Let’s say you’re choosing between three photography courses covering similar topics.
The prices are stacked like this:
$200
$250
$2,000
What’s going through your mind right now?
Curiosity floods your brain. Even if you’re not sure you can afford the $2,000 course, you want to know why it’s so expensive, compared to the other photography courses.
If we were truly happy with lower prices, we would simply snap up the $200 workshop, right? We wouldn’t so much as take a glance at the rest.
But that’s not how we’re built as human beings.
Many years ago, when I consulted with a company that sold beds in a store, we’d take customers around the store. We’d show them beds that cost $1,500, $2,000, and $4,000. And then we’d ask them if they were curious about the bed that cost $4,000.
You bet they were. You would be, and so would I — we’d all be curious about the features and benefits that caused an increase of 100 percent (or more) in the price.
Price decisions are made in a vacuum or by comparison
Lower prices, alone, don’t produce more sales. We’re clear on that idea, aren’t we?
And that’s because clients make price decisions either in a vacuum or by comparison.
To start, let’s look at making price decisions in a vacuum.
Say you decide to buy a bottle of Ardbeg (yup, it’s a really nice, single-malt whisky). But wait — the price of a single bottle of 2009 Ardbeg Supernova is $550.
You aren’t asking why at this