7. Why Your Price Feels Expensive to Some People and Completely Fine to Others

In this episode, I’m talking about pricing for small business owners and why something can feel expensive to one person and completely fine to another. 

Using simple real-life examples (including a £300 cycle helmet and buying flowers), I explain why value is relative, and why lowering your prices isn’t always the answer. 

If you’ve ever thought “maybe I’m too expensive”, this will help you understand what’s actually going on and what to focus on instead.

Before we get into today's episode - my Big Girl Knickers Business Bootcamp is back and starting Monday 20th April. Four weeks of accountability, support and action to get your business properly back on track. The Facebook group is open now, payment plans are available, and if you're feeling flat - this is exactly what you need. Head to www.biggirlknickers.com to join us.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Welcome to the Girls Mean Business Podcast, where we share business and marketing tips, advice and trade secrets to help you raise your game and build your brilliant business. Get more clarity, more customers and more sales. Here to show you how.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Your host, Claire Mitchell. Hello, it's Claire from the Girls Meme Business, and I was thinking about you the other day after a conversation about pricing and how quickly we jumped to, oh, maybe I'm too expensive. And I don't think that's the problem most of the time. And I'll give you a couple of really normal examples of this. So a few years ago, a friend of mine, Kate, bought a cycle helmet and it cost£300. Now, when she told me that, I remember thinking, Blummyck,£300 for a helmet. But to Kate, it was a no-brainer because she is a mountain biker, like proper mountain bike biking, down mountains, over rocks, everything. She's a real daredevil. So for her, that helmet is about safety, it's about protecting yourself, doing something she loves. And also she likes the brand, which is more expensive, but she likes the brand, she trusts it, she knew it was good, so she didn't even think twice. Whereas, if you gave me that exact same 300 pound helmet, I'd see no value in it at all. Because I don't do mountain biking. I'm not about to throw myself down a mountain at 50 miles an hour ever. I'm just not that person. So I don't need it, I don't appreciate it, I don't see the value, I wouldn't use it. So for me, it's expensive, and not just expensive, it's irrelevant. But it's the same product and the same price, but different reactions from two different people in different situations, and you see this all the time, just in different ways. And here's another example. So I know a lot of florists, florists are amazing, um, but flowers are a really good example of how you can have different prices for different situations in different people. So even though I know loads of florists, sometimes when I'm in Morrisons or Sainsbury's, I will see some flowers for six pounds, from daffodils or tulips or freezers or whatever, and I'll just get them to put in the kitchen or my office just to brighten the place up. And I hadn't planned on buying them, it was just oh I'll get them, they're lovely. That's all I need. Now, other times I wouldn't dream of doing that because other times, if I want something special as a thank you gift or a gift for somebody who's going through a hard time, something special, I'll go to a florist and happily spend£40 to£60 without even thinking about it. They're just flowers, but it's completely different spend because the context and the situation is different, the purpose is different, what I want from it is different, and that happens in our business as well. It all depends who's looking at it and what's going on for them at the time. So when somebody says something is too expensive, it definitely does not mean that your price is wrong, that it's too high, it does not mean that. It might just mean that it's not relevant to them, they don't want it badly enough, it's not a priority for them, or they just don't see the value in it now or ever, because value is relative, it depends on how much somebody wants the thing and how clearly they can see what it will do for them. And you'll have loads of examples of this in your own life. There will be things that you happily spend money on that somebody else would never pay for, and there'll be things that other people buy without even thinking twice that would not enter your mind, you wouldn't even consider them. So it's not personal, it's not logical, and this is where people get stuck. They hear that's too expensive, or how much? A few times, and then they assume that that's a problem, so they lower the price, and then somebody else will still think it's too expensive because they were never the right person to begin with. For the wrong people, even your cheapest thing will be too expensive. For the right people, even your most expensive thing will feel like a no-brainer. So instead of just going straight to the number and thinking, oh, that's the problem, always look at who it's for. Because when something is clearly specifically for somebody and they can see why it matters, then the price is much less of an issue. The price doesn't even really come into it. Think about my friend with that 300 pound cycle helmet. She wasn't comparing it thinking, Oh, do I really need this? She was thinking this is exactly what I need. I'm going for this brand, it's 300 pounds, it's a no-brainer. Same with flowers. If it's just for my kitchen, six pounds is fine. If it's a gift that matters, then 40 to 60 pounds is fine. So if you're getting stuck in your pricing, don't always assume that you are too expensive and that you can't put your prices up because you can. Instead, ask who is this designed for? Who is it perfect for? Do they actually want this? Can they see why it matters and what it will do for them? Because when you get those things right, then the price takes care of itself. You are not trying to make your pricing work for everybody, you're trying to make it feel like a no-brainer for the right person, and that does not mean cheap. So if something feels expensive to one person, it doesn't mean it will to somebody else. It just means that you're looking at it from the wrong angle. Alright? So get really clear on your ideal customer. I call them super customers. Get really clear on them. Price for them. And understand that they are seeing the value, and the price is just a no-brainer. See you next time. Bye for now. That's it from the Girls Mean Business Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

Join us for even more stab tips, advice, interviews, and trade secrets to help you get more confidence, more clarity, more customers, and more sales. Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com forward slash the girls mean business and check out our website at www.thegirlsmeanbusiness.com. See you next time.