How To Win Customers Even In Bad Times
Are you feeling the recession blues yet?
Many are. And if you look around you, companies every week is short of cash.
Everything is being cut back.
Competition is greater than ever. But customers are getting lesser. How?
Michael Masterson teaches that a good strategy – an evergreen one at that – is to under-price your competition.
For the cost conscious clients, cash is king. If you can fulfill the same service but at a lower price than your competitors, you are bound to seen as attractive.
Personally, I found that to be true. But price shouldn’t be the only focus.
It’s also about delivering well on your service. And to stress the value of your service is much more higher than the price you charge. So your customer will feel that they gotten a great deal.
I say don’t shortchange yourself. Go ahead to under-charge if you need to. But over-deliver. And let the client know that.
If you charge $1, let them know you are delivering $10 in value. Your clients are happy. And that can be a good start to a long term relationship. Everyone profits.
I leave you to enjoy the article by Paul Lawrence below. It’s a good read for businessmen everywhere.
"However valuable your product is… however clever your marketing… nothing will grow your customer base faster than under-pricing the competition."
- Michael Masterson
A Tried-and-True Recession-Busting Strategy for Winning Customers
No matter what kind of business you run, I have a secret that can help you make money even while the recession has your clients’ wallets shut tight.
To tell you the truth, this secret is a good way to make money any time.
Andrew Carnegie, Marshall Field, Sam Walton, and Henry Ford are among the mega-wealthy who put this strategy to work.
As Michael Masterson has pointed out, it is "behind many – if not most – of America’s greatest fortunes." In fact, says Michael, "It may be the most important secret a businessman can know, for it is the most powerful and most reliable way to make a small business grow."
But many businessmen are afraid of this strategy… and many others simply overlook it.
I’m talking about undercutting the competition.
Andrew Carnegie was able to produce steel cheaply. Marshall Field cut the price of retail shopping. Sam Walton’s Wal-Mart started offering food, clothing, and other goods at rock-bottom prices. Henry Ford made automobiles that the average Joe could afford. All of these men went on to make massive fortunes.
Under-pricing your competition is an exceptionally effective way to rake in profits during lean times.
An interesting article in the Orlando Sentinel recently reported on a number of businesses that have been booming during the recession. Now when you think of "recession-proof" businesses, credit repair services and pawnshops are likely to come to mind. But the Sentinel mentioned several "atypical" businesses that are doing well, including a bank, a restaurant, and an advertising agency.
They are all very different kinds of businesses, but they have something in common: Their focus is on saving their customers money.
Even during a recession, there are some goods and services that people must buy. And if you can save your customers money while giving them what they need, you can make a bundle.
Here’s how to use this undercutting strategy for your business:
- Survey the competition and determine if you can offer the same value for less.
Many small businesses do not even consider charging less for their products and services, no matter what their competition is doing. They settle on a certain price, because they figure that is what it "should" be. And if the economy changes and times get tough, they don’t consider lowering their price, because that’s what they’ve always charged. (Mom-and-pop operations are often guilty of this.)
One of the first successful small businesses I began was a swimming pool maintenance company. When I surveyed what my competitors were charging and calculated my costs, I saw ample room for charging less. Back then, monthly pool service was going for around $45-$50. But I figured out that if I used part-time workers and kept my overhead very low I could charge only $35 and still make a decent profit. When I began promoting my service at that price, I immediately signed up quite a few customers.
I’ve used the same strategy to start other businesses. When, for example, I went into ballroom dance instruction, most studios were charging $60 per hour. But I realized that I didn’t need a studio of my own. By renting space by the hour and also giving private lessons in my clients’ homes, I could charge just $30 an hour. That made dance lessons very affordable for many people who really wanted them, but couldn’t (or didn’t want to) pay $60.
- Make sure your customers know that the quality will still be there.
Many small businesses have extra "fat" they can trim in order to cut their prices. But before you try to use this strategy to steal market share from your competitors, you have to make sure you can deliver the same quality for the lower price.
The first thing people will worry about when they see your bargain price is that they’ll be getting less in terms of quality and/or service. And if you can’t deliver, your customers will quickly leave you. One way to reassure them is to itemize everything they’ll be getting for the price so they can compare it to what your competitors are offering. (That’s what I did with the swimming pool business.) You should also offer a money-back guarantee. That is a good way to make your customers feel confident that you will offer high-quality products and services.
Undercutting your competitor’s prices is an admittedly aggressive strategy. But the business world is a harsh one… especially in this economy. If you want to prosper, you’ve got to be "Street Smart."
[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence is a successful entrepreneur who's started over a dozen profitable small businesses. For more information on Paul's "Street Smart" business program, click right here.
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As usual, let me know what you think.
All success,
Jag Foo
[tags]business, customers[/tags]
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