by Garreth Bohanes, Senior Adviser
Think about the last time you went shopping for a major item: personal, electrical, homewares or sporting gear.
What drove your final purchasing decision? Was it the brand or a particular need?
When you headed for the counter to pay, had you ‘bagged a bargain’ or were you taking home a brand you know and trust?
Or did you buy a label you hadn’t intended to buy simply because you were enticed into the store?
Many businesses still fall into the trap of selling on PRICE instead of VALUE.
Look around you and you will see store after store driving sales with special offers and drastic discounts. Customers flock to these bricks ‘n mortar or online stores and snap up the items, but only because the price is attractive, not the brand itself.
The end result is little or no impact on sales. Customers rarely go back to the shop again, because the purchase was just a bargain, not something with longevity, something they associated with value.
A smarter strategy is to think deeper; understand your customer and what drives their purchase behaviour. What does your brand currently represent? What is your value?
When you increase your ‘perceived value’ to change the way your customers see you, that’s when you will begin to see results. For example, you’ll gain greater traction through association.
Take Sam’s Sports store, which offers a range of own-brand workout gear. These products are good quality and more affordable, but not a brand name.
Sam’s Sports knows, however, that an association with brands like Nike and Lululemon will increase their ‘perceived value’. To entice customers to visit their store, they buy in and strategically display these popular brands in their store windows.
This association with high profile labels changes the brand positioning of Sam’s Sports. Customers know, trust and aspire to own these brands – even if they never buy them. Seeing these labels in the store windows draws customers into the store, where they discover Sam’s Sports’ excellent range of workout gear at a price they can actually afford.
Gradually, Sam’s Sports creates their own perceived value as customers appreciate what they have to offer once they step through the door.
Today’s customers are educated and savvy. They’re more likely to shop around and seek out the perfect solution for them. They need to be enticed in the door to see the value you offer.
So how can YOU tap into the power of perceived value to attract customers?
You have a ‘seat at the table’, just like everyone else. You need to work hard to get people to come and sit with you.
Interested?
To find out more about how to improve your perceived value and set your business up for greater success in 2019, make an appointment with Frank Colli or Garreth Bohanes by calling 0401 984 241. We’d love to help you fill your seat at the table!
© Copyright 2016 EccoConsultants.