Every single moment of every single day is saturated with choices. Honestly, think about three of the most recent choices you made … and the questions you asked yourself to arrive at a decision:
- What will I wear today?
- Do I want cereal, eggs, or just coffee for breakfast?
- Today’s news: paper, TV, or Internet? (How much time do I have?)
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We live in a culture that loves choices. We adore and need them. Choices make us feel liberated and empowered. Just imagine the frustration if we had no choices about the things we buy. One color, one size, one flavor … Come and get it! Mmm, no, thanks. Choices ensure that customers get products that meet their needs, and they help customers avoid undesirable features and items they don’t need.
But too many choices tend to overwhelm and paralyze decision-making. This is called analysis paralysis. Too many options can incite confusion and insecurity about our ability to choose well. The extent to which this happens depends on what we’re choosing though. Risks of financial loss, embarrassment, or other factors play a part.
For instance, choosing the right item among too many options for a complex high tech product or service is likely to be more stressful than picking a toothpaste from a wall full of options. This is getting into the paradigm of convenient products versus specialty products, but that’s a different topic.
Here, we’re talking about the pain points associated with choosing. Making a choice requires sacrifice. Choosing one usually means not choosing another. In some situations, there’s a way to make trade-offs and enjoy the “best of both worlds,” as the saying goes.
But let’s stay focused here and agree that choosing a taco means no burrito, enchilada, quesadilla, torta, and so forth. Sacrifice sucks. No matter how much you might like all of the foods, you’re probably not going to order the entire menu to not miss out. That’d be really weird … and a waste of money.
Next: Choosing is Painful
Other Sections
- What are You Worth?
- Psychology of Choosing
- Choosing is Painful
- Create Photographer Packages that Sell – New
- Secrets on How to Handle Discounters
- How to Make Discounting Work – New
- How to be Fearless in Pricing
- How to Name Your Packages
- Increase Your Perceived Value Easily – Coming Soon
Your noodle-loving friend,
Lawrence Chan
P.S. A nice note by Lee Harrison after using the pricing e-book strategies for a short while.
Thank you so much for writing the e-book. You are a true genius. So many things that make sense when explained in black and white, yet so easy to overlook. Best $ ever spent.
Read more about this rewritten 2nd edition pricing e-book HERE.
Or …
[price-item item_number=”2″ category=”pricing ebook”]
TOFURIOUS 
Not only do I hate choosing food from a vast menu, I have trouble choosing restaurants. So if Julie ever asks me, I always say, “wonton noodles at Sam Woo” as my default answer. She hates that.
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Lawrence,
You should pick up the Urban Spoon app for iphone 😀 you shake it and it will find somewhere to eat ;P
On a more related note thanks for this post. As a beginning wedding/portrait photographer pricing and packages are always a bit of a concern, i have spreadsheets i use, but obviously can’t show those to clients.
For me I plan on have 3 packages, One that is the “overthetop” in coverage and products, one that’s the preferred-middle and one for budget conscious families.
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I have to agree completely that choices are both liberating and suffocating! As I’m reinventing my branding, I have to consider: are more people liberated or suffocated? What would be refreshing to clients? As the professional, I think a “what works for me is this” approach might be liberating for clients. Now…off to choose what works for me…
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I couldn’t help but think of In-N- Out. So simple, so successful. I’d drive up to OC to hear more.
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I was just sitting here re-vamping my packages when this popped up on my Facebook feed! I was hoping you were going to give me some kind of “answer” though, lol.
I currently have three packages, but think I am selling myself short and need to update my pricing structure. I would like to move to just ONE package with optional a la carte add-ons, mostly because it seems that most people choose the cheapest package anyways. I thought perhaps I could just set my number at what would make me happy to work for, rather than groveling for people’s business with a low-ball figure. But, on the other hand, I realize that often times we make better choices when we are able to compare… so yeah, I’m not sure where I land in all this. Which is why I was hoping you were going to give me the answer, Lawrence 😉
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This is exactly my experience as well – the choosing of the cheaper package. However I think in my case the “optional add-ons” will lead to the suffocation scenario! Chose to have 5 packages for the customers not wanting to go to the trouble of “building” their own package and giving all the premium add-ons available in the high-end packages as options… What do you think?
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Interesting thought. Why ONE?
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That’s why the Cheesecake Factory annoys me- the menu is way too large.
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Ahhhhh … dealing with this issue right now. I should be the poster child for analysis paralysis. I’m up for a presentation in LA!!
