I can make a room full of business owners change their minds about their pricing power with a simple game that takes two minutes. First, I ask, “What’s the current price for a gallon of gas?”  Every time, they all come within a few pennies of the right answer. Everyone knows the price of gasoline.

Then, I ask a second question: “What’s the current price for a bottle of hot sauce?”  This time, no one answers. Their silence begs another question: “Who cares?” And that’s the point. The price of hot sauce doesn’t make any difference. It’s beneath our notice.

When pressed, the average guess is three times the actual price of hot sauce. Why do we know so much about the price of gas and so little about the price of hot sauce?

Because we buy gas all the time. We drive past a dozen gas stations per day advertising the price. Gas prices impact personal budgets, daily commutes, and even the news cycle. When gas prices move, we all notice.

But hot sauce? If the price of hot sauce goes up, no one knows.  If we run out, we just go to the store and buy more. Whether it’s $1 or $3 or $6, it makes no difference to our personal finances or anything else.  We simply buy it without thinking twice.  No one shops around for hot sauce.  We grab it, toss it in the cart, and move on with our day.

Why does this matter? Most inkjet print service providers have both gasoline and hot sauce in their portfolio of solutions. But they treat everything they sell like gasoline, afraid that if they raise their prices on anything that their customers will leave them.  It’s only true on the gasoline, not the hot sauce.

Not every part of your offering has the same level of customer scrutiny. Customers may be hyper-aware of unit pricing for large-volume jobs, but far less sensitive to auxiliary services, add-ons, or one-time charges that solve urgent problems. You have more room to move than you think; you just have to know where.

Don’t just focus on the gasoline. Where is your hot sauce?  Here are some possible hot sauce examples for production inkjet providers:

• Rush job fees (when turnaround is mission-critical)
• Versioning charges for personalized campaigns
• Stock upgrades (higher-quality substrates)
• Prepress services (file setup, color management)
• Data processing fees for complex variable-data jobs
• Fulfillment and kitting add-ons
• Late-stage change fees (edits after proof approval)
• Small minimum run surcharges

In most cases, customers aren’t focused on these costs the way they focus on price per piece. They care most about meeting deadlines, launching campaigns, and avoiding production headaches. When time is tight, when quality matters, when peace of mind is at stake, small costs disappear into the background.

Take a good look at everything you sell. Find your hot sauce. Where is the price sensitivity very low or non-existent?  Pick one of your "hot sauce" items and raise the price. You might be surprised that sales won't drop, but your profitability will rise.

Finding your hot sauce is one of the fastest, low-risk ways to increase profitability without risking sales volume.

Finding your hot sauce is one of the fastest, lowest-risk ways to increase profitability without risking sales volume. You’re not gouging customers; you’re charging appropriately for high-value, low-sensitivity services.  Test it. Measure it. Then celebrate the results.