Sparkliatti

Katie - Great post!! We warn brides all the time on choosing based on price vs. qualifications!

Sasha Vasilyuk - Sasha – what a great and necessary post! Many in our dear San Francisco Bay Area are obsessed with deal sites. I have had small business clients for whom the deal sites have worked well by bringing in long-term repeat customers.

But in the wedding business, where the bulk of clients are one-time and the pricing is in the thousands of dollars, not single bills, it just doesn’t make sense.

I think the allure of what essentially is the online version of newspaper coupons is overrated.

And yes, your money is way better spent on PR and other marketing channels that grow the value of your brand.

Sasha Vasilyuk
@idoweddingpr

KyleB - I love your perspective on this issue. Clearly the online groups have marketed themselves and the potential benefit of utilizing their services effectively (honestly and ethically is a different story). Any/all of the oversight, such as with the boudoir photographer, can be prevented with skills of a basic accounting student! If a business doesn’t have the basic tools needed to run the business for profit, then I don’t expect them to last long.

I see how this can be an unfortunate downward spiral in this industry, with a regression to Dust-Bowl Marketing (I can do it for 50 cents. No! I can do it for 25 cents. NO! I can do it if you feed me.) I know one’s abilities will outlast and clients who genuinely realize this is a ‘once in a lifetime’ moment’ will find the happy medium between price and talent.

But to return to the Boudoir photographer: if she she doesn’t have 50k to shell out on a marketing plan, a ‘get rich quick’ plan is all the more enticing. I would think the better way to provide a discount , without demeaning oneself or one’s peers, is to discuss pricing with vendors. Continue operating at normal price, however if you feel a small discount could seal the deal, then that plan B is available. A small cut to profits is better than no profits. But by keeping it confined to the vendors with whom you work, you aren’t hurting your integrity, value, or industry. Just remember account for all of the costs beforehand and run some Cost-Value-Price analyses and voila!! You know your margin of safety and how much profit you can afford to lose and still say safely in the black.

Andria Lewis - I completely agree. I offer an ongoing, all the time allowance (I don’t use the word discount) for any client in the military or education fields. I come from a family of educators and just feel they are not paid enough for the work they do. Also, at the end of the year I may offer an allowance for bookings for the next spring. It usually lasts about two weeks. 98% of my clients are not given an allowance, yet they book me anyway. Last week I met with a bride, her mom, his mom and his sister. Lots of pressure. At the end of the meeting her mom asked me if my pricing could be lowered in any way. I confidently told her no. They booked me two days later.

As you said, everyone likes a good deal. But we need not sacrifice what our time is worth in the process of giving a client a ‘good deal’. Just give them great service instead.