Photo Scan Service ABC's

What does building a Photo Scan service look like? Whether its an in-home operation or an added service to your business, start to imagine how it might look with us. Going through this module you will learn just the beginning of the following: What services can I provide? How can I market? What equipment do I need? How how profitable can it be?
 

OVERVIEW

Looking for a niche service that you enjoy doing and can be offered to customers? Maybe your just like us and work well in small specialized markets, or maybe its in your blood and you've been working with photographs a lifetime; photo scanning could be an option. In this module we will highlight the photo scan world and answer how you can get started with E-Z Photo Scan. 

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

The #1 question we hear from customers planning to start a photo scan business is: "What services should I provide?" To answer that question, we have broken down the TOP 4 services and the level of expertise it takes to perform them. Read the descriptions and think about what services you want to provide.

TOP 4 SCANNING SERVICES

LESS TECHNICAL:

Scan Photo Prints: $0.10 - $1.00/Photo

Equipment Needed: Kodak PS50/80, Legal/A3 Flatbeds

Summary: Scan loose photo prints stored in various mediums.

MORE TECHNICAL:

Scan Photo Albums: $0.50 - $1.50/Photo

Equipment Needed: A3 Flabed (12in x18in for maximum scan area)

Summary: Scanning photo album pages OR removing, scanning, and reinserting photos for an album.

VERY TECHNICAL:

Scan Slides & Negatives: $0.20 - $1.00/Slide or Negative Frame

Equipment Needed: Nikon CoolScan 5000, Epson v500, or v700

Summary: Scanning slides and film strips (35mm+) to RAW or standard file formats (i.e. DNG, JPEG)

HIGHLY TECHNICAL:

Media Transfer: Varies

Equipment Needed: Transfer VCR, Reel to Reel, or others

Summary: Transferring VHS, 8mm Reel, Mini DV's to Disc Media. (Caution: Copyrights)

INCOME POTENTIAL

We have put together the E-Z Photo Scan Building Blocks To Success; attached below. This chart resembles the income potential of photo scanning services with equipment.

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES:

Purchasing equipment is only half the battle when starting a photo scan business. Like many businesses, it comes down to how you market yourself! The E-Z Photo Scan Welcome Kit can help you setup the workflow and order processes, but what about ways to make money and market the product? Below we have provided a few ideas that might help speed entry into the market. Think about how you can add these service ideas to a business plan and start turning photos into profits.

DO YOUR FAMILY PHOTOS

We always start by suggesting people scan their OWN photos. Scan your family's photos: grandparents, uncles, aunts, or however many relatives it takes until you feel comfortable with the equipment, photos, and process. Starting with your own photos makes a costly mistake not cost a CUSTOMER!

TALK TO PAST CUSTOMERS

If this is a new business for you, this might not apply; but if you have time it might be worth reading anyway! A good place to start is always reaching out to an existing customer base. This could be a simple flyer at your service desk or making phone calls to valued customers and asking about their interest in the NEW service your company offers. Like most people, they will most likely be looking for a deal. Give it to them (at least a little something for their help)! This will help you and your employees learn about processing photo scan orders and provide a great success story.

NETWORK

Networking is key to growing a service. Start by looking up local "industry friends" (THE Competition!), and set a plan of how to augment your services to gain a little (TONS!) of market share. For example, at E-Z Photo Scan we try to augment ourselves from competitors by having one all inclusive price: $0.25/Photo. Some differences are: scanning photos at 600 DPI (high-quality), scanning back-sides (no extra charge), burning orders to ONLY archival media. Another network opportunity is finding local services that are complimentary to yours and offering profit sharing. Lots of our Orlando photo scan business comes from referrals like: Costco, Framing Shops, Copy Centers, Movie Film Transfer Shops, and Local Historical Museums, just to name a few.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!

After analyzing the competition, try and think outside of the box for scanning photos. The days of mailing photos for a company to scan are fading quickly. There is a large market share of customers looking for LOCAL services where there is no shipping risk involved. In fact, a growing trend in the industry today is scanning in the home! Offer a in-home scan service charging by the hour or photo. This gives you an opportunity to build trust with customers, in turn generating more business. It always starts the conversation of "WOW I have more than I thought, can you take these with you!"

BE PERSISTENT

Disclaimer: Be Persistent, NOT PUSHY! Digitizing photographs is typically of high importance, but has a low priority for customers. Making your company known to customers is important, but following up is just as important. At E-Z Photo Scan we have some customers that come in sporadically to scan their photos. The sales cycle can last anywhere from 1-6 months, so persistency helps. Lastly, NEVER FORGET TO ASK ABOUT MORE PHOTOS. Make it habit to ask if their are anymore photos in their collections they would like done (maybe make them a deal to bring them in). The photo scan business brings lots of recurring business so capitalize on it!

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