I went to the farmers market in Eau Claire recently with the specific purpose of buying pork chops from my favorite pork chop vendor. Those chops are so flavorful that once I had eaten them nothing else compares. I made a point to get there early so that the vendor would have pork chops available. Happy to find them, I purchased the chops and moved down the line, wondering if I could find some hamburger since my freezer stock of it was almost out. At the opposite end of the facility, I discovered a beef vendor. The guy was leaning against his truck. On the card table in front of him, he had spread information about his operation, a price list, and a question of the day on an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper. The question was “How will the drought affect beef prices?”
I wasn‘t there to debate future prices and ignored the question, at least temporarily. “I would like to buy some hamburger,” I offered.
“I don’t have any left,” he replied. “I brought some preorders this morning, and the hamburger is gone. The steak is, too.”
Great! I thought. The two items that interested me are sold out!
Now my marketing and business consultant kicked in. “Didn’t you bring any extra?” I questioned.
“I did,” he responded, “but not enough. What I had went quickly.”
I thought that I had come early, but I wasn’t early enough to buy his beef.
At this point I was tempted to volunteer that he could ask me to preorder for next week, that he could have a card to give me, that he would be wise to mark “sold out” next to the hamburger and steak on his price list, and that he would sell more if he engaged his customers rather than leaning against his truck, but I held myself back. I assumed that he had learned his lesson about not bringing enough product but, then again, maybe not.
What really irritated me, however, was the question of the day. I wanted to give him a lecture on explaining the price when you are not making an effort to sell. Price was not his problem. Lack of knowledge of how to market was his problem. Lack of inventory was his problem. Lack of presentation of his product and himself was his problem.
Like many business people, this guy probably worries about price and customers’ resistance to it. On his price list, he gave one pound of hamburger free if you bought six pounds. Why did he do that? He didn’t need to make that offer. All he was doing was losing money, not encouraging a larger purchase. Perhaps that was why he didn't have any left! What he didn’t realize was that profitable customers will not haggle on price. Profitable customers buy for reasons other than price.
Whenever you are tempted to worry about price, stop and ask yourself, “Why do my profitable customers do business with my company?” If you don’t know the answer, ask a profitable customer. Once you have the answer, focus your marketing presentations and communications on it, not on price.
I wasn‘t there to debate future prices and ignored the question, at least temporarily. “I would like to buy some hamburger,” I offered.
“I don’t have any left,” he replied. “I brought some preorders this morning, and the hamburger is gone. The steak is, too.”
Great! I thought. The two items that interested me are sold out!
Now my marketing and business consultant kicked in. “Didn’t you bring any extra?” I questioned.
“I did,” he responded, “but not enough. What I had went quickly.”
I thought that I had come early, but I wasn’t early enough to buy his beef.
At this point I was tempted to volunteer that he could ask me to preorder for next week, that he could have a card to give me, that he would be wise to mark “sold out” next to the hamburger and steak on his price list, and that he would sell more if he engaged his customers rather than leaning against his truck, but I held myself back. I assumed that he had learned his lesson about not bringing enough product but, then again, maybe not.
What really irritated me, however, was the question of the day. I wanted to give him a lecture on explaining the price when you are not making an effort to sell. Price was not his problem. Lack of knowledge of how to market was his problem. Lack of inventory was his problem. Lack of presentation of his product and himself was his problem.
Like many business people, this guy probably worries about price and customers’ resistance to it. On his price list, he gave one pound of hamburger free if you bought six pounds. Why did he do that? He didn’t need to make that offer. All he was doing was losing money, not encouraging a larger purchase. Perhaps that was why he didn't have any left! What he didn’t realize was that profitable customers will not haggle on price. Profitable customers buy for reasons other than price.
Whenever you are tempted to worry about price, stop and ask yourself, “Why do my profitable customers do business with my company?” If you don’t know the answer, ask a profitable customer. Once you have the answer, focus your marketing presentations and communications on it, not on price.
No comments:
Post a Comment