I've been using St. Ives facial scrub for years. I know, that's perhaps not the most "manly" thing I've started a blog post with, but it is what it is (a girlfriend introduced me to it a long time ago - get over it :)
My wife who does the shopping noticed that it was running us about $4-$5 at the store and felt that was a little high. She poked around the "soap aisle" at the grocery store and found they had a few generic store brands that were virtually the same - all offered at about $2 cheaper.
She let me know that she felt the current price was a bit high, that we could get it for about 1/2 as much and that she didn't feel there was much of a difference. Hmm, I don't often like to tinker with things that "aren't broken" but in examining both soaps, she didn't perceive any difference in quality so I decided try one of the generic brands.
My wife was right, I didn't see much of a difference (other than the packaging wasn't quite as nice - who cares?), it didn't feel any different, smell any different or work any different. All of these things made my decision pretty easy - I switched.
I hear about this a lot from other freelancers when it comes to them working with a client one month and all of a sudden they are working with someone else. The products are different, but the same story is probably unfolding as my example above.
Here's the run down:
- One of the clients/buyers recognized that we were paying a lot for a good/service.
- That same client/buyer took note that there were other options available. Those options looked fairly comparable to the current option.
- The clients/buyers discussed the higher cost and the alternative available options
- The clients/buyers decide that the risk of trying an alternative option isn't that great, so they decide to give one of them a shot.
- Upon trying the new option the clients/buyers don't feel or perceive any difference in quality, performance etc.
- The clients/buyers enjoy the cost savings and decide to permanently switch to the new option
The bottom line is that if your clients can't feel, see or perceive any difference between you and other freelancers out there, they'll eventually gravitate to using the cheapest option. How can you differentiate your service versus other freelancers?
Told you I'd be able to relate face scrub back to freelancing!
PS - If you found this helpful you might want to take a peek at my Being a Starving Artist Sucks book's table of contents, it's jammed with info like this.Thanks to Gwen who wrote me, "...What I’ve read so far has been great, affirming, and has already bolstered my confidence. Thanks for writing them!" Thank you Gwen, remember if you have questions, I am here to help.
It astounds me the number of small business owners
(including creative freelancers like designers, photographers, etc) that I've
met either through business or personal relationships that assume that I would
be clamoring to get on their business newsletter.
I saw Pizza Hut's now offering pasta - sounds interesting...







