If one photographer quotes $150 for a business portrait and another photographer quotes $800, which of them will win the customer’s business? Despite the obvious price difference, it’s not obvious which photographer the customer will choose.
There are two types of customer: the price shopper and the value buyer. Although it’s common for some folks to alternate between the two, for example: be a price shopper when buying groceries and be a value buyer when shopping for clothes.
Some people will always choose the low-price option. These customers are price shoppers and they care only about cost. What they pay is more important than what they get.
Price shoppers are not repeat customers because they can get cheap photography anywhere since cheap photography is nothing special. A photographer can’t win with these customers unless they keep their prices low and lower.
But for many consumers, value, not price, is the determining factor when making a purchase. Value buyers understand that what they get is more important than what they pay. (When you get more than what you pay, it’s called an “investment”.) These consumers are a photographer’s ideal customer because value buyers are repeat customers.
This is not to say that value buyers don’t care about price. Before making a purchase, value buyers will always ask themselves, “Why is there a price difference?”. If the more expensive option has more value to the buyer then price is just a detail.
To win over the value buyer, a photographer must somehow provide more value than the low-priced photographer. Remember that value is in the eye of the customer, not the photographer. A photographer has to sell themselves as the solution to their customers’ “problems.” Then the photographer has to frame this solution as an investment.
To avoid price shoppers, a photographer should stay away from the “price problem.” As soon as a photographer uses a phrase like “Lowest price in town”, “Best prices” or “Starting at $99”, the price shopping will begin. And it’s downhill from there.
So what “problems” do corporate value buyers have?
1) Lack of time. Everyone’s in a rush. The project deadline is always yesterday.
2) The need for photography that will properly serve their business.
3) The need for a trustworthy and knowledgeable photographer who can provide the right level of service.
Marketing corporate photography without addressing any of these issues will risk the photographer being put into the commodity bin where lowest price wins.
When marketing their photography, a photographer has to stop thinking only about their pictures and start thinking about customer value.
When a photographer talks price, they’re talking about themselves. When a photographer talks value, they’re talking about the customer.
