BOOK REVIEW: ‘4 Steps (To Creating a More Profitable and Resilient Photo Business)’

August 19, 2010: Peter Budd’s slim but extremely useful photo retail marketing text, 4 Steps To Creating A More Profitable and Resilient Photo Business, is well worth the $65 investment, not least because it includes a special offer of an hour of marketing advice from the man himself!

 

The ‘4 Steps’ in question involve a preliminary overview of the photo retailing industry in Australia, a forensic examination of the individual retailer’s financial position and actual and potential customer base, and the possible positions or niches the individual retailer can occupy in the market.

The book is a by-product of a Masters degree in marketing Budd completed in 2009, but is no dry thesis. Budd uses a plethora of charts, tables and diagrams to help instruct his audience, and clearly believes that retailers need to put more effort into devising data-based measures to gauge the success of their businesses.

The handbook leads the retailer towards the creation of a sound business plan and a supporting marketing communications plan.

There’s certainly some work involved to get the most out of Budd’s join-the-dots approach (at the end of the day they are your dots to join!) but it’s hard to imagine any independent retailer failing to get some value from this book if they come at it with an open mind and a willingness to implement.

Budd has a background in advertising and marketing, having previously worked as account manager for Agfa’s ad agency. After immersing himself in photo retailing over the past few years as marketing consultant with Photo Direct, Budd has a detailed knowledge of his subject. He has visited countless photo retailing outlets and interviewed dozens of photo specialists. This is not your generic one-size-fits-all ‘Marketing 101 for Retailers’ style text. It marries marketing theory to the real (and somewhat bruising) world of contemporary photo retailing.

If you are a photo retailer and you can only see your way clear to read one business book this year, Peter Budd’s 4 Steps would be a worthy contender.

To purchase 4 Steps To Creating A More Profitable and Resilient Photo Business, contact Peter Buss at peter@buddconsulting.com.au. Price is $65 including postage and handling, and one hour’s consultation with Budd Consulting to help get you on the right path.