Are my weird crops costing me sales?

deanzat

Hello! I tend to crop for composition rather than print size, which means potential customers have to dig a little harder to find print sizes that suit the pictures.

I suspect this is costing me sales. I'm guessing that some people try to order prints, see that the image doesn't fit, and give up.

My marketing background says that I should always make the process as easy as possible for the customer - but I also want to give each customer maximum choice.

So, I could compromise the images and crop everything to a specific aspect ratio and limit the print sizes available, or I can crop for composition, make all sizes available and let the customer figure it out during the purchase process.

Those of you with more experience may have some customer feedback on this issue. What do you think?

Thanks, Z

Cygnus Studios

deanzat wrote: »

My marketing background says that I should always make the process as easy as possible for the customer - but I also want to give each customer maximum choice.

From what we have found you can't give them both. Either it has to be a no brainer or you simply confuse most people.

When we went to four basic sizes, our print sales went through the roof. There is no cropping, no resizing, nothing to confuse to anyone.

This technique may not work for everyone, but it certainly has worked well for us.

deanzat

Cygnus Studios wrote: »

From what we have found you can't give them both. Either it has to be a no brainer or you simply confuse most people.

When we went to four basic sizes, our print sales went through the roof. There is no cropping, no resizing, nothing to confuse to anyone.

This technique may not work for everyone, but it certainly has worked well for us.

Thanks. That's what I suspected. I just posted an event that got thousands of views, but no sales. The same event last year got lots of sales, but everything was cropped for 4x6, 8x12, etc. Looks like another long night in Aperture! ;-) Z

AstoriaPhotography

Cygnus Studios wrote: »

From what we have found you can't give them both. Either it has to be a no brainer or you simply confuse most people.

When we went to four basic sizes, our print sales went through the roof. There is no cropping, no resizing, nothing to confuse to anyone.

This technique may not work for everyone, but it certainly has worked well for us.

I'm having a similar problem trying to crop for print size, without sacrificing composition...obviously your subject matter is different than mine, but what were the 4 sizes you chose?