Ideas for your portfolio of work - showing your customers past jobs
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No matter what kind of work you do, showing your customer examples of that work is important. A portfolio of work is not always necessary depending on the type of work you do -for example for our pest controllers - you can sure show pictures of your equipment but examples of your work would basically involve a whole bunch of pest carcasses which no one really wants to see! But, we'd recommend that no matter what line of work you're in, you have a portfolio of work. Here are some ideas for creating a portfolio of work with options for pictures, words, and interesting ways to present. We've also included ideas about how to keep costs down.
Different ways to deliver your portfolio to your customer
Folders - portfolio's have traditionally been printed paper or folders with pictures of work. Think about getting this portfolio professionally printed and bound, as it can feel more substantial to the customer. Think about companies with Annual Reports - they print them on high quality paper with a nice layout. Of course, this can be costly especially if you want to update it with new works regularly so a great alternative is to print individual pages and keep them in a sleeved folder with a nice label.
Printed handouts - these are good because you can give them to your customer to keep. But, usually they're expensive so you'd want to keep them short and really, they're a good companion to a nice printed folder. You might want to combine a flyer with some examples of your work to fulfil both purposes ie flyer and portfolio.
Scrapbook - pictures tell a story, but it's always great to pair the pictures with captions or the story in a scrapbook kind of style. We're not talking putting glitter and beads on your portfolio (although in some cases it might be appropriate, usually it's not) but we are saying a little more than just pictures. Telling stories about the families you did the work for, what your main challenges were, how long it took you, anecdotes etc are great to include in a portfolio.
CD's - Most formats below can go onto a CD, and it's easy to put a collection of things on one CD and hand it over to your customer. You can print labels yourself or even have them done relatively cheaply in a printing shop or online. Giving a customer a CD instead of a book shows the customer that you are environmentally aware and this is increasingly important in Australian's buying decisions. Plus, it looks good and you can update it whenever you like. Then, if you're giving them a CD anyway, think about putting any forms or contracts on there too so the customer can read them in advance if they wish.
On your website - Use your Service Central web profile to upload photos of your work or adding your portfolio to your own website.
Social media - everything electronic, be it a presentation, photos, or video, can be shared publicly through social media. Video's go up on YouTube, pictures on Flickr or Facebook, presentations on www.slideshare.net/, and there are many more opportunities. The nice thing is here - you can give your customers links to the portfolio online, but other people can also search online and find it which can lead to new customers.
Different format ideas
Photos - just individual photos are great but also remember that you should tie them together with a story and some details otherwise the pictures could be of any job!
Presentation - Consider putting together a presentation on software like Microsoft Powerpoint or Google Docs. You can then choose from a variety of media to deliver this to the customer - either by email, CD, web link, Facebook etc.
Video - if you have a good quality video camera or can lend one from a friend, making a video of some of your work is easy. You can choose to set the video to music and avoid having to talk over it, or you can provide a running commentary with info about the job and how you did it as you film. You could even ask your customers to give you a photo, or a quick video of them showing or telling how happy they are with the job.
Case studies - sometimes your work can't be displayed in photos, and sometimes it's hard for customers to understand what's actually happening in the photos (eg electricians - almost impossible for us to understand!). Case studies are basically just stories about a job - structure it like you would structure a report with a 'What the problem was, what steps you took to fix it, and what was the result', and try to include some anecdotal notes about your views along the way. Remember, if this case study is of value to your colleagues or even the general public, you're also welcome to send it to suggestions@servicecentral.com.au and we'll publish it on our blog in our case study series.
Fundamentals of a good portfolio of work
Which examples to include? A portfolio of work is meant to show your past work in a good light - so we know and you know (and your customers know) that you're going to pick the best examples to include. A good idea is to have some examples where the previous customers have also given you testimonial online. Pick work that shows the range of your services, and also show examples of 'in progress' jobs, before and after pics, and completed jobs.
How much to include? There's no real guidelines on this. What we would suggest is that if you're taking your customer through a physical portfolio, that you touch on at least 3 jobs but if there are more, rather let the customer go through the rest themselves.
Have one that you show or give your customer one to keep? This will depend entirely on the media you choose and whether copies are within your budget. However, we all know that most people are sociable, and a portfolio of your work lying on the coffee table for friends to see is not a terrible marketing plan. Perhaps think about doing both.
What kind of jobs? Pick work that shows the range of your services, and also show examples of 'in progress' jobs, before and after pics, and completed jobs. Before and after pics are super good!
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