Stop Racing.

Seth Godin, on multiple occasions, talks about the "Race to the Bottom," or a race where providers vie for position as the low-cost provider. The problem is, they could win, and hurt everyone else along the way.  

Take pianists. In the pianist marketplace, there's a relatively standard hourly rate of $100.00 per hour for a solo pianist gig. Typically there's a minimum charge of 2 hours. Some pianists charge $125.00/hour, while others might cost $75.00. What happens if a Milwaukee pianist started charging $65? Then another started quoting $60? Then another, $50? Do you see where this is going?

Wedding/function/party bands. I've seen a similar pricing trend. Milwaukee providers will often charge lower as DJs become more and more popular alternatives to larger bands. For the Milwaukee consumer looking for a cheap option, this is great. However, Milwaukee consumers also hire groups from Chicago, ones that charge a heck of a lot more than the groups from Milwaukee. Why?

Chicago is a premium. It's not, they'd like to think they are, but they're not. But, in the minds of our customers, they are. Chicago is at the top. Interestingly, Chicago bands treat their clients differently than most Milwaukee groups.  

When a bride buys music from a well plaid Chicago group, they feel as if they're part of an enterprise. Many of these groups not only have bands, but they contract string quartets, jazz groups, they play continuously, it's a network. They feel too big to fail. They're quality, and they're safe.  

Stop racing to the bottom. If you win, you'll do it on the backs of others, you won't enjoy your work, and it won't sustain you.  

Race to the top. Be different than the rest. Create quality over quantity. Focus on what your customer needs. Deliver on that need better than anybody else. People will gladly pay top dollar for someone to meet their needs.  

But for the people that don't want to pay, they're not for you.  
They're for someone else.  
Focus on others like you.
Serve them.