For years, I have been to meeting after meeting like this one for the Atlanta ASMP chapter, and the main topic is usually business practices.
I have written extensively on the subject and realize that all this talk is meant to help the artist, not the public. The public doesn’t care anymore about how much it costs you to take photos or a video than they do about how the sausage is made. If the quality is excellent and the service is good, then they buy it. They even become repeat customers.
Almost everything I see about justifying pricing has more to do with educating a skilled artisan than with business sense.
There is always someone cheaper.
However, one thing in business that many miss is that some intentionally price their products as high as possible.
The goal is to create the perception that the products must have greater value than competing products, even though their prices are higher.
You may think that is wrong, yet on the flip side, when you price low, you diminish the value of your work just as much.
I am a strong proponent of premium pricing for service-based business owners. I think it is better for you as the business owner, and I know it allows you to provide the best possible service to your clients.
You need to understand not just your spreadsheets of costs and time, but the psychology of buying.
No matter what you are selling, buying is an emotional decision.
As a service provider, you will make a much better living by doing your best for your customers and providing the best service and product.
When you do this, you must learn to name your products correctly to communicate their value. Just as a writer of good fiction picks the names of their characters, you should spend as much time with the name of your product.
Business is more than knowing the “Cost of Doing Business.” It is the art and psychology of selling.
Now, the most significant flaw to this plan is if your work is the same as others, then you will appear to be a commodity, and then it is a race to the bottom for pricing.
Learn to be a craftsman of your trade. Learn to be a “service provider” who thinks of everything for your customer.
Go the extra mile
If your product and attitude look and feel the same as others’, you will struggle for the rest of your life.