For years I have held a strong belief that the most dangerous rival of all is not one of our competitors winning the business instead of us.
Instead, our greatest competition comes from inaction; prospects deciding to stay with the status quo, not hire anyone, or delay the initiative altogether. Far too often, we lose the business to “doing nothing” rather than our competitive rivals. It takes a VERY compelling reason to sway prospects in these types of situations and all too frequently the price card comes into play as that compelling reason.
That makes it more tempting than ever for product/service providers to gain market share through a willingness to dramatically lower the price point. I call that the “me too for less” pricing strategy and it is NOT an effective approach in most cases. All you need to win in that game is a sharper pencil than the next firm.
So how do we combat the formidable competition of inaction and grow our business in highly competitive times especially if we have "me too for less" competition popping up that are willing to BUY the business?
As stated above, lowering your price might help… in some cases… for the short term; but it’s a dangerous strategy at best. In many industries the main driver isn’t price anyway; because the customer simply may not be willing to spend regardless of the “deal” being offered. Once the “Lower Price” genie is out of the bottle it is VERY difficult to get in back.
I wish there was an easy answer to the threat of “doing nothing” because, in my industry at least, we’ve been going up against this adversary for years. The best solution I have found is to hone in on the position you desire in your market, and commit completely to owning that space.
Get crystal clear on your organization’s strengths and competitive advantages and make sure everyone in your organization is aligned to your value proposition. As Simon Sinek wrote in “Start With Why” you need to get clear and communicate why you are in business ahead of the what and how.
Then go out and work your butt off. It isn’t glamorous, but it is effective. I have found that while “doing nothing” is a tough competitor, enticing change by lowering pricing is perpetually plagued by low levels of customer loyalty. The solution, regardless of how "unsexy" it may be, is to just keep working hard at selling and then serving your clients the right way.
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