DON’T #2- Discounting to Stay Competitive

Unless you plan on being the cheapest in town, and thus run your business into the ground, don’t even think about competing on price.

Franchise Lash Business Insight: Just because you see an “amazing lash place” offering $79 for a full set, don’t think you need to knock your full set price down to $75 to be more attractive and get your books full. Just a heads up, any sort of “franchise” business is not run by service providers/Lash Artists. It is run by business men and women (investors) who copy and paste a corporate blue print so that it’s the same in every store. The initial investment for one of these franchises is in the range of $276,850-$597,700 (www.mobile.franchisedirect.com) just to get the licensing and doors open. It’s more about profit than it is about client experience, quality and education. Franchise owners could care less about the health of the natural lash, the quality of product used and continuing education of their technicians. Keep that in mind when you try to compare your business to theirs. They also have the marketing budget and unlimited amount of newbie lash artists at their beck and call to blow your measly little groupon into obscurity, so let’s not think we’re playing in the same field. Good for them on their business model and profitability, but please do not think they are anywhere near your “competition”. You are not after the same type of client!!!

Another note about discounting to be “competitive”. Let’s go through a common example that comes up from lash artists:

Your neighboring solo lash artist does amazing work and you could never compete on the quality she puts out there, yet her touch ups are $10 less than you…how could you ever compete!?! You can’t right? Let’s perhaps put some things in perspective:

Possibility #1: She’s charging a low price because she’s afraid to charge more

Possibility #2: She works 12 hour shifts, 6 days a week and is facing burnout, strained friendships/relationships, and significant business boundary issues

Possibility #3: She undervalues herself, her worth, her value and her business

Possibility #4: She’s ramping up to hire someone on and move into the management side of things

Possibility #5: She’s under the antiquated mindset that “working harder (and not smarter)” is how you become wealthy and successful.

Your perception is that she’s phenomenal and yet cheap, when the reality may be that she’s overworked and struggling with some inner demons. Not always, and there are exceptions to the rule, but don’t think that her business model is one to be envied or duplicated. Focus your business on what defines success for you, not your competition!

DO #2- Start high, Offer Limited Time Low

It’s easier to lower your price than it is to raise it. If you’ve spent a year hustling and building a business at a lower than average price point and you’ve been slanging deals like Whoppers at Burger King, and you’ve FINALLY found yourself with your books full of clients…it’s time to give yourself a raise, right?!? But wait, you raised your prices by $10 and now your Loyal and adoring clients are dropping like flies and when you look at your books, you hear a draining sound. What happened?

If you take your time and invest your energy into drawing in clients based on value and results, rather than price…I can guarantee a $10, $15, or even $20 increase in price (even when you’re already on the high end) won’t cause them a minute to pause and reconsider. It’s the pricing sweet spot when you’ve provided so much value to your clients for a prolonged period of time, that they don’t skip a beat when you’ve raised your prices (and yes, I’m speaking from my personal experience).

If you’re just starting out, then offering discounts can be a way to get practice and let’s face it, the best marketing for your business is getting your work on as many people as possible. But let’s not go bankrupt before we’ve begun. You’ll need a portfolio of your lash work to start, so advertising “model pricing” for those willing to let you try out “new techniques, products and tools for the purpose of advertising” can be one option to get some clients in the door at a discounted full set rate. You may even offer a package of a discount full set + 1-2 touch ups to get them hooked. But I caution you to offer too steep of a discount or for too long, you’ll start to attract those dreaded deal seekers. Heavily discounting a full set when you’re just starting out is also fine as long as you don’t discount your touch ups. Your touch ups are your bread and butter, the full sets are just the “barrier for entry” for your clientele.

LASHPRENEUR LIGHTBULB

A higher priced full set with an average priced touch up will draw in a higher paying clientele who sees lashes as an investment worth taking care of.

How have discounts, deals, and dollars off impacted your business? Good? Bad? Did it draw in your favorite, full price paying client or did you find it was wasted time and money? What lessons have you learned from figuring out your price point?

Have a Good One,

Tara Walsh. The Lashpreneur