Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Wise. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jennifer, appreciate you joining us today. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

I don’t think there’s a person in the world who doesn’t like being appreciated! I know I appreciate gifts, shout-outs, and freebies myself, so that’s what I like to give my own clients and team members. As I have promoted within the company, I get a snail-mail card of congratulations as well as a monetary bonus. I love it. It’s not my real motivation for my work, but it feels fantastic to be noticed and appreciated.

Because people who make purchases from me are also accomplishing their own personal goals, I like showing my appreciation and encouraging them at the same time. I have a system of usual things I do regularly, but I’m always open to new ideas for showing appreciation, too. I think that flexibility leaves me open to new ways to show my appreciation.

Snail mail is one of the best surprises these days, I think, so I always send new team members a welcome and congratulations card. I send clients who join Forever Club a thank you card as well and allow them to attend any of my online classes for free.

On social media, I always post welcome shout-outs to new clients and new Forever Club members, and I have a special happy birthday post for my team members, and another special one to celebrate their promotions and accomplishments in their businesses.

One of my favorite way of showing customers I appreciate them is by giving them private access to unique gifts that I have personally designed for them. This way, they can give something special from Forever Print that’s not in the general template gallery that they can order with the push of a button without having to design it themselves. In other words, they have a unique gift to give in no time without any work.

I give a variety of 6-8 different projects to every client who placed an order that year. Some are home decor (I’m giving a great “no soliciting” sign this year that says “no soliciting – unless you have tacos and want to clean a bathroom), and I’ve given ornaments and party printables and dry-erase car games for kids. One of the items in 2022 was a mug with a mug recipe printed on it, great for anyone but especially kids going off on their own. You can see it here: https://www.forever.com/app/users/jennifer-wise–1/files/2235a360-2a3e-4c54-ae48-c7139a765587/a40zrnorzfj9hjk2o42sfj840 (And, yes, it’s perfectly acceptable to give a gift to yourself!)

I do appreciate my customers so much for the impact they have on my business, making it both successful and rewarding, but I also want to honor them for what they are doing for their families and their own personal well-being when they use Forever to digitize old home movies, preserve photos and memories in pages, and keep digital memories safe in the one-of-a-kind Forever Storage.

Jennifer, 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?

I don’t save people from burning buildings, but I do save them from having to RUN INTO burning buildings to get their photos, family videos, and scrapbooks!

You know how we have lots of photos and memories in a lot of places, but we don’t really know the best ways to preserve them, so it feels overwhelming? What I do is give people the peace of mind that comes from organizing and fireproofing their photos, scrapbooks, family videos, and such, so they can ditch the overwhelm and just enjoy convenient access to all their memories in a permanent home.

I coach using my favorite memory-keeping tool, and–believe it or not–most of my coaching is free. I’ve been a memory-keeping consultant since 2005, and I love what I do because preserving photos and memories increases both self-esteem and happiness, lowers stress, and gifts a sense of purpose and belonging!

In 2021, I shifted my business, rebranding with that “favorite memory-keeping tool” I mentioned, because it’s really the whole package for photos, videos, memories, and stories. It’s truly everything I’d want for my own, so it makes it incredibly fun and meaningful to share with others.

The main service I provide is guidance. Overwhelmed with your photos? I can point you to several solutions to choose from. Think there’s a better cloud storage solution than paying monthly fees to companies that don’t even guarantee privacy or that they’ll be around next year? (There is!) I can point you to a unique solution. Haven’t put photos and memories in books for a while and you need a solution you’ll actually love and DO? I can point you to solutions with accompanying video tutorials so you can get it done in a snap. Have old family movies on 8mm film or VHS, slides from the 1970s, or big scrapbook pages you’d like scanned? I’ve got an excellent solution for that, too.

I do hire out to do (most of) these services for people, to, but I mostly share top-quality solutions that people can do on their own. I approach my business from a “I just want to help” mindset because… I just want to help! I’m not as interested in “selling” as I am in providing solutions and peace of mind to my clients. And since that’s what people are looking for, I’ve found that the selling takes care of itself. Working with me means you’ll have support and an incredible amount of resources to choose from without any pressure.

When I started my memory-keeping business in 2005, I had 3 children under the age of 7. It was the perfect thing to do in order to use my passions and do some good in the world while still being the SAHM I wanted to be. I could set my own schedule and work when I wanted to. When my youngest was in high school, I decided to pursue two other passions. I got a Master’s degree in Teaching American Sign Language and a Sign Language Interpreter certification. They are two completely different skill sets requiring two completely different degrees/certifications! I completed the degree in 2021 and earned the certification in 2022 (delayed largely due to COVID).