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It is such a broad topic with various points to it. Often times, I think the answer really depends on what you are doing and who your target market is. If you specialize in taking pictures of small dogs that wear cute person like clothes….. you probably will not need to have 20 different package options.
The whole idea of “The Package” is to give various related products that the person sees as more valuable than purchasing these items individually. (That is why we instinctively mark the price down on packages.)
I believe the best option is to offer a small number of “Packages” as a base to start at with optional add-ons. It’s like buying a car, when you go to buy a brand new car, they are usually offered in only a couple types. The low end stripped version, and the one with most of the options included. It gives you an idea of a starting point. From there, if you decide to customize your car’s package, you have an idea of a price with the flexibility of customization.
Besides, I think it is better to sit down with a client, and discuss what they want done, have base packages, yet be flexible to their wants. (But once again, it depends on if that caters to your market.)
That’s my 10 cents.
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To answer your two questions first… was this helpful? It was a great read! Should you do a workshop get-together on pricing. Yes! It would help many people and I would be very interested to attend.
My pricing model is 3 packages. Why? It’s how it has been from the very beginning. Has it worked well. Yes. For me at least. What are the differences between each? First package just has me to shoot e-session, show up and shoot wedding for 6 hours and go home. Blog/Facebook/Pictage the images. A disc can be bought for $1000. Next 2 package are very similar with a few “upgrade” attributes on the top package. (I’ll keep the prices absent from this comment). Package 2 has 9 hrs coverage & disc, engagement session, blog/pictage/facebook images. High package is all of whats in package 2 but it comes with “unlimited coverage”, rehearsal dinner coverage, portrait session credit to be used in the next 6 months for whatever (family, portrait, etc).. the 2 top packages include an album credit so now after the wedding I go into the album phase with the client and upsell from there.
Have I ever considered ala-carete (is that spelled wrong?). Yes I have. Have I gone that direction? No. I do know some that have made it work well for them but I love the package system .
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LOL just because it’s that way since the very beginning is not a good reason. And why not a la carte?
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great post! a lot of food for thought here. the main issue for me is figuring out exactly what the customer wants and how to offer it in a way they find “smart” and easy to understand. The other hard thing is, it seems my customers don’t want much. I get a lot of inquiries where they flat out say they are on a budget and only want a shoot and burn package. Or they flat out tell me they will make their own album via my publisher or blurb at our initial consultation. Even though I show them my samples and explain how much better a product my albums and prints are, they just want to save money. So my concern is how to present the choice where they realize it’s not that much more money to get an album, and the value for the slightly larger price tag is worth it…thoughts?
ps- i would absolutely love to attend any type of presentation you do regarding pricing in the la/oc area!!! 🙂
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I’ll start off by saying that I only shoot newborns, children and families … so developing my pricing strategy may be different than for weddings.
I currently offer all a la carte (I’ve tried packages a couple times). I want to increase my average sale. I wonder if packages would do that for me.
Why I hate packages … I can NEVER get the number of images to match my clients wants/needs. I feel like its trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Or the image sizes don’t match the package, etc. I get so frustrated. 9 times out of 10 I end up designing a custom package for every customer.
Why I think a small number of packages could be beneficial … I love encouraging my clients to by a little more and save a little more. And I love rewarding those customers who make a large investment.
Thanks for tackling this Lawrence!
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Yes, this is a good layout of the pricing problems that we face. It’s true that there isn’t one simple solution, or we’d all be using it. I look forward to hearing a variety of solutions that work in difference circumstances. Currently my business is a baby and none of my packages have sold yet. I have the situational packages, ie family shoot, baby’s first year shoots, birth shoot, but as I brand myself I am looking towards moving towards a good better best that can be customized for each client at a consultation.
I suck at ordering at restaurants – I don’t want to order what anyone else has ordered, but I am always afraid to order something new so I usually pick whatever I pick the very first time I try that restaurant. Even with something as small as coffee it is disappointing to order something new and wish you hadn’t as soon as you taste it.
I like specialty places, however places with large menus can survive and please a number of people if each employee knows exactly what they sell and how to recommend it on a case by case basis. The key is to let your customers know that you can help them decide, and even decide for them if that sets them at ease.
Thanks for your thoughts, I look forward to hearing more and wish I weren’t so far up in Seattle!
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I actually am one of those odd ones that doesn’t mind choosing from a big menu because that way I’m sure to get what I want. … (picky eater).
But I notice clients lean towards packages in purchasing because it makes it easier for them. I think 3 packages plus a la carte hits a nice balance.
And, YES, I’d love to hear your discussion about pricing. I’m in L.A., but I’d travel to O.C. to be part of it!
