How Much Should You Charge 2: Pricing to build relationships
Pricing isn’t only about making sure every cost is covered. It also shapes the experience your clients have of working with you. There’s a balance between charging properly and turning every small part of the job into another line item, and getting that balance right can influence whether a client sees you as a one-off supplier or someone they want to keep working with.
Last week I hired a camera operator I hadn't worked with before. By the time he delivered the footage, I was already looking for the next opportunity to work with him.
From the beginning, he made the whole process easy. He shared examples of similar work, clearly explained his rates, gear and way of working, and then took the time to understand the client and how the footage would be used.
He did more than simply follow my instructions. He suggested ways to refine the plan and get a better result, but did it respectfully and left the final decision with me. He also offered to run an additional safety camera angle at no extra cost. I said the client hadn't asked for one, so it wasn't essential. He captured it anyway and made it available in case I needed it.
That additional angle didn't require a great deal from him. It was another camera on a tripod, left running as a wide shot. But it had high perceived value to me because it reduced risk and showed that he actually gave a damn about the result. The work was good, and the client gave me positive feedback about him.
That's the part we can miss when pricing becomes too defensive. He didn't win my confidence because he was cheap, and I didn't come away thinking I could push him around. I came away feeling reassured and well looked after. The experience itself became his marketing.
It made me reflect on how I price my own work and the experience I want clients to have. For me, looking after clients is partly about doing work I'm proud of. It's also one of the main reasons clients have stayed with me for years and bought again.
There's a lot of advice in the video production industry about standing your ground on price. Charge for everything. Don't give anything away. Don't let clients take advantage of you. You're running a business, not a charity. I don't disagree with the principle behind that advice. You should charge properly, have clear boundaries and avoid letting the scope of a job expand while you absorb all the extra work and expense.
But when we take that advice too literally, we can start treating every small part of the service as another opportunity to add a charge. You may recover a little more on that invoice, but leave the client feeling that the original quote was only a starting point.
Build the whole service into your price
Imagine that someone hires you for a one-day shoot. They are in another city and won't be there in person, so the only practical way to deliver the footage is through Dropbox, Google Drive or another online service. Copying the files, uploading them and checking that everything has transferred correctly takes real time. Time costs money, and that work absolutely needs to be accounted for.
The important question is not whether the work has a cost. It is whether the client has any way to receive the service without it. If online delivery is the only practical way for them to get the footage, then it isn't really an optional extra. It is part of fulfilling the promise you made, and its cost should be built into the core fee.
It would be like a restaurant adding $10 to bring your meal from the kitchen to the table, while also telling you that you are not allowed to collect it yourself. Bringing the food to the table isn't free for the restaurant. It requires staff, time and operating costs. But it is a necessary part of the experience, so the restaurant accounts for it in the price of the meal.
That is different from offering genuine levels of service. I remember ordering coffee at a café in Europe where I could pay one price to drink it standing at the bar or a higher price to sit at a table and receive table service. Both were workable options, and I could choose the experience I wanted. That is a real pricing tier, not a mandatory part of the service presented as optional.
My rule of thumb is simple. If something is required to deliver what I promised, it belongs in the fee. If it materially expands the agreed scope, it can be charged separately. And if it costs me very little but is genuinely useful to the client, I may choose to include it.
Optional extras should be genuinely optional
What belongs in the core service depends on what you've promised. A simple property tour may need little more than a camera and gimbal. A high-end corporate interview will usually need a more substantial camera, lens and lighting package. Whatever is reasonably required to achieve the result you sold should be reflected in the quoted price, not revealed later as a string of extras.
I once hired a camera operator for an interview shoot that I wouldn't attend personally. He mentioned that he would use a 70-200mm lens for the second camera, and I agreed. When the invoice arrived, there was an additional $80 charge for bringing that lens. To be fair, the lens appeared in the optional extras section of his rate card, and I had missed it. But he hadn't mentioned the extra cost when he recommended using it.
The $80 itself wasn't the main issue. It was the message the charge sent. It made the quoted rate feel like a starting point from which more costs would be added. If the lens was needed to deliver the type of interview he had been engaged to shoot, I would rather its cost had been built into a fair overall rate and made clear from the beginning.
Generosity doesn't mean working for free
None of this means absorbing genuine changes in scope. Extra shoot days, crew, travel, overtime, extended storage, specialist equipment outside the quoted package, additional revisions or new deliverables may all justify a separate charge.
The important thing is to explain the extra clearly and have the client approve it before the cost is incurred. Listing it on a rate card may make it technically visible, but a direct conversation creates a much better experience.
But good boundaries don't require a separate charge for every small act of care. Once the full service is priced properly, I can still choose to do something useful that costs little, creates no meaningful extra workload and makes the job easier for the client.
Think beyond the current invoice
When I work with a client, I want the current job to go well, but I am also thinking about the next job, the one after that, and what we might be doing together in a year or five years. I have camera operators who have been working with me for more than ten years. They charge fair rates, I have brought them a great deal of work, and they have consistently done great work for me. Those relationships have been a win for both sides.
Your clients remember whether you made them feel that you were in their corner. They notice whether their success genuinely matters to you, whether you communicate clearly, and whether the fee feels like a complete service or merely the beginning of a string of additional charges. In my experience, that feeling is one of the strongest reasons a client comes back.
I had a meal with my wife recently where the waiter struck exactly the right balance between being relaxed, professional and attentive. When he asked whether I wanted wine, I explained that we were going to a show and I was worried a glass would make me tired. When he brought the meal, he offered me just a small taste and said he knew I would enjoy the dish more with it.
It was a tiny gesture and probably cost the restaurant very little, but it changed the experience. I felt looked after, and I'm still talking about it now.
That camera operator didn't earn my next call by being the cheapest or by giving away valuable work. He earned it by being clear about his rate, caring about the result and adding something useful at very little cost to himself.
That's the balance I try to maintain in my own business: charge a fair rate, include what's needed to do the job properly, and be upfront when a genuine change in scope will cost more. Clients remember the finished video, but they also remember whether they felt reassured and well looked after. In a relationship-driven business, that experience is one of the strongest forms of marketing you have.
Get clearer about your pricing and client relationships
If you’re trying to find the right balance between charging properly, protecting your margins and looking after your clients, this is exactly the kind of issue I work through with video production business owners in my coaching.
Find out more about working with me, or get in touch to arrange an introductory call.
