If you discount, they will come (to expect discounts every time) and they will tell their friends!

Bev

Groupons were such a huge thing years ago. 

And many people sold them...and bought them. Our daughter purchased one to a nail salon where she could get a manicure and pedicure for a very low price. What happened? She received what she paid for, BUT the experience was terrible. The business that sold them needed to slash the typical niceties and do a very pared-down version...and it was disappointing to say the least.

What should have been a nice afternoon of pampering turned into a stressful and unpleasant experience.

If you think about it, what damage did this do to the nail salon's reputation and future business?

It likely took years to gain back what they lost in the area of their reputation on top of the money they thought they would make, but probably lost as Groupon often takes half of the money of a coupon offer for itself, and, with a 50% discount, leaves the business selling its goods for 25 cents on the dollar.

Excerpt from our podcast, The f-Stops Here: 

And so I think there are a ton of photographers out there who do the big things really well. 

But there are only a handful that mix in the little things and finesse that art to the next level. 

That's part of what people are paying for. 

We don't want restrictions on the back end. I don't want to pick cheaper papers, I don't want to go with cheaper artwork and retouching. I don't want to start cutting corners.

I want to give people what they pay for plus a little more. 

So no matter what we charge for a piece of art, I know in my heart that it's worth every penny that we're charging and at times, it's worth more than that because we're doing things maybe we didn't expect to do, but I'm not going to deliver something inferior with our name on it. 

-Tim

We have a price for our portraits and we do not discount it. 

We decided long ago to structure our business as a luxury business. Every decision we made reflected that. Every word we said, every experience we provided, every part of our business shouted it. 

Discounts will destroy a luxury business and the perception of success.

What we decided to do instead was to add value by providing extraordinary service, pampering, products and experience.

We offer only the BEST, highest quality products. We spend hours perfecting each order. 

It is a labor of love.

And we deliver what we promise.

All of this extra effort adds great value to our portrait work. And our clients know it.

So, the next time you are tempted to discount, think twice. Find creative ways to get clients through your door who will be fantastic future clients who come to you for the right reasons.

What are the right reasons? They love you and what you do. When that happens, they will pay what you ask and drive however far they need to in order to be your client:-)

They don't come to you based on your price being the lowest or you have a convenient location. 

This will save you a lot of heartache in the longrun.

"For every reason it’s not possible, there are hundreds of people who have faced the same circumstances and succeeded."        -Jack Canfield