PRICE is not why you buy. 8 thing you didn't know you value more.

8 Things People Value Other Than price

Whenever we buy or sell something we always go right to the subject of price. How much does it cost? How much do I need to spend? What’s the sticker price? The truth is we rarely make purchases based on price.

Of course we need to be able to afford something we want but we almost never buy based on sticker price. Think of something you own and value. Why did you buy that thing? Was it because it was the lowest price on the shelf? Was it the lowest priced payment plan? Was it the cheapest on the list? Probably not.

Chances are you purchased something based on one or more of the item named below.

We value so many other things that totally outweigh price when it comes to swaying our purchasing decisions.

If you are a buyer these are things to consider, or when you are selling these are thing that can differentiate your product form the next and prove that you have a product of value even if it costs a little more.

Below is a list of 7 things that we value more than price.

1.Quality

Quality does not mean good or bad. Quality in other words is sustainable, suitable and conforms to our standards. We need a product or service that does what it is supposed to do and does not break down. Quality does not mean Cadillacs for everyone. Quality is suitability. A quality car for someone might be a Honda. A quality car for someone else might be a Toyota pick-up. To be of-quality it needs to fit the customers requirements.

2. Delivery

A product can be far more valuable if it is delivered fast. Delivered predictably and dependably. Speed is a big issue now a days and everyone wants everything fast. If you are ordering food from a delivery service for your hungry family and one place takes 90 minutes and another takes 15 minutes, we have a hungry family and we will most likely pay a little more.

3. Installation

A product or service that is worry free and time saving when delivered is far superior. A office administrator had 3 options when purchasing a computer. $3000 for the product delivered at the doorstep, $3500 for delivery and they would take it out of the box and plug it in and $4000 for the computer delivered, set up, ensured compatibility with the existing programs and 3 months of follow up maintenance if there were any questions.

For a fast paced business the third option is much more valuable and therefore worth a higher price.

4. Service

Helpfulness, courtesy, attentiveness, dependability.
Perfect example is a restaurant. You can go to McDonalds and get a full stomach for $10. You can go to a nice restaurant and get a full stomach for $50. You’re paying mostly for the quality of the service.

When selling you need to recognize or point out what the exceptional service is and that can easily justify a high price tag.

5.Terms

This could be translated to simplicity. If the buyer has things made easier they are more likely to be concerned less on price. Consider a home purchase. I can’t give the seller top dollar or what price tag they are asking, but they can leave the junk behind, they don’t need to clean up, they can come and go as you please after the purchase for a month if they forgot something and they can sell the appliances or something like that.

The terms can make the product or service much easier and more simple and lead to a better price tag.

6.Follow Up Support

Trouble free ownership. If you purchase a product or service, you can pay $100 and I’ll never see you again. Or, for $150 you have access to the sales person, technician, call center, help desk, etc for 3 months after the purchase to have any questions answered for you ensuring trouble free ownership.

7.Responsiveness

Very important in our current business world. People need easy of contact. Fast repairs, fast call backs if there is trouble, direct contact to the representative and a high level of quality responses can easily be worth a higher price tag. Would you pay $25 a month for an insurance policy from an international company that only takes inquiries through a call centre with 2-3 business days response time, or pay $35 a month for the same product but you have direct contact to the agent that lives in the same city to ask questions, make claims and you can contact immediately.

8.Reputation

We tend to do what other people are doing.

When a hotel room posted a sign that said “70% of the quests in this room re-use their towels throughout their stay” laundry costs for the hotel went down 20%. Celebrities can make brands or trends famous overnight.

This is why we will buy groceries on sale but still spend $300 on a Gucci belt.

People like to be recognized as using a reputable brand.

I for instance am an Apple snob.

Think about these things when you are buying OR selling a product or service. They will almost always outweigh the cost when making a decision.

“I only care about price! I need the cheaper car for my road trip next week”

“So you don’t care if it is poor quality, delivered in 3 weeks, and you are not allowed to call us for any questions or service ever again?”

“Well I need that!”

“Then this car here with all those features you mentioned is a slightly higher price but may be the car for you.”

“Ill take it!”

Brendan