Why Some ________ Cost More Than Others

Why is this salmon more expensive than others?

Salmon became one of my favorite foods over 20 years ago on my first business trip to the Pacific Northwest. The high benchmark was set back then with the Alder Smoked Salmon at the original McCormick & Schmick’s  restaurant in Portland Oregon. A pursuit of the perfect salmon occasionally comes close but has never matched the perfection of that meal, even on return trips to McCormick & Schmick’s.

Once I discovered the secret to better tasting salmon the pursuit became more intense. Dayton, Ohio’s Dorothy Lane Market provided the education, and inspiration to invest in a better fish. Lots of grocers sell pricy salmon but never before was there an explanation of why the price was higher when the flavor was often not exceptional. I came to the conclusion that the prices were higher because the store was expensive. Then the email newsletter from my friends at DLM gave me a real reason to pay more for their Honestly Better® Wild Alaska Copper River King Salmon. You may also want to know why (some) salmon costs more than others. Here’s a short story from my most reacent Fresh News from DLM.

Honestly Better® Wild Alaska Copper River King Salmon has Arrived at DLM!

This run of the Chinook Salmon (the King Salmon) is one of the most sought-after fish for those who appreciate the best of the best. The reason for its prized flavor is its high omega-3 oil content. The fish must build up such a large fat content in order to give them the energy to travel the long spawning journey up the Copper River. Fighting tidal currents through the sandbars of the delta, raging rivers from the mountain snow melt, and a never-ending line of bears dining at the salmon buffet, these fish deserve a break! So, plan on inviting one over for dinner. With the rich flavor this fish has, we recommend a little Vera Jane’s Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, kosher or sea salt, and fresh dill as the only seasoning needed to grill or broil. This is one of the most regulated fisheries in the world, so the supply and price are market driven (In other words

Moral of the Story

If we try to sell better stuff it should actually be better. We should invest the time to tell the story explaining specifically why it is better and how it got to be that way. The tasty salmon’s pursuit of the spawning grounds up the Copper River make it the best of the best salmon – well worth the $$$$. Are your products and services better? How? Why is that important?

Advertisement

A Bigger Slice of Pie

Get a Bigger Slice

So many businesses are trying so hard to be all things to all people these days. Do we just need to decide who we’re trying to serve? What would happen if we could confidently, and happily focus on one market segment? Could we be happy there if we did? Would our customers be happy if we did?

Should Your Suppliers Sell Direct?

(Approx. read time 3 min.)

Proven Winners is now selling online direct to consumers.

Yes, others do it but Proven Winners is the first major brand in our industry that has begun selling finished annuals, perennials, grasses and shrubs direct to consumers from the Proven Winners website.  This is called cross-channel distribution by the way.

Just when I was getting used to things as they are now my cheese has been moved again. This is not entirely a bad thing though I’m still not saying it’s entirely a good thing. Maybe it is just is what it is?

The $5.26 Million Dollar TOO High Cost of TOO-LOW Prices

Are you LOSING 2% or MORE of your Bottom Line to Poor Pricing?

As moderator of the session on Pricing Strategies for Profit at Today’s Garden Center magazine’s Revolutionary 100 Roundtable held in Atlanta’s America’sMart I asked the people representing the 22 companies in the session if they would write down on the note pad in front of them the number representing 2% of their annual sales. Then came my challenge to them.

The challenge was to put the piece of paper on the front of the table for me to pick up if they had learned enough new information about pricing in the previous hour of the session to add a minimum additional profit of 2% of sales to their bottom line in 2010 – WITHOUT THE CUSTOMER NOTICING. I would then pick the note paper up and have the event staff total them and share the number at the Town Hall closing session. ALL of them did. And what a number we had to share!

A total additional profit of $5,261,000.00, averaging $239,000.00 per company was produced. The least amount claimed was over $30,000.00. And think about it – every one of these companies has left those dollars on the table every prior year. Did you?

All you believe…may be ALL WRONG – Belief #5

Misconception #5 – Lower Your Prices and Make it Up on Volume

(Read time approx. 3 minutes.)

This is the fifth misconception in a series of six. The concepts being discussed here will likely be counter to your beliefs. The comments left on the previous posts are quite interesting so you may want to go back and read them. Click HERE to go back and begin with the first post related to this series.

Possibly one of the greatest travesties to befall the independent garden center as an industry is the fallacy that if you offer lower prices you will “make it up on volume”.

This is what I  call Fifth Grade Economics. The general level of knowledge about economics in our industry was learned in fifth grade social studies class. In my fifth grade class Mrs. Woods taught us about supply and demand, and how if you lowered the price you would “make it up on volume”. Unfortunately this same macro-economic principle has been perpetuated in higher education and has not been balanced with understanding of the micro-economic application in an independent garden center serving niche demographic and psycho-graphic customers.

Handling Haggling

Haggling on the Rise

The introduction of the new Taggle concept for in-store bidding on merchandise at participating retailers brought about a plethora of media reports on the haggling fad. Now some retailers are adopting haggling procedures and training their associates. Don’t fall for it.

How to participate in the recession . . .

How much are plants worth this spring?

How do the rules of doing business during recession apply to you?

While it could be good advice to follow a growing trend of people who have decided not to participate in this recession, even better advice may be to participate fully in the effects the economic downturn is causing.

Should you make sure you get your share of any government stimulus money opportunities? Or, should you pay more attention to the way you run your business and get everything lined up to increase sales and margin dollars this year?

The news on early spring gardening interest is much better than anyone anticipated six months ago, or even three months ago.  I hope you are not getting tired of hearing about it in all the garden center industry news yet! The question is, are you ready to make everything you can of it, without hanging your backside out so far you cannot recover if it falls short.

Hoping for a Rising Average?

Boiling The Frog,
originally uploaded by purpleslog.

Still Comfortable?

Like frogs in a pan of water with the temperature rising, our comfort with increasing sales revenue from an increase in average transaction dollars is not feeling so comfortable in recent years. Here’s why:

You don’t have to be smart . . .

People within companies often argue about the silliest of things.

How likely do you think it is that one will come up with a better answer to a question that every other company has already answered?

It’s great to have the freedom of a small locally owned independent business to make your own decisions. It’s not smart to waste time and stretch relationships with arguments that have already been settled, and the results of those arguments proven out.