Best Price, or the Best Deal?
It is common knowledge and constant dogma that everyone is looking for the lowest price when they shop online (or anywhere else, for that matter.)
But, I say that is false. If everyone was looking for the lowest price, there wouldn’t be a market for Mercedes, or Tiffany, or any other high-end or mid-price brand. We’d all be shopping at a dollar-type store.
Sure, a low price is a nice thing, and many people do look for the lowest price available. But the better find is the best deal.
The Best Deal is a combination of several factors: Price, Value, Quality, Features, Extras, Service, Guarantee, Experience, Long-term Relationships — the whole package is what makes up the Best Deal.
Granted, many of these factors besides price become quite subjective. How do you measure the Experience of Shopping Online with one outfit compared to another? What constitutes a Great Relationship over a Good one? How can anybody truly measure the Value of one product or vendor over another?
But, that’s what the innovative and successful Online Retailer does – They make Best Deals out of every aspect of the Shopping Process.
They pay attention to design, usability, supporting information, product layout, photo and graphics quality, shipping features — Oh yes, they pay attention to price, too.
But like a good salesman with a great product, price should be the last consideration after all is said and read. If an Online Retailer wins a customer on price, they will just as easily lose them on price. Isn’t long-term loyalty one of the most important results of any transaction?
I want my customers to not just be happy, but to be satisfied enough to come back in the future. I want to make them the Best Deal every time, so they will make it a priority to return again, and again.
Not Best Price, but the Best Deal.
What do YOU think?
John