Competing with new competition

[Timeless Tanning]

Hi Fellow Geeks,

Just after some advise/reassurance.

A new mobile tanning company has just opened up in my town offering Fake Bake at £18 per tan for a single appointment and £15 for tanning parties. The going rate for our area is anywhere between £20 and £40.

I have been operating for a year now and have just increased my prices from £22.50 to £24 for a single tan and just had 2,500 leaflets printed. I charge £20 for a party of 6+ with the host receiving a free tan and the prices goes down to £19 for 9+ etc.

Most of my clients usually overpay me or tell me how cheap I am!

I'm trying not too panic too much just yet. I have a client base of around 250 people over the past year so hoping that I will be okay but she comes up first when you google search for my town meaning that if they visit her site first and see how cheap she is, they most probably won't bother looking elsewhere. Also Fake Bake is well known so this may be in her favour!

I think that if I start to lose business I have got some scope to do some special offers, I really don't wont to reduce my prices in anyway as I feel I offer a very good service.

Anyone had experience of the same thing happening?

Thanks for any advice.

Jackie

 

[Blue Rose]

You're always going to get somebody offering a similar service at a cheaper price. I wouldn't worry about it too much, as you say, your clients are happy to pay what you charge so you shouldn't really lose any clients if they're already happy with you.

There's a place a few doors down from me that charges roughly 30% less than I do. If she wants to be as cheap as chips, then she can be. I don't have a problem with charging what I do & neither should you.

If people just bought on price, there'd be no expensive cars, designer labels, Harrods etc etc...

 

[Timeless Tanning]

Thanks for your advice, hopefully you are right. I hope I offer a good enough service for my clients to stay with me. I think it I will lose out on new clients but will have to get my marketing head in to gear and get out there and hand some leaflets out.

I haven't had any new enquiries for over a week now but hope this is just a coincidence and not the new competition having an effect already.

Jackie x