How many of you would have the nerve to proclaim, “We will NOT be oversold”? Yet that’s just what designer and retailer Bijan Pakzad did. For thirty-five years he reigned over his exclusive Rodeo Drive establishment in Los Angeles. Bijan died last week at the age of seventy-one.
From his by-appointment-only boutique to his claim as “the most expensive clothing designer in the world”, Bijan was an unapologetic promoter of exclusivity.
You might be asking yourself, “But what does opulence and exclusivity have to do with personal histories?” Good question and here’s where I see the connection.
People buy products for their perceived benefits not for their features or functions.
We purchase a computer not for its technical specifications but for its benefit to us – namely fast research capabilities, entertainment, communications, marketing, and so on.
Bijan wasn’t selling clothes. He was selling celebrity, exclusivity, and glamor.
As personal historians what are we selling? If you said books, videos, or CDs, you’d be wrong. Those are the products of our work. What people are buying are:
- Time. People are busy and don’t have the time to document mom or dad’s story.
- Satisfaction. People feel good honoring someone through a life story book or video.
- Expertise. Generally people aren’t skilled in the many aspects of producing a personal history and need our help.
- Closeness. People perceive that a personal history will bring families closer together.
- Understanding. Participating in the recording of a life story gives people a better understanding of who someone is and how that person got to be that way.
people will pay a premium price for specialty products and services.
The truth is that while Bijan’s clothes are priced at the high end of the designer market at $1,000 for suits, they are hardly the most expensive in the world. His clients are drawn by the cachet of exclusivity and pampered service.
On a more pedestrian level, Starbucks pioneered the brewing of premium coffee in North America. Before Starbucks opened in Seattle in 1971, a cup of coffee was just a cup of coffee and could be had for 10 t0 15 cents. Many a skeptic would have questioned the wisdom of charging 10 times that amount for a “fancy” coffee. They were proved wrong. The story of Starbucks success is now part of pop culture history.
In a previous post Are You Charging Hamburger Prices for Gourmet Work? I wrote:
Something else to think about. A Stanford University study showed that when subjects were given the same wine and told that one bottle was $5 and the other $45, people unfailingly found “the expensive wine” tasted better. “So, in essence, [price] is changing people’s experiences with a product and, therefore, the outcomes from consuming this product.” said Baba Shiv, a professor of marketing who co-authored the research report.
What do these studies say about how you price your personal history services? They show that pricing too low can be perceived by your potential clients as you’re offering an inferior product. People still believe the old adage – you get what you pay for.
Personal historians provide a specialty service and product. Like Bijan and Starbucks, we need not apologize for charging a premium price.
I’m not suggesting that every personal historian should sell exclusive products at eye-popping prices. What I do want to emphasize is that we need a shift from seeing ourselves solely as “craftspeople” toiling away in obscurity for the love of our work. That’s okay if you’re into this as a hobby. It’s not okay if you want to build a successful business.
So, who will proudly proclaim that they produce the costliest personal histories in the world?
Photo iStockphoto
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[A tip of the hat to Diane Haddad at Genealogy Insider for giving me the idea for this article.]
But seriously, we all need to do a periodic self-examination and ask, “Would I hire myself?” You might be surprised at what you find.
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