How wedding pro's play the pricing game

How successful wedding suppliers maintain pricing power

You’re in a meeting with a newly engaged couple. You’ve bought into their wedding vision and they’re clear on how you can help them build their big day.

Then the couple looks at you – eyes wide and enthusiastic – and one of them says…”how much?”.

Handling pricing questions can be tricky. Here are 3 tips to help you handle pricing and secure the sale when meeting newly engaged couples:

1. Be transparent with your pricing

Let’s assume you’ve already provided some basic pricing information online and are confident that the couple sitting in front of you are there because you fall within their budget and they’re serious about engaging your services.

The best way to avoid pricing issues before they even arise is to discuss each of the fundamental components or services you offer upfront and to be transparent about which of those added extras will cost the couple more.

If you’re a wedding planner be sure to mention whether you offer an ‘on the day coordinator’ package which costs a little extra but means that you’ll be there from the start of their day until the last lady dances her way home.

If you’re a wedding venue manager be clear on what is included within the brochure price and highlight the additional extras available to the couple at an extra cost.

Focus less on selling added features and more on providing a list of options that the bride or groom can buy into.

By offering cost breakdowns in keeping with the couple’s specific requests you earn their trust and avoid any difficult pricing queries later down the line.

2. Support your price with reasons why you’re great value for money

The best way to avoid price becoming the main point of conversation is to explain why you charge what you charge, and to support the fact that you provide exceptional value for money.

If you specialise in making wedding cakes explain that your costs are slightly higher than some other local wedding cake companies because you create all of the iced flowers yourself by hand. Or perhaps you charge more because you provide detailed drawings and cake designs, and work with the couple to perfect their wedding cake regardless of how many revisions there are.

Whatever your reasons are for charging what you believe you’re worth, justify them.

Have you any reviews or recommendations that you can show the couple? By supporting your claim that ‘you do it better than anyone else’ you give the couple no reason to argue with your price. They either choose quality or they’ll compromise and choose the supplier with the lowest price.

Whatever you do, don’t undervalue yourself.

3. Be careful with discounting

If you’re open to discounting make it part of your pricing strategy. If you’re willing to reduce your costs you could build in a little extra on top of what you believe your wedding services are worth before applying a price to ensure you don’t end up working for less than you can justify.

Another way to approach discounting is to agree something in return. Perhaps you’ll reduce your costs ever so slightly if the couple pays you in full now or if you’re a wedding venue, you may ask the couple to agree to a minimum guest count.

Ultimately whether you decide to discount or not is up to you but stand by what you believe in and only negotiate on price if you feel it’s a fair deal.

Be sure to sell your specialism 

Gaining and maintaining pricing power is all about ensuring that the couple will want YOU to cater to their wedding day more than anyone else.

If they can’t find anyone else to do precisely what you do as well as you do it at any price you’re in the strongest possible position.

Of course, if they don’t perceive a difference between what you do and what another wedding supplier does, the price will win.

Be transparent, be confident in your ability and know your worth, and the pricing game will be a much easier one to play (and win!).