Creating a Premium High-Touch Experience Utilizing Dubsado with Cami Monet
Episode 507: Show Notes
Today on the podcast we have Cami Monet, a watercolor artist, and custom wedding stationer. She is all about paper goods with purpose and personality. Cami Monet operates under two branches where she has custom wedding clients and does all their custom stationery. Her product line is also available for both retail and wholesale. When she isn’t doing all of these things, she also has a podcast with a friend, where they share ways to make business strategy a piece of cake for paper people.
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In this episode, we’re talking a little bit about processes, using Dubsado, and all about how to create a high-touch premium service with your clients. This is for anyone who wants to dip their toe into charging premium prices this year, and for those who are already offering premium services. This episode will also give you some good ideas on how to be high-touch without having to be in the process every time. Cami shares details about her speedy process on getting clients in the door and paying. The customization and personality aspect of her process is unlike any other that we have heard of, so we know you guys are going to get some really good takeaways today. Let’s get going!
Cami Monet’s Journey to Creating a Successful Creative Business
Cami Monet’s business tagline is, “make everything fun.” This sentiment is especially important to her as it flows through her business processes and forms, and all the way into client experience. As a custom watercolor artist, Cami produces a range of high-end products for her clients which include wedding invitations and stationery for the special day. Her journey to success hasn’t been smooth, as Cami’s early years were characterized by scattered PDF proofs and confusing email threads. With so many moving parts, Cami needed to streamline her processes and a place to capture and store all her important client data. That’s when she found Dubsado, a nifty business management solution that helps creatives like her convert the bland and boring into something that is spritely and engaging for clients. As Cami puts it: it’s a conduit for making things fun; something that fits perfectly with her make-everything-fun tagline.
Dubsado Transformed Cami’s Business Into a Science
Being one of Dubsado’s earliest clients, Cami has grown with its development, and she has been able to refine her process along the way. By creating a process that works for her and her brand, Cami was also able to cater the needs of her clients in a deeply unique and personalized way. The efficacy of Cami’s process starts off way in the beginning, when she converts her market into paying customers who receive a premium, high-end experience. She does this by tailoring her inquiry form to fit her brand and to best serve her clients. Although lengthy, the answers Cami receives are enough to then send proposals back to her clients and book them in one go. Once these bookings are confirmed, Cami sends a love story questionnaire, the key to her process. Through this questionnaire, Cami is able to capture finer details about the couple she is working with, like place of engagement, favorite songs, vow verses, and more. This gives Cami a chance to get to know the couple even better, as well as the opportunity to add quirky details with inspiration drawn from sushi, pizza, and chicken wings with a splash of ranch dressing; real-life additions that have made her past clients extremely happy. With the help of Dubsado Cami then sends her clients a look-book, which shares her vision for the design aesthetic and color pallet. Better yet, her clients can give their feedback right then and there, all thanks to the business solution software. What Cami especially likes about this is that it declutters her artist’s brain and simplifies the process for those who aren’t creative or visual. To conclude, Dubsado also offers an approval process. This in turn makes it “official” for Cami and her clients, and adhoc reworks and touch-ups become a thing of the past.
How Cami’s Process is a Win-Win For Clients and Herself
On a surface level, Cami’s creative business might look like many others; she has a website, social media presence, and many common functions. What Cami does differently is that she tailors each process to suit her brand at no cost to customer experience. She tells us that one of the most impactful processes she’s fine-tuned is her client portal. The beauty of Dubsado is that it allows you to curate your client portals to fit your brand as well as your client’s dreams. Being template-based means Cami has an easy time putting it together, while her clients enjoy a premium experience tailored specifically for them. Added to this, Cami shares customized passwords with them as a thoughtful touch. Cami’s creativity extends beyond just client portals and inquiry pages. When she sends her clients more questionnaires, she also gifts them complimentary Starbucks discounts and encourages them to make a date out of it; it’s experiential from start to finish. The culmination of each step shows that Cami isn’t an entry-level designer; she’s a next-level experience producer.
Going Against The Grain Has Served Cami Well
When you’re in the creative industry, it can be overwhelming trying to capture a market. Creative professionals oftentimes find themselves attempting to cater to several markets to generate business. However, providing a service that will please every client-type is a farfetched idea that will drain you of time, energy, and even resources. To structure a business process that was going to work for Cami, she needed to figure out what was going to best serve her brand. She started by shaping the client’s experience from the very beginning, and instead of working toward an inquiry email or phone call, her goal was to attain bookings off the bat; and that’s exactly what she did. So how did she cut out the middle interaction? Cami decided to abandon industry standard, and rather than being short and concise, she made her contact form detailed and elaborate so her potential clients could already start investing themselves in the journey. Part of what aids Cami’s success is her style as an artist. In lieu of catalogs filled with seemingly infinite options, she narrows down customer choices to a handful. She does custom watercolor and what you see is what you get. According to Cami, you shouldn’t be chasing after every style that’s out there. You should be leaning into what you love and what you’re really good at.
Quote This
The Dubsado client portal is my secret weapon for knocking my client’s socks off.
—Cami Monet
Highlights
Cami Monet’s Journey to Creating a Successful Creative Business. [0:05:11]
Dubsado Transformed Cami’s Business Into a Science. [0:08:08]
How Cami’s Brand Unique to Her But Still Good For Her Clients. [0:019:00]
Going Against The Grain Has Served Cami Well. [0:37:59]
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:45:10.6]
Personalize where you can and tweak the process for each client.
Use the mom-test, where you get your mom to stress test your processes and iron out creases.
Prioritize the goal you have for your contact form.
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Cami Monet
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Most days you can find me cozied up in my sunny studio with a cat in my lap and coffee that could use 30 seconds in the microwave.
But when I'm not making a mess and painting, you can find me hanging out with my ridiculously good-looking, total sweetheart of a husband who is the marshmallows to my Lucky Charms. I'm also a sprinkled donut enthusiast (pink frosting, please), wannabe gardener (just once I'd like to not kill my basil) and thrift store extraordinaire always on the hunt for vintage teacups and Pyrex (if your grandma likes it, it's probably my style.). I grew up in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee on Morning Glory Farm (now a gorgeous wedding venue!!), so I've got a lifetime of creative inspiration at my fingertips. And almost a lifetime of painting.
Of course, I had plenty to choose from thanks to being the daughter of a watercolor artist! My very willing (and brave) dad would sit me on his lap and let this eager toddler add the finishing touches to his originals. Soon enough, I had sold my own first original at G. Webb Gallery (pretty sure it was to my nana), and I guess you could say that's where it all began! (And now I still send all my paintings to him to get his feedback and approval! Old habits die hard, y'all.)
Now I love using this gift that God gave me and serving people by capturing their favorite memories with paint. I'm passionate about creating unique ways to tell your story whether that be with pretty calligraphy, a custom painting or wedding invitations that make people say "Oh, that's so YOU." That, my friends, is why I still believe in the power of paper!
