room View Program in my studio that helps clients design their walls with their favorite photo so they can see everything “virtually” in real life.

Though I specialize in wedding and engagement photography, I also really love documenting the milestones of a high school senior and the preciousness of families as they grow throughout the years.

Love is the greatest gift God gave us, and being surrounded by it all the time is an indescribable feeling that truly fills my cup & keeps my heart beating. I love helping people keep these loving memories alive forever.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I’ve been working on growing my business on Social Media since 2011! At first I though I just needed to post pretty pictures of my completed work on a daily basis and thank people for their business. That was great! But it didn’t give my clients an idea of how I run my business or what it was like to work with me, or what their session experience would be like, or what products I offered. I learned quickly that I needed to add different types of posts so educate my clients on everything listed above. I started providing posing tips, ideas on what to wear, and locations we can go. I also started posting more videos of my products and people’s expressions when they picked up their completed art. I RECENTLY LEARNED that people want to get to know ME through Social Media…so that means I have to start posting more videos of ME talking to the camera and ME showing off my products. I still need to work on THAT…but that’s my 2025 goal!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

When I started my business in 2008 I wasn’t sure how to market myself. So I did EVERYTHING I could think of to get my name out there: my name was in the phone book, I ran ads and info in the newspaper, I had a website and paid good money to pop up on Google, I attended EVERY bridal show, home show, and craft fair shows I could. I joined a local BNI and Chamber Chapter, and eventually put my work in a local magazine with coupons and advertised on a few billboards.

I was becoming more and more popular around town and thankfully gaining a great reputation.

In 2018 the local newspaper (In Cape Girardeau) contacted me and asked me if I wanted to be on the People’s Choice Awards ballot. I quickly said YES. I cried when I was voted #1 in 2018……and have been SO THANKFUL to have still been voted #1 every year since!

I think allllll my efforts to get recognized early in my career help me stay top of mind when my area needed a photographer. My reputation really took off when I was recognized at the #1 photographer for Cape Girardeau.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.crockettes-images.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crockettesimages
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrockettesImages
• Other: You can also contact me by phone 573-233-6030

Image Credits

All photos taken by ME…….Crockette’s Images :-)