If you’re struggling in your Northern Virginia business, and not getting the traction you need, I have a quick thought for you today.
Struggling Northern Virginia Businesses Should Be Careful With Price Reductions
“Despite your best efforts, not everyone wants to be helped. Make a difference where you can and be at peace with the rest.” -Gary Hopkins
It can be tempting for Northern Virginia businesses to believe that pricing is the primary factor that could be causing problems in their business.
We might hear consumers say, “Well, I would buy it if it were in my price range.” And, that idea tempts many business owners to lower their prices–just to sell more products.
But price reductions more often create more problems than they solve for a business.
That’s because they:
* Decrease net profits
* Lead to the purchase of lower-quality products
* Increase customer demands to drop the price even lower!
* Require even more sales to make up the difference in revenue
* Need a larger quantity of products
And, in the end, there will always be someone willing to go out of business faster than you.
Remember this: price is not a benefit. The close of a sale is not determined by the cost of your product. If you truly “sell” your customers and prospects, they will purchase your products/services no matter what price you determine.
That’s the plain truth — and you’ve probably seen it in your own purchase patterns.
If a customer or prospect doesn’t buy — and they claim the cost had something to do with it — you can guess they probably wouldn’t have purchased anyway.
As a small business owner, and marketer, your job is to sell your products and services. But the actual art of marketing and selling doesn’t have to do with the price of the product.
By the time your contacts find out about the price, they should be determined to purchase no matter what the cost.
So, find “real” benefits (value) to sell to your customers and prospects. Help them to see how great their life is with your product or service, and you’ve got a customer. Point out their current pain properly, and your contact will do anything to get rid of it.
Set your prices and hold fast. If you’ve marketed correctly, you will still have customers anxious to do business with you.
Price gouging is a horrible thing — but, really, that’s a bogeyman that lives more in our heads than in real life.
Charge your worth. You deserve it.
Warmly,
Ann Lucas-Holmes
(540) 479-1745
Business Resource Bookkeeping, LLC