Last night I was flipping through one of my favorite magazines and looking at the upcoming fall fashions. A few things caught my eye and when I looked more closely, I noticed that the price was not given. Rather than a dollar amount, the copy read price available upon request. I immediately thought, ooh that item must be in limited quantity and very exclusive. I bet it’s expensive.
Is that what the brand wants me to think? Maybe. They have immediately signaled to price sensitive buyers that this isn’t for them while at the same time peaked the interest of those buyers who want something exclusive and unique.
Now the reality may be that the item was so new they hadn’t priced it by the time the magazine went to print. Or maybe they didn’t want to be placed in a comparison situation side-by-side a competitor in a situation where their product is somewhat out of context – displayed only via a magazine image.
As a small business owner who wants to get what you’re worth for your products and services, how can you discourage price-sensitive buyers from wasting your time?
Here’s a little marketing help: If your product or service is something that isn’t right for everyone and you aren’t strictly an ecommerce business (aka you sell only online), why put your prices on your website? When you place emphasis on price, you encourage price-sensitive buyers to commoditize what you do. These buyers want to compare you to your competitors and the fastest way to do that is by price.
Mattress brands have done a good job of making price comparisons difficult. They name their mattress styles differently in each retail brand that carries their products. So at Mattress Giant the name of the model may be one thing while at Haverty’s it’s another. It’s the same mattress. It just has a different name to discourage price shopping.
Use your website to generate leads for your business. Don’t expect your website to sell your products and services. That’s your job. Your website should do what that magazine spread did for me. It peaked my interest in a product. It got me thinking. It made me want to take the next step and contact the brand to find out more about the product. It established the brand as exclusive in my mind. Use your website to create value for what you do and to signal to people that hey, we’re not for everyone. We are boutique. We are different.