There I was in Starbucks, not 20 minutes ago, walking over to a table to sit down.
In my left hand I held a $1.65 cup of black, French Roast coffee. In my right hand I held a $10.95, 16 ounce bag of French Roast coffee.
Pretty dumb if you ask me. After all, the pound of coffee will probably lead to 60 cups in my office over the next month or two. I’m no math genius, but that comes out to about 18 cents a cup.
So how is it possible that they can get me to spend nine times as much on a cup as on a bag (at the exact same moment, no less) when I have a demonstrated ability to brew it up on my own?
You know the answer: Convenience, comfy chairs, a home away from home, a chance to run into other people in town, nice music, etc.
If you think your prices are the reason more clients aren’t hiring you, I’d like to suggest that you’re looking in the wrong place. Figure out how to make the experience easier/faster/less risky… nicer (!!), and maybe they’ll pay you nine times what it costs to do it themselves as well.
So true Michael! I used to drill this into the heads of my crew at the pub I owned. The reason people were willing to pay 4, 5, 10 times as much for a drink in my place as they would at the liquor store down the street is that the DRINK was not the product. The product we were really selling was atmosphere, company, conversation, the sparkling personalities of our staff, camaraderie with other patrons etc.
Now I try to focus my new crew (including one former bartender) on the fact that our product isn’t an email newsletter or Facebook post but the knowledge behind it, the ability not to worry about it and the trust that it will get done & right.
Nicely put, Ruth!!