What Does "Too Expensive" Mean?

More often than not, proprietors will lower their prices to attract customers. Of course, what follows is, other proprietors will do the same following each other down the ladder of “price absurdity.

In fact I have seen whole cities that, traditionally, offer league bowlers a lower price in the summer than in the winter?  Great, now tell me why I am paying more in the fall??

But rarely does too expensive mean “I can’t afford it”.  What it really means is: “it is not worth it or “I see no value for the money I am giving you.”

It is hard for me to justify why I should pay a proprietor who has not invested in his business and has a bowling center that was new in 1980, but looks like my Father's Oldsmobile today!

Why should I pay you $14.95 (for 2 hours of bowling) for your old cosmic show when Happy Lanes about 3 miles away has an upgraded center, modern equipment, great food and stellar service at just $3 bucks more?

Sure you say, more people will save the $3 and go to the old center. Maybe so, but the folks who go to the old center aren’t the new center’s customers anyway.

You see the problem with cutting prices is you get the wrong customers. You get the PITA customer (the Pain In The Ass customer) who abuses your staff, makes a mess of your center and expects everything for free or next to nothing. If you really want that customer, then have at it.  But don’t expect that customer to keep you in business.  In fact, that customer is the reason you cannot reinvest in your business, stay competitive and do the things necessary , in the 21st century, to grow your customer base and bring back exisiting customers.

What you really want is the customer that says, “I’m paying more because it’s worth it.”  The real issue here is to get past the mindset that “everyone is your customer” when in reality the customer you want is the one who values your product and sees your price as a good value and “worth it.”

You don’t need everyone to buy from you. You really don’t.

Unless your center still looks and feels like my Father’s Oldsmobile.