Perceived Value: Show Me What You’re Working With!

Understanding Your Perceived Value

MARKETING: The value of a product based on how much customers want or need it, rather than on its real price.

Most painting contractors want to get paid “what I’m worth,” but many may not know where their value actually is. Is it in the length of time they’ve been in business, the tools they use, or their employees? Not really. While these are all important aspects they are not often cited when clients talk about value. The reality is that the perceived value you bring to your clients is the key to being paid “what your worth”.

Much like selling a home, there are multiple factors that go into convincing someone that what you’re asking is the correct price for what they are receiving.

Raising Your Perceived Value

One way of increasing your perceived value is to bring consistently good work and customer service to your clients. Another, is to market yourself. You can do all the right things but if no one is aware of your efforts they may go to waste. Exceptional customer service and experience, word of mouth recommendations, google reviews and a pictorial portfolio proving your ability are alway great ways to increase your perceived value.

As an entrepreneur, increasing the perceived value of your company is key to creating a sustainable business. Making sure to properly and consistently market your business will allow you to do this. Marketing, by our definition, is anything that communicates your value proposition to the client. This happens at every interaction the client will have with you and your team: from the initial call for a bid all the way to the post project follow up. Every single interaction is an opportunity to increase your perceived value and to learn from them what they think the true value you bring is.

Where Do Paint Contracting Clients See Value?

I recently spoke with a painting contractor that sells over $1 Million in painting services a year. He realized years ago, that when he received feedback from customers on their experience of working with his company, they rarely talked about their straight paint lines, or even wall coverage.

What they did talk about was the fact that the house was left clean, the office was great to work with, that people arrived on time, and that the whole transaction was “easy”. This is the customer experience, and that is where YOUR value is. Otherwise, you’re just another painter slinging paint. When friends tell me about their experiences working with a painter, I usually hear: “They were a great painter, but just not very organized.” This leads to frustration, and a lower perceived value.

If you want higher value, you need to raise the bar on both your client experience and your marketing.