Many small businesses struggle to become the number one choice for their clientele in today’s highly competitive era. When you face yourself with the reality of price war, clients are willing to choose the cheapest service providers even when you are aware that your prices mirror the quality and extras you provide your customers. Chances are your website and paid adverts only contribute very little to your success. What to do then? Here are some tips for you to thrive.
You want more clients, and have been doing your best to get more, right? But you feel kind of burnt out, since all your adverts, websites, and social media business platforms could not yield the desired results and bring in enough clients. Chances are, a myriad of people offering similar services to you, and the market is highly saturated in the field you have been working in successfully for a decade even, or just starting your fresh marketing business.
Demand and Supply Gap
If you have been pondering about raising your prices for a while, you could question yourself. Fine, you feel ready to ask for more money and willing to put more effort into your services. But many others offer something very similar, so why could you be the one they would pick? Especially in countries where low prices are the first-factor choice… To understand every aspect of this, you need to understand the market you are offering services for.
The golden rule of each market is that the needs of demand always meet the needs of supply. The balance between the two is continually oscillating, it is always on the move. So how could the market help your venture succeed? You can achieve the best results when the supply is low and you don’t have many competitors, but at the same time, the demand for your services is high. In this situation, the prices increase automatically and you can have a better position.
Even though this would be the most ideal environment for your business to strive for, you have to realize that our current state is quite the opposite worldwide. There’s a higher supply and lower demand for services these days. The number of competitors has reached an absolute high in our history. The problem is that the supply doesn’t mirror this tendency, so there could be a lot more service providers in a given field than interested clients.
The Market Thinks Differently
Don’t forget the market thinks differently than you and it could pose a real problem to your business. Even if you are convinced that you offer amazing, high-quality services that your clients need. If your clients don’t see it the same way, you could lose out. You need to feel the importance of this controversy and realize that the market should feel like they need your services, not vice versa. You perhaps rightfully feel you could help a lot more people…
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
But if the clients cannot see this, the demand for your services will remain low. Right now the supply is extremely high, but the demand is very low in comparison. What can you do under such hard market circumstances? It can be pretty hard to become a number one choice for your ideal clients. What do you think still makes some high-end, limited, and expensive products still sought after? The limited supply they control.
And what would happen if they manufactured more of their limited luxury products? The supply (kínálat) would increase and the demand couldn’t keep up with it. When supply is increasing it reduces the prices. But when supply is tactically reduced, the pricing can go up for some luxury goods. So, the manufacturers shouldn’t sell more of these products for a higher profit. Because this is not the way the market operates.
Your Business Services versus Limited Products
The market reacts to the supply, and the supply reacts to the demand. People tend to fight for scarcely available luxury objects, even more so, if it is hard for them to reach them. When their sense of scarcity kicks in, they want their desired objects even more! On the contrary, if you are providing an average, high-value service at an average price, and you are highly available, you are likely not going to attract more clients.
You would only seem a low-value and unserious service provider with a cheap price who needs to work endless hours. So offering very low prices can sabotage your supply. You can see, the market is not a separate, independent entity from you, but you can influence what is happening there. The best example is the market for diamonds. Diamonds don’t cost a fortune because there are only a very few of them, but because very few of them are showcased in the market.
Diamond traders control the market all the time by putting out only so many diamonds as the demand requires. This is their strategy to keep diamond prices high. Everyone can control the market, even you! Chances are that your products or services are valuable as well, perhaps you even offer a more tangible value than diamonds ever could, by changing your clients’ life. Then why don’t they want to offer a higher price and queue up for your services?
Can You Get Ahead of Your Competition?
You cannot influence your competitors, they are annoyingly present as well, and their numbers are ever-increasing. Some of them significantly decrease their prices, taking away your potential clientele. What can you still do to control the demand? Let’s assume you are a psychologist. If you step into the market advertising yourself as a general psychologist, you will have to compete with millions of other professionals.
Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash
But by specializing to help abused women only, for instance, you not only filtered your clientele but also opened a new category for yourself in which there is no competition. If you are smart, you can be the number one service provider in your field of specialty! You perhaps start worrying to make the first move in this direction because you think people need general psychologists. It couldn’t be further from the truth!
All of us take certain services and buy specific products to find a solution to our problems and desires. We are always seeking what could help us. When we are looking for a psychologist, we are directly looking for a solution to our specific problem as opposed to a psychologist, which is secondary in our mind. In case of an abusive relationship, these are the keywords I am going to look for in Google, as opposed to the word psychologist. The same applies to social media.
How to Address Your Clientele
By being very specific, and following the above-mentioned example, your clients can find you sooner! Open your specific category, position yourself well, and find your ideal clientele! This could be your solution if you don’t want to compete with the crowds… It can be a win-win, as you get to serve your ideal clientele more effortlessly, and they will think of you in return if they need an excellent professional!!
Follow our WhatsApp channel