“Investment” is the Stupidest F*cking Word When it Comes to Your Pricing

Can we pause for one second and talk about the word investment?

It is the stupidest f*cking word I’ve ever heard when it comes to pricing our services. This is some sh*t that got started like seven, eight, ten years ago and people started referring to our work as an “investment”. Do you understand how ridiculous it sounds? To go up to today’s consumer and say, “Welcome to Mercedes-Benz. We’d like to present you with our investment collection”, or “We’d like to present you at Louis Vuitton your investment options”. We’re not f*cking investing in anything. They’re buying pictures. You’re selling a service; they’re buying that service. That’s all it is, so call it what it is. When you start using cheesy words like this, it rubs customers the wrong way.

Do you understand how ridiculous it sounds? To go up to today's consumer and say, "Welcome to Mercedes-Benz. We'd like to present you with our investment collection". We're not f*cking investing in anything. They're buying pictures.

I know what you want to do. I know you are trying to convey that this is their first family heirloom, that this is something they will have for generations to come; that it is more than just a picture. I’m on your side here. So if you’re a photographer and this is what you’re investing in, I get it. I understand what you’re trying to convey, but what you have to understand is there’s a consumer side to this and on the consumer side to this, you sound like an idiot, so stop doing it. It’s not what people are responding to.

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Do you use the term "investment" on your website? Do you think it helps, hurts, or neither?

7 thoughts on ““Investment” is the Stupidest F*cking Word When it Comes to Your Pricing”

  1. Omg! About time some one said something about the investment word that all photogs use instead of pricing. I always hated it!! Thank you dal!!

    Reply
    • No, it’s not a stupid idea. Although I never use it myself in any case or event, but I never thought of it as a stupid thing. To say it’s stupid is almost like some vendors offering a sale on an item or subscription periodically, so why do they get fancy with words to promote a sale. Said vendors should just be straight upfront and list the prices as they are, buy it or forget it. Fancy words are a way of marketing, like people don’t say second hand cars or used cars these days, “pre-owned” sounds easier on our ears. “Administrative Assistant” is not used sparingly for secretary positions, etc. In my own opinion, there’s nothing with being fancy with words sometimes, they do sell to some of the people some of the time.

      Reply

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