In my recent survey of over 100 business owners, I asked them to agree or disagree with the following statement. 

We are priced significantly higher than our competitors. 

The results showed an almost perfect “bell curve,” with a slight tilt toward agreeing.

Which brings up the question, “How do we know what our competitors are charging? On what basis are we answering this question?”

Sure, if you offer web design services, there’s a “market rate” for web designers, and you could see where you stand versus that number.

But hopefully what you offer is somehow different from each of the firms that make up that market rate, right?

There are reasons why your clients are more likely to choose you than another competitor — your expertise, your process, your track record, your case studies, the list goes on and on.

What’s on that list for your firm? What are the reasons your clients choose you instead of a competitor? What makes you different? Write that list out — go ahead — I’ll wait. (Please, don’t say, “we’re cheaper.”)

The more significant those reasons are to your customer, and the bigger the differences are from your competitors, the more you can charge differently from the “market.” So go down that list, how much do those differences matter to your ideal customer? How credibly can you demonstrate those differences to that perfect client? 

The bigger the differences and the more credibly you can assert them, the more you can charge.

More on this on Thursday…