Why do people shop at dollar stores? Is it for the customer service, the wonderful store ambience or the quality of the products? Of course not. It’s only because of the prices.
Why do people buy coffee at Starbucks? Is it for the customer service, the wonderful store ambience or the quality of the products? It’s certainly not because of the prices.
Consumers choose to shop at a particular store for a variety of reasons and price is not often the primary motivator. Instead, customers search for the best value for their money. Value is always in the eye of the buyer, not the seller.
If you think your customers shop only by price then you may have no choice but to compete on price. This becomes a downhill race unless you can sell a huge volume of product to compensate for the low prices.
But a professional photographer can’t work by volume since there are only so many hours in a day. A photography business is not scalable. So a photographer has to change their strategy so that price is not the top priority.
If the first page on a photographer’s web site is about price, then that photographer is encouraging customers to shop price. From that moment, it’s a losing proposition.
A photographer must sell something other than price. They have to convince the customer that they are the best solution to the customer’s photo needs.
“We are experienced portrait photographers” – won’t win much attention because every photographer says that.
“We have the lowest prices in town” – is meaningless and encourages the customer to shop price.
Both of those statements are about the photographer. Instead, speak to the customer’s concerns.
“A polished business portrait gives you a professional edge” – reassures the customer.
“Photography done right the first time” – lowers risk to the customer.
When a photographer talks to a customer about what matters most to that customer, price will no longer be the main topic of conversation.
