We all know that most people browse and only a few buy. Several months ago I did a study on shopping cart abandonment in 2009 and learned that 5 of the top 6 reasons for abandonment were due to price-sensitivity. If you have traffic on your Web site, how do you market to the price-senstitive and convert them from browsers to buyers?
One great way is posting a coupon code somewhere on your website. If your prices are fair and you are offering a discount on top of that (plus maybe even free shipping) this will give people more desire to wanna make a purchase.
I have vast experience in the offline world and a lot of the same principles have worked for me online. The main reason people price shop is that they don't have anything else to compare your product or service to the next. Everyone is saying that there's is the best, I've been doing this for 17 years and so on. It's all BS! Over 80% of people buy on emotion and not logic. I accept that some people just can't afford higher prices, but I have proven it time and time again where I have been 3 times the price of my competitors and I have sold heaps. You need to give them multiple reasons (benefits) why they should buy off you. Use the WIIFM principle - what's in it for me? Look at your site from a buyers point of view and not your view as your opinion means nothing when it comes to prospects getting ready to part with the hard earned dollar. They need to see an emotional reason why they must buy of you, then use all the great gadgets we have online to sweeten the deal. I was taught this by one of my mentors "He who lives by price alone shall die by price, alone! Steve
Mixing, Valid point, but coupons can overly complicate the process. For instance, here is a personal example. When I shop online and I see a coupon box in the checkout process I abandon the cart and go to retailmenot.com to see if there is a coupon to try. If none of those coupon codes work, I rarely go back and make the purchase. Even if I was a non-price-sensitive buyer the coupon code box reminds me that I could have a better deal. Imagine checking out of an actual retail store and the clerk asks "do you have the 20% off coupon?" Uhhh, no, but I'd like one? Steve, I agree that price isn't the the basket where you want to put all your eggs, but how would you increase value of transacting with you online? The strategy is the same offline as it is online - the strategy of building value, but I submit that the tactics are completely different.
NEVER build a business on price, there is always someone who will work for less then you. I got a website, where I charge double the industry standards or more. I build TRUST and over deliver to customers. Cheers, Mukul
I believe if the goods are good and the services are right.....prices will be come second in mind....
Mukul, Sounds like your customers value doing business with you. I definitely am willing to pay more if I work with somebody I trust, however, I'd contend that the major of Web site traffic is unwilling to pay. Most of us who run Web pages are familiar with the fact that most of our traffic won't even enter the shopping cart. An eMarketer study shows that, on average, 45% of people that enter the shopping cart (or checkout) will leave to price-sensitivity issues. Are there tactics or strategies that you employ that help you beat this average?
It is not a purchase, its a experience. Creating trust, a simple experience. I am sure I lose a lot of business because of price (I know I do this and it fits my business model). Give them a reason to want to pay more (I think TRUST is a big one). John Reese will get $2,000 today for his product when I can put out the same thing and not get $500 for it. He has built a model that gives people a reason to trust him, he is well known. Cheers, Mukul