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love this post! i would definitely be interested in a presentation on pricing! you rock 🙂
i am totally indecisive when it comes to menus as well – i usually cannot decide between 2-3 items. a lot of times we can’t even figure out where to eat and get so starving and grumpy that by the time we finally find somewhere it’s less enjoyable 🙂 the possibilities are just too endless sometimes. with 2 degrees in psychology and a lot of experience with behavioral psychology i definitely agree that too many choices can cause difficulties for the person faced with them. with children it is almost failsafe to give them 2 choices – “do you want to wear the lightning mcqueen shirt or the yo gabba gabba shirt?” instead of “which shirt do you want to wear?” when there are 20 choices, or just plain “get dressed already!”
i believe in having 3 packages. the middle package is the one you are hoping the client will book. the lower package is the one that is for budget conscious people and only provides 6 hours of coverage (going home early is worth the pay cut to me). the top package includes an album. there are a few other progressive add-ons in the top 2 packages as well. i also offer a la carte items, and prints (for the most part) are sold separately, because everyone seems to have such varied needs/wants. i will definitely revise as time goes on as i can learn from what people are choosing to book and what they seem to want.
can’t wait to hear more of your thoughts on this!
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Hi Lawrence,
As always, great thought-provoking ideas – thank you!
So, after many years of trying to figure out the calculus of pricing & packages, I’ve created a build-your-own package that seems to work really well. The premise of the system is that there is no financial incentive to move from one package to the other. It’s fair to everyone involved, and it places a value on all the parts of a wedding package. It also trusts the consumer to make the decision about how to spend their investment, and what to prioritize according to their particular wants, needs & budget.
When I speak to prospective couples about how to build their package, I explain the various parts, and the benefits of each, but I give them the flexibility to create what will work best for them. It’s the way I’d like to be treated as a customer, and I find that’s a pretty good starting point for any business philosophy. 🙂
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If there is no incentive, then you might as well do full a la carte 🙂 Right?
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I guess it’s just semantics – “build your own” or “a la carte.” 🙂
But either way, when I explain that there is no incentive to get into a package that has more or less then they need, most couples smile & sigh in relief. I feel my role is to educate them on the options, so they can make a decision that works well for them. Just yesterday, a mother-of-the-bride, to whom I was explaining my pricing to said, “I knew I liked you.” I could have been wrong, but I took that to mean that she felt she could trust me. Perhaps because I trust my clients to make good decisions about what is right for their particular wedding package?
And from my point of view, having transparency into the actual costs of time & product is important to that trust, but also to understanding the value of each of the items available for their packages. Engagement sessions, 2nd photographers, additional hours of coverage, albums… all of these pieces that can sometimes be added into a package for incentive, but how then are they valued by clients or ourselves? Don’t they take time? Aren’t the products provided of value?
And if photographers are adding incentives to each package, does that mean in the bottom package that the consumer is paying extra for their photography package, or does that mean the photographer is getting paid less and less in the top packages? My sense is that it’s the latter. Does it make sense for a business to go after the higher dollar package fee in the top package, when in actuality, their profit margin is highest in their lowest package?
To each her own, but for me at least, I think my clients value having a clear list of options that they can customize to their own needs.
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I changed my pricing dramatically this year. It was getting too tricky with all the different packages and everyone wanted to customize anyway. So now I only have one base package, with a list of goodies that can be added. I also raised my prices. It seems to be working. It is so clear cut that my clients aren’t even asking for discounts. I’m on track to possibly close 2011 in the next few months with my average per wedding about $1500 more. I can’t believe it. Especially because it seems to go against the traditional psychology of pricing.
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What is the traditional pricing schematics?
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Lawrence your blog post are always insightful and thank you for the noodle images, I’m hungry now. I had 3 packages but that changed this year. I noticed that my brides were asking for items that I wasn’t offering at the time and in business I believe you must reinvent or die so I listened to my brides and with their help I created packages that they loved and “POOF” my 5 packages were born. The lower package in the entry package and the top package is what I call my indicator package. If I find that most of my brides are booking me for the top package, then I will know it’s time to raise my prices. The middle 3 packages are my bread and butter, this is where I want to live.
