I was thinking the other day about what conversations I have that are the most frustrating. These are the conversations I have several times a year, and they all have the same script.
The entrepreneur…
- Realizes she is struggling with her business.
- Knows the business is important to her livelihood
- Has used several off-island, low-cost providers
- Has tried a lot of do-it-yourself design, printing, signage, and website services
- Has a brand that is a mess, a hodge-podge of discordant messages
- Has a website, often built on a “website tonight” template that looks horrible and does function correctly
She then comes to Kona Impact, and one of the first questions begins with, “How much is…?”
She (or he—I’m not referring to any one client I have had) has spent all her time, and energy looking at the price of services, and, as a result, her business is a mess. She has sunk a good deal of money into trying to string together a mix-match of service providers and products, with the main concern being,
How cheaply can I get this done?
If this strategy was working, she would, of course, not be at Kona Impact. But the “race-to-the-lowest-price approach” to business seldom works.
If I can convince these entrepreneurs to understand that with all the focus on price, they will find little value, we can begin a meaningful conversation about how Kona Impact provides immense value, but, for certain, not the lowest prices.
If she is unable to see value in what we do, the conversation will be reasonably short because we are not a low-cost provider. We have learned in ten years of business that no client wants ineffective or poor products though that is all a low price would allow us to provide.
Clients want effective solutions to their business needs, and to provide those, we need to charge a price that allows us to provide quality products and services.
Simply put, price correlates very highly to value; it’s impossible to offer exceptional products and services at low prices.
That is why, for example, contractors don’t buy their tools at Wal-Mart, and you don’t go to McDonald’s for a nice meal.
We encourage all entrepreneurs to look realistically at how and what they are doing. If you haven’t achieved the success to which you aspire, maybe it’s time to make fundamental in how you’re doing business.