Competing on price is sometimes the black sheep of the marketing family.
You can’t ignore price competition - and sometimes you should engage it !
Clients say "give us . . .”
- predictable fees
- controllable fees
- a clear understanding of basis for your charges
- a relationship between your fees and our commercial outcomes
- real disbursements only and at realistic costs
- accountability.
Making sensible pricing decisions starts with a clear understanding of your costs:
- fixed costs
- variable costs
- opportunity costs.
Do you . . . ?
- understand - really understand - your cost of production
- listen (really listen) to your clients and how they see price
- take time to distinguish between clients concerns about the structure of your pricing and fee quantum
- remain flexible and open to new pricing ideas
- think and talk about pricing
- frame price in terms of value
- articulate the value or benefits delivered in return for the price charged
- experiment with models linking prices to client perceptions of value.
Remember, it’s perfectly respectable for good clients to care about price.
|
