Your branding is your promise to your customers. It tells them what to expect. Below are some tips on how to go about this:
1. Pricing: A well-branded product will naturally attract the highest prices for its class because people expect that in relation to its branding. As a new entrepreneur, you tend to price your services and products too low. This is especially so if there are no industry guidelines for pricing – simply find out what the competition is charging and offering, then position yourself thereabouts.
While competitor prices should be taken into consideration when communicating your offering, you can justify a higher price if you are offering more value than your competitor, or a much lower price if you have a technology that makes your production process so much cheaper. Either way, you need not feel uncomfortable about your pricing, as long as you have a justification in place.
2. Set your prices high enough so you can offer more: Clients are increasingly demanding. With growing competition, it is necessary to offer your clients more value for their money. This will mean an extra cost, however small. Your prices should be high enough so you can over-deliver without feeling resentful. You will still need to be creative about coming up with services and packages that keep your clients attracted to you.
3. Do not price yourself too high: If you price yourself too high you will continually be apologizing for your pricing and giving inconsistent discounts. If you cannot justify your prices then review them down to a pricing level you can confidently defend. Often, you may not need to do a downward revision exercise if your offering is good.
4. Communicate your prices publicly: Communicate your prices publicly to make this vital aspect of your product or service clear upfront. The most public way to do this consistently is through channels you can control – mainly your website. By doing this, everyone knows what to expect when they come to you. You are being transparent and clients like this. Your other marketing tools should do the same.
5. Use the right language: Language used to market a high-quality product will not be the same as that used when marketing a lower quality product. The language will influence which client is drawn to your product and which one is not. In the maize meal example below – both from the same company – it is easy to see which product is targeted to the high-end consumer and which is not. This is simply based on the language used on the packaging. You do not have to experience the product to know which to choose. If you are saying, a cost-conscious manual worker in a calorie-burning job, and which to pick if you are a health-conscious office worker with a budget to spare.
Premium flour – High priced |
1st grade priced – industry average price |
As you experience the product, you may change your mind. It is important to note that both products are packaged in the same material and are of the same quantity, however, the quality is reflected in the design and wording.
6. Have a system to collect payments: Your system of collecting payments should not make you feel awkward or apologetic vis-a-vis the client. If you collect payment and cannot confidently say when you will offer a product or service, there is a problem. Using technology will not only allow you to improve on your efficiency but will also reflect positively on the quality of service the client experiences.
For example, if you require deposits or upfront payments, a system that immediately informs the client of the next payment and when the job will be done, as well as sticks to the promised schedule, makes a client comfortable with paying extra compared to one that occasions delays or leaves a client with questions. This may be documented e.g. indicated in a receipt, or inferred, as in the ability of your representative to give reliable information at the shopfront.
7. Create service prototypes: This helps you come up with a service portfolio that is tailored to the target client before settling on packages. Sometimes, the assumption that we know our clients can cause us to have blind spots in the range of services we offer. The growth of data services from social media behavior has helped companies figure out associations that may not be obvious. Working with different service prototypes can also help you confirm which services to offer together that would be cost-effective and increase sales.
See you tomorrow as we talk about marketing off and online…
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