Your Price is Too High Because the Value is Hidden

If you have to pick one thing the Internet does well, high on the list is helping consumers to choose the provider with the lowest price, which unnerves many small businesses that provide a higher quality product or service than their lower priced competitors.

 

 

Why is there so much focus on price?  Because everything seems to be about the same – nobody has separated themselves from the pack.

Consumers today are educated – we have the Internet to thank for that. Your job then is to use it to educate your community by showing your prospects and customers what nobody else is showing them.

This is the art of authenticity – amplifying what you do best.

When price is a problem, it's because everything else seems to be equal, which we all know is never true. So, instead of blaming the Internet, blame yourself for not revealing what is hidden.

When you use the social networks to personalize your business, you create an environment of trust. That's the differentiating factor that overrides price.

The Art of Transparency

Quality is not the differentiating factor that it used to be. These days, quality is expected – and we can easily see it via what is shared on the Web.

Now consider the fact that not everyone can discern what you passionately believe to be your higher quality. Even if they can, they may not appreciate it – which means they are not willing to pay for it.

Marketing or selling quality is a slippery slope because it is is based on the perception of your product or service – which will vary from one buyer to the next. This traditional approach is not relevant today, due to our risk-averse business environment.

Instead, consider how social media is conditioning buyers to value relationships – working with those that they can trust to serve and protect them should anything go wrong.

One way to accomplish this is to show them what nobody else is willing to reveal.  This may not even be a strong differentiating factor for your company, but it will nonetheless show - your willingness to be authentic and transparent.

Show What Seems to Be Irrelevant

To think that customers don't like surprises is to misunderstand human nature. Surprise are theatre. They capture our attention.  And sometimes they even go viral.

Consider how you can go viral in your own community.  Ask yourself what your prospects and customers are consistently asking for – then give it to them.

If you don't know what this is, survey your customers.  Better yet, read the responses to blogs in your area of expertise. A great resource for this is Alltop.com - an aggregator of top blogs in every industry.

When you understand and address what is consistently being asked for, you are on the right track for being not just uniquely different, but memorable as well.

Being Memorable is a Key Differentiator

You may have heard the expression that customers do business with people they know, like, and trust. This has always been true – it's just more evident in this challenging economy that we are all faced with.

Thanks to social media, pulling back the curtain to share what has never been shared is one of the most powerful means of differentiating your small business.

If you Google key words that relate to your products and services, you will discover that most consumers are searching for tips and advice that will help them to make better decisions. 

Now put yourself into their shoes.  What do they want to know that will instantly make equal prices higher or lower than another?

They want to know what is included, and also what is excluded that may be essential. In other words, they don't want any trickery.

Consumers want to be educated. You know your business, but you have been conditioned by traditional business practices to not share those factors that contribute to a higher or a lower price.

This is it!  It's the key to eliminating price competition. And it's memorable.

Just Do It

From a value perspective, just revealing everything that has previously been hidden says you have nothing to hide.  It builds trust, because you are clearly placing all your cards on the table. 

One way to do this is to show your costs (if you legally can). That's right, open your books.  Your customers may be shocked to learn that you only gain a 10% net profit, which is standard for many contractors, and they will gladly pay it as a result.

When I was a landscape contractor I always shared the fact that 50% of the cost that went into our jobs was hidden – it was underground.  

Think about it.  An irrigation system is almost entirely underground. And so is the infrastructure of a wall or patio, and the root system of a locally grown tree.

What's underground in your business?

That's what you need to be sharing – with photos, videos, and expertly scripted sales presentations.

Human beings are both emotional and logical creatures. Sharing what is traditionally hidden makes you more likeable – and that makes an emotional connection with your prospect.

If the numbers that you then share are logical, you have a sale.

Period.

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Until tomorrow,  Jeff