There’s a lot of talk about pricing at the moment, and it’s easy to see why. With the UK economy remaining fragile – and a primary concern for around a third of businesses – shifts are taking place. 

Customers are, naturally, looking to minimise budgets. And fearing the worst, businesses are obliging, preferring to slash profit margins rather than bring in no work at all. It’s at the point where some appear to be quoting figures that just seem totally unrealistic. And it’s posing dangerous questions:

  • Do today’s customers only care about price?
  • Do we need to cut our prices?
  • Do we need to go so low we’re losing money?
  • Can we even survive?

But organisations shouldn’t be asking these questions. Because price isn’t everything. 

It’s about more than just price

After seeing enough businesses cut their prices, it becomes easy to believe that price is the only thing customers care about. But if that were true, the cheapest company would also be the busiest. And we all know that’s not how it works, especially as customer expectations evolve.

By now, most customers have experienced enough project headaches to understand that the cheapest option and the best option are not always the same thing. In fact, many are actively trying to avoid the problems that often come with choosing purely on price. A delayed installation, a missed deadline, poor communication, or products that arrive damaged or incorrect can end up costing far more in the long run than whatever was saved on the original quote.

That creates opportunities for businesses that know how to compete on something other than price.

Customers are buying confidence

Consider what your customer is actually trying to achieve. At the end of the day, it’s not just ‘blinds’, is it?

There’s always an underlying purpose. You’ve got office managers who are trying to create a more comfortable, productive workspace, contractors who are trying to keep a project moving, and facilities teams who are trying to minimise disruption. Few of them actually care deeply about the blinds themselves; they care about the process, the ease, and the overall outcomes. 

They care about whether they trust the information they’re being given, and whether products will arrive, undamaged, when they’ve been told they will. They care about whether there’ll be somebody who picks up the phone and actively wants to help, should any part of the process experience an unexpected bump in the road. 

A different type of competition

Rather than looking at the situation as a cost competition, companies should instead be reframing this as a confidence competition. Who can give customers the most confidence and the most security?

And this is where businesses have an opportunity to compete, in terms of:

1. Sales

Customers value honest, transparent advice. Recommending the right solution for the job rather than the most expensive one, providing samples, sharing useful literature, and having knowledgeable people on hand to answer questions: all these help to build trust, and can make buying decisions easier. 

2. Lead times

When projects are running to tight deadlines, dependable lead times can become a real differentiator. Shorter lead times from UK-based warehouses and realistic delivery expectations help customers plan installations with greater certainty, and can help to keep projects moving smoothly. 

3. Reliability

Working with a supplier that you can count on gives your own customers peace of mind. Clear communication, quick responses, and a partner capable of resolving issues efficiently can help reduce delays, avoid unnecessary disruption, and make projects significantly easier to manage. 

Standing out in a crowded market

It’s easy to think that successful installers are winning because they’re the cheapest. But that’s rarely the case. It’s more likely that they’re succeeding because customers feel comfortable choosing them. Winning repeat business is the result of making a great, lasting impression. 

Factors like professional branding, clear quotations, useful literature, product samples, technical knowledge, a reliable supply chain, and strong communication all help create that confidence. Individually, they might seem like small details, but together they create a long-lasting impression. 

Here at Yewdale, we’re proud to support blind companies and installers through in-depth product information, transparent advice, stress-free account management, friendly experts, and resources designed to help, right through from the very first enquiry to installation and beyond.