Perception is Reality -

Let’s face it, the Internet makes it easy to shop. In a few minutes you can locate a number of stores that carry a product you want. You can compare products and prices easily. Gone are the days when a merchant had a captive audience of customers. Increased travel and the commercialization of the World Wide Web has seen to that.

This exposure to stores and services offered globally has both simplified and complicated something as basic as shopping and selling. There is the availability of, and constant access to, products and services consumers want. Shopping has become simple, instant, and convenient. Global competition and increased expectations of consumers has made pricing and marketing more complicated for merchants.

In a market where there are potentially limitless people selling the same product, how can an individual gain an “edge” on the competition? Continue reading…

First, it helps to define what I mean by “Price” and “Value”. Dictionary.com tells us “Price is the sum or amount of money or its equivalent for which anything is bought, sold, or offered for sale.” and that “Value is the perception of relative worth, merit, or importance.”

Price is a straightforward concept and potential customers will either pay or not pay for an item or service. Value, on the other hand, is a little more elusive. It is based on the customer’s perceptions. Not just their perception of the quality of the item or service, but their perception of what that item or service will do for them.

When a potential customer says, “I can’t afford it” in regards to a product they are saying one of two things. In one case, they do not have enough money to afford what is offered (price). In the other, they cannot justify the purchase because they do not perceive the benefit of what is offered (value).

Continue reading…