Vaal & Vaal is a private members' club and events venue in the West Midlands, UK. Their club was created out of a passion for connecting like‑minded, aspirational individuals in a “home away from home” setting, where members can be inspired, unwind, and host friends, family, and clients in a distinctive environment. Alongside membership, they offer private hire for everything from intimate celebrations and baby showers to theatre‑style seminars and exclusive events, all delivered with meticulous, highly personal service.

Amazing service, but small profits.

From a customer experience perspective, Vaal & Vaal were doing a lot right:

• Deeply customer‑centric, going above and beyond to create memorable, seamless events.

• Highly service‑oriented, focused on making every interaction feel personal, thoughtful, and premium.

However, behind the scenes, they were:

• Doing a lot of work for very little profit, especially on higher‑touch events and member experiences.

• Pricing their services conservatively, driven by the belief that “our customers might not pay higher prices.”

This created a painful mismatch: a premium service and experience, delivered at prices that didn’t reflect the actual value or the effort, time, and expertise involved. The risk was clear: burnout, limited reinvestment into the business, and slower growth, despite delighted customers.

A strategic, low‑risk pricing experiment.

Million Circles, strongly aligned with Vaal & Vaal’s belief in customer lifetime value (and drawing on Phillip Bouwman’s work and book on Customer Lifetime Value), focused not on cutting service, but on aligning price with value.

Together, we:

Reframed the pricing mindset around value and loyalty

• Connected Vaal & Vaal’s outstanding service to the concept of customer lifetime value: Happy customers stay longer, spend more over time, and refer others.

• Helped shift the internal narrative from “they won’t pay more” to “we’re under‑charging for what we deliver, and that limits what we can give back to our customers and our brand.”

Designed a carefully controlled pricing strategy

• Identified where pricing was most misaligned (e.g. specific packages, high‑touch events, or inclusions that were over‑delivered but under‑priced).

• Developed a minor, strategic pricing tweak—not a massive overhaul—that better reflected the premium, curated nature of the experience.

• Ensured the change aligned with the brand: exclusivity, quality, and a high‑value, member‑first environment.

Tested and validated through experimentation

• Implemented the change as a deliberate experiment, monitoring:

  • Booking volumes

  • Customer feedback and sentiment

  • Profitability per event/package

• Watched closely for any adverse effects on demand or member satisfaction, ready to adjust if needed.

Because the change was targeted, data‑driven, and grounded in Vaal & Vaal’s already excellent customer experience, it allowed them to validate a critical insight: their customers valued the offering more than they had believed—and were willing to pay for it.

A simple tweak, a much stronger business.

The results of this focused intervention were powerful:

• Profitability improved meaningfully without harming bookings or customer satisfaction.

• The business moved from “working incredibly hard for thin margins” to “being fairly rewarded for the excellence they consistently deliver.”

• With healthier margins, Vaal & Vaal gained more room to reinvest in:

  • Enhancing member experiences

  • Curating even better events and programming

  • Strengthening their brand as a distinctive private members club in the region

Most importantly, this one strategic tweak allowed Vaal & Vaal to blossom even more—staying true to their deeply customer‑centric ethos while finally capturing the value they were already creating. 

Summary

• What they do: A premium, aspirational private members club and events venue focused on connection, experience, and exceptional service.

• Problem: Outstanding customer service but weak profitability, driven by under‑pricing and fear that customers wouldn’t pay more.

• Solution: A carefully designed, low‑risk pricing experiment grounded in customer lifetime value and Vaal & Vaal’s strong service reputation.

• Outcome: More profitable operations, no negative impact on the business, and a stronger platform for Vaal & Vaal to grow and flourish.