Three Easy Ways to Beat Low Price Competition

We've all dealt with competitors that undercut our prices. It's a fact of life and it won't go away if we ignore it. And (usually) matching or beating their lower prices does not solve the problem. It just starts price wars and sets the focus more on price than before.

Here are a few tips to help you keep the focus off price and put it where it should be:

Help your customer get what they want.

1. Label your competition

Use true but unflattering

labels to position your competition as a less desirable vendor than your

company. For instance, a larger

competitor might be headquartered in another state or country. If your prospect

values doing business locally, you label your big competitor as “that out of

state” company. If you have a smaller competitor that works out of their home, maybe you label them as a "home business".

The purpose here is not to "slam" your competition (even though they might deserve it!). Your purpose is to position your company as a better choice in the eyes of your prospect or customer. Your true but unflattering label should bring to the surface information or traits about your competition that your prospect might find undesirable.

Remember, the customer buys based on their perception. They will develop a perception of you and your competition one way or another. You can influence their perception by labeling your competition.

2. Educate your prospect

The more you help them

understand about the service or product they’re buying, the better decision

they can make. Find ways to educate them. People often pick a lower priced product or service because they

can’t see the differences. Show them the differences by educating them.

Some ways to educate them:

• Non-selling articles and white papers
  
• Seminars
  
• Tests, research, reports
  
• Demonstrations
• Tours of your facilities

Be careful that your educating efforts are not thinly disguised sales efforts. People know the difference. When you offer to educate but you try to sell instead, you chase people away. They will not trust you because you've misled them. Don't sell when you're trying to educate!

3. Deliver a better experience

The experience your customer

has with you and your company matters more than price. Make sure your company

is doing everything right and make sure you know what they want from you. Find out by asking them. Ask, listen and

repeat until you are 100% certain you know (and they know) what they want. Then

tell them what you can do for them and how it helps them get what they want.

Delivering a better

experience means doing what your customers want and expect and more.

Meet their

expectations and then go beyond them. Surprise them in a good way. It doesn’t

mean being crazy or zany. It means helping them get what they want and then

some. It means helping them discover what they want. It means showing them you

want to help them and you can help them better than anyone else.

You won't always win with a higher price. Sometimes people really do want the lowest price. That's okay. If you offer more than low price then you want customers who value more than a low price.

Most people who say they want a low price are really saying:

"I want what I want, but at the lowest price I can get."

That's different than offering them the lowest price. Because the absolute lowest price product or service provider might not offer them exactly what they want.

Help your customers get what they want, all day every day. Do that and you make your low price competitors irrelevant. You take them out of the game. They become someone else's problem.