10 Solutions to Price Complaints

10 Solutions to Customer Price Complaints

Video: 10 Solutions to Price Complaints

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125 Building Blocks for Your Bakery Business

125 Building Blocks for Your Bakery Business

Video Transcript/Summary

Bakers in business. Do you get upset when a potential customer undervalues the cost of your cakes? Does it make you want to fling frosting across the kitchen?

Hold up! Here are 10 antidotes for customers who challenge the cost of your cakes. They have everything to do with how you mentally approach the conversation.

1. Don’t Lose Hope

Fact #1: This potential customer wants to buy your product.
Fact #2: They would not have requested a cake quote of they didn’t.
Fact #3: Even as they question the cost, they are still interested in buying a cake, or else they would not still be talking to you.

Don’t lose hope. This is just a little hurdle that is part of the business of sales.

2. Respect Wins

Holding your customers in contempt for being naïve is bad business. Your annoyance will transmit. So if your gut reaction is contempt, you will receive contempt back in return. Conversely, if you put respect out there, you will receive respect back in return. Every once in awhile, you may get someone who’s just a jerk no matter what you say or do. In that case, move on.

3. Maintain Perspective

What are the chances someone buying a wedding or sculpted cake has ever bought a cake that big before? Go easy on the customer if they didn’t know how much it costs. They have the right to be surprised.

4. Business is NOT Personal

A customer who acts surprised about your cake prices is not making a negative statement about you or your work. Their response probably has everything to do with their own financial constraints.

5. Don’t Hate. Negotiate!

Be open to negotiation. Usually, if you look hard enough, there are plenty of ways to cut cost without squeezing your profit margin. You can suggest a smaller wedding cake paired with side cakes to reduce the labor time. You may offer free delivery in exchange for the customer waiving the cake tasting.

6. Don’t Wince. Convince!

Since the customer wants a cake, now you just need to convince them to pay your price. If you show weakness here, or worse, if you get angry, you will hurt your chances of clinching the sale.

When the customer questions the cost of a product, they are asking for you to justify it to them. Help them understand the value of your product: why it’s worth it. Explain how much better it will be than a supermarket cake.

7. Know the Answer

Do you know the real answer to the question, “Why does this cake cost that much?” I’m not talking generally but specifically.  Do you know how to calculate your cost of goods? If your answer is yes, then this type of price question is easy to address.

If you don’t actually know the answer, deep down you’re probably a little more irritated with yourself because it’s not wise to do business without knowing your operating costs. If you want to learn how to cost and price your products, I have the solution for you here: 125 Building Blocks for Your Bakery Business

8. Be Clear

If you’re getting the same kinds of price questions over and over again, consider offering more information upfront. Create a document or add a page to your website that explains your pricing system. That way, henceforth, every time a customer asks, you can direct them to the page or send them a copy of the document to review. That will save you time and effort in answering the same frustrating questions over and over again.

9. Snarky Memes Don’t Sell

When a customer challenges you on price, the itch to gripe about it on social media is like poison ivy.  Don’t scratch!

Snarky memes don’t sell.

Quality and confidence in your own product are what sells.

10. Maybe Next Time

Simply put, not everyone who wants a custom cake can actually afford a custom cake. But are they allowed to call and ask how much one is? Sure! Do you sometimes browse in stores without buying anything? Sure ya do! In most cases, every time you browse, you come a little closer to possibly one day buying that coveted item, whatever it is. The same goes for cakes. Maybe someday that customer who couldn’t afford it the first time around will come back with the money saved for one of your incredible cakes.

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10 Solutions to Price Complaints

Comments

10 Solutions to Price Complaints — 14 Comments

  1. Summer tried off by slo, but I picking up, and I was fortunate enough to be part of a large Wedding in Cape May, NJ. Thanks for the Video.

  2. Having a nice summer. I really appreciate your videos. They are funny and educational. I have learned a lot from them. Soon I will be teaching my niece cake decorating in home school.

  3. It’s been a great summer, we moved temporarily and I had to pack up my cake things for a time. This has been a great video, very helpful! Thank you for all you put into your business of helping us! I go back to my day job tomorrow, so summer is technically over for me.

  4. Well my summer is finally over! The kids started school last week! This summer just flew by with many camps, my sis in-law moving to China and my first dessert table at a wedding.

    This is great insight! Everything you said is spot on. Especially that last one one “Maybe next time”. They will come browsing and finally some will pay for it next time. I’ve had hesitation with some, but when they finally purchase the product and taste it, they love it! Thanks for all you do!!

  5. I live in Australia and it is the middle of winter and I am freezing my butt off. It is like 4 degrees Celsius here and has been raining for 5 days with hail.
    Love watching your videos, they are fun. thank you for all the hard work you do.

  6. Thank you so much for this video. Been struggling with the last few orders..mostly younger moms wanting big 1st birthday cakes plus smash cakes and not understanding the time involved. I had one mom last week wanting a cake for her 25 yr old son and when I quoted a price for a 1/3 sheet for 35 people, she said…oh, I was expecting Sam’s Club pricing. So I said nicely, well maybe you’d better get it there.

  7. Thanks for the videos – we very much enjoy watching them. Our Florida summer is busy and hot, but that hasn’t stopped the cake orders 🙂 Hope you are having a great summer also!

  8. Thank you for all your help. I hope your summer is good ours is not as busy as I would like but that gives us play time on some new cake decorations that hopefully we can us in the future.

  9. I love all of your videos and recipes! Thank you for doing these, I find them very helpful. Summer has been hot, looking forward to fall!

  10. Hi Kristen,
    My summer is going well- currently working on an Elmo (Sesame Street) cake for
    my soon to be 2 year old grandson!
    Thanks for all of your insight into the “Price Complaints” scenarios.