Selling More or Less

The food court at our local mall features a particularly tasty treat, one that inspires and demands a rare trip to the mall. This restaurant features the best Teriyaki Chicken in town, freshly made to order. The line is usually long yet moves along continuously as hungry, waiting patrons salivate with thoughts of delightful tangyness. Their chicken is the only justification powerful enough to entice me to travel there as I will usually avoid the entire mall area if at all possible.

My daughter and I were there to enjoy a weekday lunch together, she with her Subway sandwich and me with... well, you know. I treasure both the time with her and my Chicken Teriyaki as a distant second. I typically order a double serving of chicken over rice and veggies as they charge an extra dollar for that option. After the Japanese cook finished my order with blazing showmanship, he gestured for me to take it. I looked at the plate and commented that I had ordered the double meat option. He said "double meat - yes" and smiled. I looked again at the plate and proclaimed that today's double meat looked much like last week's regular meat standard. I asked him to add more chicken and Teriyaki sauce to make a proper portion. Begrudgingly, he did as I asked. I said thank you and proceeded to join my daughter for our meal together.

It seems that every business is attempting to increase earnings and profits, often at the expense of portion and container size, added services and product options. This is further evident at your local grocery store's cereal aisle and ice cream freezer. I understand their strategy however I am not a fan of it. All that is actually happening is that we are trading price control for serving size. Do companies really think that consumers are not paying attention? Either way, our dollar is buying less each day and virtually everyone is perplexed about it.

What goods and services does your business provide to the marketplace? What do your portions look like? Have you cut back on services to save a buck, shortchanging your customers wherever possible to maintain profitability? Are you simply asking your customers to pay more? Have you been at a loss for clear sales direction?

Here is a new proposal and paradigm to consider: Charge more if you must, but, offer even more value than ever before. Make it clear to your customers that while prices are often beyond your control, you offer them more than enough value to maximize their investment in whatever they buy from you. Otherwise, it's off to the Internet to find the lowest price. You need to  be so in-tune with their needs and wants that the products they buy from you become low-cost items, because you have supplied so much value that the price is far less of a concern.

Remember; price is a one-time thing, while cost will follow both you and your customer over the useful life of their purchase. It's cost that really matters.

Regardless of price, value will generally determine what is purchased and who will supply it. If you stay focused on price you will frequently lose business to a lower priced source. If you remain focused on responsible cost control in your daily operations while offering fair prices and incontrovertible evidence of superior value, your business will prosper. Embrace today's market changes and change your focus. Sell more and grow your business accordingly.

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Daniel Sitter
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