Is cost an issue for your customers?
If you feel your customers don't value your services the way they should, that's your fault, not theirs.
A friend of mine is a lawyer, and he's a great example. Online services like LegalZoom have stolen away most of his bread and butter work, like forming corporations, crafting and filing straightforward divorces (if there is such a thing), filing for trademarks and copyrights, etc.
He still charges about $1,200 to form a standard LLC or S-Corp, even though online services only charge between $100 and $400. He thinks the problem is that the average person is out of touch, but he's out of touch.
If you're struggling to land customers -- or to charge what you feel are reasonable prices -- ask yourself these questions:
Can your basic service be reduced to a set of rules, checklists, or guidelines? Tasks and processes that can be captured in a series of steps or scripts have become increasingly less valuable due to automation, outsourcing, and an abundance of people willing to provide those tasks. Take filing tax returns: The process involves a series of steps based on rules, so automation allows the average person to accurately complete those steps. Expand your services to include tasks and processes that require judgment and smart decisions.
Is your perception of quality different from that of your customers? Quality is in the eye of the customer: When a customer is completely satisfied with what you perceive as low quality work, the customer isn't wrong. If I'm thrilled with an off the rack suit, the designers at Gucci can bemoan my lack of taste and discernment but I'm still right. Don't build in features that customers don't need -- and won't pay for.
Do your customers value specialization instead of bundling? Many service providers proudly advertise their "one stop shop" capabilities, but many customers prefer one-off purchasing so they only pay for what they need. Bundling creates cost efficiencies and synergies that often benefit you and not the customer. By all means provide complete kitchen design and installation services, but remember some customers just want new counter-tops -- and are willing to pay a premium for a great job.
Do customers see your service as a commodity? Process control and automation have turned many skilled professions into perceived commodities. For example, right or wrong, web design is in large part seen as a commodity. Accounting, some legal services, even health care services are seen as commodities -- not because the professionals involved are not highly skilled but because consumers can receive relatively similar levels of quality and service from a variety of sources. Sure, some providers are better than others, but to most customers, "good" is all they need. No one is willing to pay for "great" when they only need "good." The key is to find the customers who need "great," and to offer services where "great" is required.
Does technology lets customers perform a reasonable facsimile of your service? Many people can build a WordPress website before lunch, file corporate papers through an online service in the afternoon, and set up basic accounting for that new company in the evening -- and for a lot less than what they would pay a web designer, a lawyer, and an accountant. But while that person can set up Quickbooks fairly quickly, they don't know every accounting and tax strategy that will save their company money. Your service goal should be to fill in the gaps between what a customer can handle on their own and what only a specialist with comprehensive knowledge can tackle.