Premium Customers

Beware of any customer who tells you they are your best client, or that they will send you all their future work if you give them a break this one time.

I would stick to my guns on pricing, I'm not sure what size shop you are, but 20 yard signs and an 8'x8' banner seems like pretty small potatoes, neither are high profit items.

At the end of the day it all boils down to how much you need the work.

 

We do bend over backwards when one of our "top ten" customers needs something ridiciously fast or so (same as you, providing "better" service and faster delivery) but they usually also pay premium for that. We often discount freight or "share" the freight 50/50 if it's a bigger order. For us the bigger customers re-orders the same products so we discuss pricing based on an approximate yearly purchasing amount, but we don't have a particular "premium" category that would give discounts. Have never had anybody ask for it either, but maybe it's different in the US?

 

I bet you he goes to other shops to get quotes, then just turns around and tells you he's your "premium" customer.

I discount by volume. If you order 1 10 FT banner, I have to spend 5-10 mins loading the printer, 5 mins setting up the file to rip... 5 mins waiting until I can attach it to the take up reel etc. If you order 10 banners... it still only takes me 10-15 minutes to setup all them banners and walk away while the machine does its work. So if you order 10 banners... the price is cheaper per banner.

I may give a client a cheaper price if they spend A LOT with me... but a job here or there isn't a lot. My mechanic doesn't give me a discounted rate for only going to him once a month when I need an oil change or tune up. Discounts are generally based on Volume of work for us.

 

I'll gladly give you discounts on bulk orders or contracted jobs. Unfortunately, there's no room for discounts on one off, rush, or low quantity jobs.

That's great! We appreciate the referrals. We're primarily word of mouth. We offer the same fair pricing that we do to all of our customers.

Whatever you spend, we provide the best service we can at the best prices we can so that we can stay in business and serve you for many more years to come.

I have no doubt you can find someone to do a job cheaper. They either provide an inferior product, don't know the extent of the job and didn't quote it properly, or just trying to rope you in to give you higher pricing on future jobs. Sometimes, somebody will just do it cheaper, but cheap shops don't last very long and neither does their work.

Besides having to pay for all the materials, tools, building, utilities, insurance, taxes, etc. We've still got to pay ourselves and employees for their time and effort. We pay reasonable wages. We're for profit, but you don't see us driving around in a Lambo. We charge what we need to charge to do the job with the right materials, the right way, and stay in business.

That said, since we've gone over all of this, that'll be an additional $150. Oh, you just want it cheap. No thanks. Have a nice day.

 

I have a customer that has net me anywhere from 3 to 5 grand a month, for the last year. When he walks in the door with an order..... I ask him if he wants to wait on it.
I will drop what I'm doing, and get his out, if need be. I Have worked till 3am to get their order done by the next morning.
They are business people, and understand we are here to make money.
They have never balked about any price, but I have never balked at any deadline they have given me either.

 

The only "Premium" customer to me is when I am the preferred sign company for something such as a shopping center or apartment complex. Where they only use me for all the signs on the property. Then they get premium status.

 

A premium customer is one that doesn't ask about price!

 

When they hit 100k a year they become premium. Their work is then ultra scrutinized to ensure that the price doesnt have to be raised and their a/r terms are called into question. Premium customers dont get better pricing per se, they become an integral part of your business, ones that help or hurt you.

 

Can you elaborate on this? Thanks

 

You can lose on onsie twosie jobs with no ill effect and usually make them up on other onsie twosie projects. When someone becomes a larger chunk of your gross revenue, you have to be careful that they dont cause cash flow problems with their payment terms and if they do, their pricing will cover any short term locs needed to float you waiting on payment.
You also need to be sure that you are profitable because there is less opportunity to make it up. They also take up much more of your resources.

 

Premium customer is another way to say "PITA" customer. Unless he's making up 10% or more of your business, don't bend over backwards for him. That old saying, "money talks, BS walks" is pretty applicable here.

We have a couple of customers that get preferential treatment, but they're spending $100k+ a year and generating tons of business, so we'll put out fires for them (of which there are MANY). You can't have too many "premium" customers or you're going to end up spending all your time on them. It's a double edged sword.

 

Trying to manipulate the pricing through their demeanor...seems like that attitude is becoming more prevalent. "I'm here and breathing, you should give me a better price." Sounds a lot like my former high school students: "I'm here and breathing, why didn't you give me an A?"

Kinda like a collective societal narcissism.