So now you’ll find me as an adjunct ASL instructor at a community college and a university in addition to teaching the community education ASL classes and private lessons I’ve taught for many years, as well as a freelance ASL/PSE interpreter, and also a memory-keeping consultant with Forever. I love doing all 3 of those jobs, so, yes, I divide my time very carefully to make sure I can.

You’ll also find me teaching photo organizing classes, digital scrapbooking classes, and more–both in-person and online. I’ve created over 100 tutorial videos about the many memory-keeping aspects I’ve mentioned that people can find on my YouTube channel, too. I’ve heard many times that people like my down-to-earth approach, clear explanations, and insightful ideas. And I’ve been blogging about these things since 2014, too! I’m responsible, reliable, and personable, so that’s what potential clients can expect when reaching out to me.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I think it’s important to keep in touch, and to do so in multiple ways. Not everyone wants an email, and not everyone is on Facebook. Mixing things up reaches the most people, and those “touches” help people get to know not only the services they can take advantage of through Forever, but also me!

I send a monthly newsletter to keep in touch with clients. Once a month seems a good amount of contact for most people, and the newsletter includes upcoming events (most online, most free) as well as information and inspiration. It’s something they can look at on their own time when it’s convenient.

For my most active memory-keeping clients, I also offer a texting service. This–like the newsletter–is an opt-in service, something I send to people who have told me they want it. I send out a Best Time to Buy text at the beginning of the month so people can plan ahead to take advantage of sales. I also send out a Mid-Month Encouragement text and then an Information Station (where you go to get the info!) text at the end of the month, which is usually about an upcoming event or some helpful information I think they’d want to know. As an example, I once shared an image about the tape in VHS tapes–it only has a 10-20 year life span because it starts to lose its magnetism, which causes the tape to lose quality (both sound and visually) and playability. Good to know, right?

I am also active on Facebook and Instagram, posting every weekday at least. I also post to LinkedIn and Twitter weekly, and I blog monthly on my own blog as well as another I was invited to write for as a contributor. I post tutorial and informational videos on YouTube about once a month as well.

Since making a business shift to Forever in 2021, I honestly don’t think too much about fostering brand loyalty because it’s literally the best thing I’ve ever seen for all memory-keeping needs, from getting a cassette tape digitized to making photo-memory books doable. It’s hands-down the best cloud service for photos and videos, too. Mostly I share information about the perks of Forever and what you’re really getting when you trust your memories to them, such as a cloud service that doesn’t data mine and DOES triple-back up your photos. Forever does an amazing job of being what people need and want, so I give the credit to them for creating a company that creates its own brand loyalty by what they offer.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I meet people where they are, and I think that has really helped me develop a very good reputation for providing service that’s helpful. I offer free 20-minute Zoom consults for potential clients, which is basically a chance to tell me what your photo (or other memory-keeping) hurdles are so I can provide some options for getting over them. Some people really like and need that personalized, face-to-face Q&A time. But not everyone.

I’ve been surprised at how many people prefer to just watch one of my YouTube videos or stumble upon a blog post I’ve written, learn from it, and start their memory-keeping journey with me without even contacting me or asking a question! I have clients I’ve never met or even exchanged hellos with, which seems a little strange at times, but I think it’s truly a testament to the effectiveness of my efforts to be consistently available and that I reach out in multiple ways to provide service (for free).

This has, I think, given me a reputation that I provide meaningful and truly helpful information for you, no matter how you prefer to receive it. If you need photo organization tips or want to know which of the photo-memory book options might work best for you given your available time and interest, you can email me, reach out on Facebook or Messenger, set up a Zoom consult, or any other number of ways.

I believe I also have the reputation of being reliable and responsive. Due to the “consultant”-type structure of the company I began my memory-keeping business with and now with Forever, a client is always assigned someone to help them with questions and just generally help them have the best experience they can. I can’t tell you the number of people who have found me online somehow and reached out, and along the way ended up telling me that their previous consultant didn’t know much or do much or even respond to them. That is NOT ME.

So, my consistency in being a responsive, reliable, people-friendly memory-keeping coach has also helped me build my reputation. These things are just part of who I am naturally, so I think it’s a great fit for servicing people in their memory-keeping.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.forever.com/ambassador/jennifer-wise
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photoandstorytreasures/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heritagemakerswithjennifer
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-williams-wise-3264904a/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenniferWiseHM
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@photoandstorytreasures/featured
• Other: blog: https://lifetalesbooks.blogspot.com/
  Forever overview and demos: https://www.forever.com/app/users/jennifer-wise–1/albums/learn-more-here/6g2jq937apd6tb0tg8c7ixfiw

Image Credits

photo of me: Christine B Photography

other images courtesy Forever, Inc. and/or Canva