Stop Competing on Price: How Branding Changes the Game

There's a conversation I've had probably 30 times in the last year.

A business owner sits across from me, frustrated, and says some version of this:

"Chinwe, I'm good at what I do. Really good. But every time I quote my price, potential clients tell me they found someone cheaper. I'm tired of losing clients to people who do half the quality of work I do. Should I just... lower my prices?"

My answer is always the same: No. You need better branding.

Let me explain why.

The race to the bottom

When you compete on price, you've already lost.

Because there will always be someone willing to go lower. Always. Someone who just started. Someone desperate for work. Someone who doesn't factor in overhead or profit margins properly.

If price is the only thing differentiating you, then you're just another option in a long list of "let's find the cheapest one."

And you know what happens in that scenario? The client picks based on the lowest number. They don't value your experience. They don't value your quality. They just want it done cheap.

Then they call you six months later when the cheap option messed everything up, asking if you can fix it. (And somehow expecting you to do it... cheaply.)

Here's what I learned running my business center

Before I fully transitioned into brand strategy, I ran a business center. Printing, binding, CAC registration, all of it.

And I watched this play out in real-time.

There were two types of clients:

Type 1: Called around asking, "How much for business card printing?" Got three quotes. Picked the lowest. Never came back.

Type 2: Walked in, saw the quality of work on display, asked questions about turnaround time and paper quality, and said, "Okay, I'll use you."

Type 2 became repeat clients. They referred friends. They trusted me with important documents because they believed I'd handle them professionally.

What was the difference? Type 2 clients weren't buying printing. They were buying reliability, quality, and peace of mind.

That's branding.

Branding isn't just a logo

Let me clear this up right now because I see this confusion everywhere.

Branding ≠ having a nice logo and pretty colors.

Those things matter, yes. But branding is deeper than that.

It's whether they see you as:

• Premium or budget
• Reliable or risky
• Professional or amateur
• Worth the investment or just another vendor

And here's the kicker: Your branding is communicating something whether you're intentional about it or not.

If your corporate materials look like they were thrown together in PowerPoint, you're communicating something.

If your website looks like it was built in 2010, you're communicating something.

If your business cards are flimsy with smudged ink, you're communicating something.

The question isn't "Should we invest in branding?" The question is "What is our current branding saying about us, and is that what we want it to say?"

The ROI of good branding (with actual numbers)

Let me tell you about two companies in the same industry. Both in construction. Both in Lagos.

Company A: Decent work. Okay reputation. Generic corporate profile. Competes mainly on price. Average project value: ₦8M. Profit margin: Slim, because they had to quote low to win.

Company B: Same quality of work. Same reputation. Professionally branded corporate profile, website, and presentations. Confident pricing. Average project value: ₦15M. Better profit margin because they weren't racing to the bottom.

What changed? Not their capability. Not their experience. Their POSITIONING.

Company B looked like the kind of company you'd trust with a ₦15M project. Company A looked like... everyone else.

When you look premium, you can charge premium prices. When you look generic, you have to compete on price.

It's that simple and that brutal.

The psychology clients won't admit

Here's something most clients will never say out loud but absolutely think:

They're judging your capability based on your presentation. Fair? Maybe not. Reality? Absolutely.

I've had clients tell me they eliminated companies from consideration before even reading their proposals - just because the submission looked unprofessional.

Think about that. Someone's business lost a ₦20M contract before anyone even evaluated their actual qualifications. Because of presentation.

Your branding is working for you or against you in ways you don't even see. In the pitch meetings you're not invited to. In the recommendations you're not included in. In the shortlists you're left off.

What good branding actually does

Let me break down what happens when you invest in proper branding:

1. You attract better clients

Premium clients expect premium presentation. When your branding looks professional, you naturally filter for clients who value quality over price.

The clients calling around for the cheapest option? They stop calling you. And that's good. Those were the clients who would have nickel-and-dimed you, delayed payments, and demanded free revisions.

2. You command higher prices with less justification

When your branding is strong, you spend less time defending your pricing. The materials speak for themselves.

Instead of: "Well, we're more expensive because..." you just present your rate confidently, and clients accept it because everything about your presentation says "This is a premium service."

3. You get more referrals

People refer businesses they're proud to recommend. When your branding is sharp, clients feel good about telling their colleagues, "You should work with these guys."

Nobody refers the cheap option. They refer the professional one they trust.

4. You close faster

Decision-makers are busy. When your branding clearly communicates competence and professionalism, they make faster decisions.

Compare:

• Generic presentation = "Let me think about it" = Weeks of back and forth = Maybe never
• Professional branding = "This looks good, let's move forward" = Closed deal

The companies winning aren't always the best - they're the best positioned

This is the hard truth nobody wants to hear:

The company winning the contracts isn't always the most experienced. It's often the company that LOOKS most capable.

I've seen 2-year-old companies beat 15-year veterans because they invested in their presentation. They looked established, trustworthy, and professional.

Meanwhile, the veteran company was still using the same materials from 2008, wondering why "these young companies with no track record" keep winning.

It's not magic. It's positioning.

So what should you actually do?

If you're tired of competing on price, here's where to start:

1. Audit your current branding honestly

Look at your:

• Website
• Corporate profile
• Pitch deck
• Business cards
• Proposals
• Email signatures

Do they look like the kind of company you'd pay premium prices to? Be brutally honest.

2. Invest strategically

You don't have to rebrand everything overnight. Start with what clients see first.

For most B2B companies, that's your corporate profile and pitch deck. Those are the documents that either open doors or close them.

3. Stop apologizing for your prices

If you're good at what you do (and you probably are), charge accordingly. Your pricing should reflect your value, not just cover your costs.

The right clients will pay it. The wrong clients won't. That's called filtering, not losing.

The real question

Are you competing on price because you have to? Or because you haven't given clients any other reason to choose you?

If it's the second one, that's fixable.

Your experience matters. Your quality matters. Your reliability matters.

Now make sure your branding reflects that.

Because the saddest thing I see is brilliant businesses losing to mediocre ones - not because they're not good enough, but because they don't look like they are.

Tired of being the "cheap option"?

Let's position your business where it belongs - at the top of the market.

Let's Work Together

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