Thank you Lawrence, I look forward to these insightful discussions
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I would love for you to do more posts on this topic. I currently am A La Carte only for portrait sessions and 3 collections for weddings and every time my wedding clients choose the largest package…why? because it includes all-day coverage, the other two do not. So it’s not even a product, it’s just more time. Now if I could find that “key ingredient” that could get my portrait clients to choose the largest of say, 3 portrait collections, then I may consider offering those. I have been thinking on only adding digital collections that would include an enlargement and the largest an album. The A La Carte seems to be working so far….I think people like not being locked in to certain products; however, I have not had ONE client order an album or canvas, just enlargements and collages/storyboards/mini albums/cards. I.just.don’t.know. Please share more 🙂
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If people are picking your largest wedding collection that often you definitely need to increase the price of it. I would say immediately increase the prices 10 to 20 percent. If they continue picking it, increase it again. The purpose of a big kahuna collection is to make all the rest of your collections look much more affordable. Just my $.02
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I currently offer 3 wedding packages. The thinking that went into these packages was to offer 3 packages, #1 being the cheapest and #3 the most expensive. And #2 being the package that most would pick. It really hasn’t worked out that way. Clients mostly pick packages 1 & 2 and sometimes 3. But when they do they always want to add or subtract something from the package. I do allow them to do this but they remain the same price. I’ve wondered about A La Carte or 1 basic package with the client able to add on.
Great stuff Lawrence.
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I like choices of three. Sometimes a few more, but I am the WORST at making a decision and for me the fewer choices the better. I currently have 5 total packages but that is because I have 3 sets of wall art packages, an album package, and a digital package. I’ve considered cutting it down to just 3, with only 1 wall art package, but then I wonder if I’m limiting the customer…
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The reason why fewer choices is better is because human beings want to avoid a bad selection more than they want to make an excellent selection. Fear of loss is greater than the desire for gain.
When you give people too many choices they see a greater risk of making a poor selection rather a greater opportunity to make a superb selection. People REALLY don’t want to make a bad decision, so much that they are o.k. selecting the good enough choice.
There have been numerous psychological studies proving this human reaction to decision making.
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We actually do Ice Sculptures, not photography.
We offer a base package or price for a single block sculpture, after that we offer a discount for 2 or more sculptures etc. Any designs using multiply blocks for a single sculpture are priced individually. We try to keep our pricing simple and easy for our clients to understand & FAIR. My question is in regards to competitors pricing. I find that our competitor prices sculptures based on how much a persons budget is. This maybe ok except for the fact that it can create a very low value for the services offered, and that has an effect on the whole industry. With some of these prices there is no way to possibly do the job and make any money. On the other hand there are times I talk to clients and find that sculptures are being sold for WAY too much! Basically ripping off the customer. What is the best way to compete with someone like this?
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How do you know what’s considered “WAY too much?” Your pricing should not be contingent on your costs. 🙂
More to come, Bobbie.
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My favorite fast food restaurants are the specialty ones – In-N-Out and Chick-Fil-A. It just depends on whether I’m in the mood for beef or chicken. As for sit down restaurants, I usually find something I like and always order the same thing, regardless of how many choices there are.
I am a child and family photographer and hardly do weddings (only for close friends). Currently everything is a la carte, but I want to put together some packages. I was discussing this with a friend (since your original post), trying to figure out what would be beneficial in a package for her as a mom wanting pictures. She didn’t have an answer for me as to the specific sizes and such, but did say that she knows she would spend more money up front, while she was excited about the shoot, than after the pictures were taken in an a la carte way from an online gallery or even a live showing. She said that, for her, once the pictures are taken, the anxiety and excitement of it all settles down and rationality kicks in. I am definitely going to ask some more friends who represent my ideal client. I am still really new in this and want to get something nailed down soon, because I hope to launch my website by the end of the year. As for a presentation in LA/OC, I would absolutely be willing to make the drive if it was on a day that I could do so (I live about 4 hours away.)
Thanks Lawrence!
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Wedding photographers are always SOOO concerned about pricing and being the photographer who charges thousands of dollars.
Price does not come first: great photography and service comes first!!
Ideally you become this expensive and rich photographer because your work is so good that you are booked solid. When you are booked out you naturally raise prices to a level where you can maintain the quality that has got you to this level.
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I once heard a presentation from a high-end photographer in my area. She, the marketing partner in their business,stated that as Americans, we usually don’t choose the cheapest thing when given a choice. We’ll choose the mid-range. The cheapest, will be cheap and not be good, and the most expensive will be too much. I find this to be true in my business.
The pricing structure she did in her studio for wall portraits was – Inexpensive ($1500), Can handle that ($3500) and OMG! (10K!) They never intended to sell a OMG! but low and behold….they did! Wow, was all I could say. Never underestimate a person’s wallet or your value.
I say this, but I am learning to not devalue myself as well.
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