tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24444033.post-89327632260398073352008-06-24T23:31:00.005-05:002008-06-24T23:54:15.121-05:00A lot of corporate executives spend an extraordinary amount of time discussing how they should price their products. In some cases this is warranted — especially with new products. But most of these conversations involve existing products, with the competition's pricing being the catalyst causing the discussion.<br /><br />Candidly, there are very, very few instances when price is the true issue. Typically the real issue is value. In B2C and B2B markets worldwide, consumers have proved again and again that they're willing to pay a higher price if the value is there. So why are there so many discussions about how a product should be priced? Shouldn't the discussions revolve around "How do we add value in order to justify the price?"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_SpJTRREPOsk/SGHOxuNlwTI/AAAAAAAAA78/fhmxl-ryuxQ/s1600-h/granite_countertop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_SpJTRREPOsk/SGHOxuNlwTI/AAAAAAAAA78/fhmxl-ryuxQ/s320/granite_countertop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215677197085688114" border="0" /></a>I was speaking with a friend of mine today who purchased a new kitchen. That's not a small investment. She is putting in new granite <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">counter tops</span> and all new cabinets. She price shopped. She compared multiple companies and selected the one with the lowest price. So I asked her, "What did these companies do to differentiate themselves from one another?" Her response? "Nothing. They each gave me a quote on identical products. One could do it faster than the others. One could do it cheaper than the others. I went with the one that could do it the quickest and the cheapest."<br /><br />So far she's happy with the experience. But that's not the point.<br /><br />None of these companies appeared to be different to her. How in the world could she possibly assign a greater value to one company versus another if they all looked alike? If all companies look alike, then all that's left is price.<br /><br />Your company has a story to tell. And within that story you have small bits of information that set you apart from your competitors. But you must tell the story. And you must tell it in a compelling manner. Otherwise, you will only have price upon which to build your business. And there is always someone who can make it and sell it cheaper than you.<br /><br />It's your brand. If you chose to ignore it, then you can expect many more conversations about how to price your products. And many more instances where you lose business based on price.Sam Meershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660887651943711629noreply@blogger.com