Aug
Simple Rules Of Pricing That Are Often Ignored
Pricing is a very intriguing part of any business. Businesses blend the science and art of pricing to get the customer over the final hurdle to say “YES”. But there is a very simple, logical, intuitive side of pricing that often gets ignored.
Here is an example. Recently, one of the home meal delivery services, sent me this incredibly fascinating offer:
“GET 16 FREE MEALS ACROSS 7 BOXES + FIRST BOX SHIPS FREE + 3 SURPRISE GIFTS.”
I am all for surprise gifts, but I started doing the math to figure out what I was actually getting. It took me a few minutes to write everything down on a piece of paper to figure this out:
- Each box has 4 meals.
- Once you commit to 7 boxes, you are committing to 28 meals.
- This means 16 out of 28 meals are free. It’s better than fifty percent off and there’s a sense of urgency. The first one ships free now, and don’t forget the three surprise gifts.
What do you think? Isn’t it a great deal? But the question is, do each one of us have the time to do all the math to figure this out? Not really! Customers always decide emotionally, then justify rationally; but if they do not understand the price immediately, there can be no emotional or rational “YES”.
Let me share a second example with you. This is at a retail store.
I saw this sign, which says “BUY 3 FOR THE PRICE OF 3!”. I was literally lost for words. Isn’t it obvious that unless you tell me otherwise, you always buy one for the price of one, two for the price of two, three for the price of three, and so on. What are they trying to do? Confuse me? I didn’t even know the price of one.
Here is my simple rule of pricing: If I don’t get it. You won’t get me.
If a customer does not get your price. The odds are totally against you. I would even go all the way to say the chance of you getting a customer to say “YES” when they do not get your price is absolutely zero.
We were working with a national gym. They were offering a deal for first time members to join for an annual payment of $299. It seems like a good value. I started thinking about it more. I realized $299 a year means less than one dollar a day. For all of you die hard gym enthusiasts, what do you think about going to an amazing gym, for unlimited number of times a year, for less than a dollar a day? I know you are excited.
That takes me to the next rule of pricing: Make the value relevant to each customer so they have to say “YES”.
Finally, this goes beyond pricing. When you make a customer feel stupid, the customer will not have a relationship or a connection with you. It is all about making the customer feel smart and relevant. When they feel “it is all about me” magic happens.
