While shopping for a pair of winter shoes recently, the ones that I liked most ranged from $99 to $199. All of these shoes looked good and all were comfortable. Which one to choose?
Most of these shoes had only a simple price tag attached. But one pair had a twelve-page booklet attached which described how the shoes were made. These were the shoes I bought (for $179).
When a customer asks something like, “What’s your price to do four business headshots?”, this is a good indication that the customer is shopping price. This is not the time for a photographer to act like a price tag. Instead the photographer should be a booklet of information.
Rather than simply answering with, “the price is $900 plus tax,” the photographer might better respond with:
“Business portraits are a great way to connect with your customers. The classic style of business portrait photography is . . . Your choice of backgrounds can include . . . Poses can include . . . Recommended types of clothing are . . . Proofs will be ready in . . . Finished pictures will include . . . Delivery will be . . . From past experience, I suggest that . . . (etc).”
Only after a full description of how the photographer plans to do the requested work should the price be mentioned. Otherwise, just stating a price will leave the customer making assumptions about what they might be getting.
Every contact with a customer is a marketing opportunity. When a photographer acts like a simple price tag, the client will only see a number. This encourages the customer to shop price.
But when a photographer offers information and perhaps even answers customer questions before they’re asked, the customer can really see what they’re getting. Hopefully then the client will shop value more than price.
