- September 10, 2018 -
"I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me NOW!"
Betcha thought I was finally published. Nah...maybe someday.
It's from a scene in the "rags-to-riches-back-to-rags-then-back-to-riches" movie “The Jerk” where Steve Martin sees his name in the White Pages.
He flips out, beyond excited that he is finally “somebody” because he sees his name in print.
Come on...we've all had our "Woohoo! I'm somebody, dammit!" moments.
We're human. We have egos.
We want status on some level...both personally and professionally.
That's a given. Obvious stuff.
But I want to dig a little deeper because there's a pretty valuable business lesson in the funnyman's shtick.
I'd been talking to a potential client the other day and was explaining why people weren't warming up to his prices...and I was NOT suggesting he drop his list price.
There are four levels of value:
(1) Utility Value – the value of simply having a certain something vs. not having it. For example: I own a house.
(2) Emotional Value – the change in feelings that come as a result of having the "thing." For example: Thank God I don't have to share a house with a bunch of smelly frat brothers anymore.
(3) Experience Value – the upside to life in general as a result of having the "thing." For example: Now that I have my own home, I can finally entertain without having to hire "Two Maids & a Mop."
(4) Positional Value – a difference in the way people perceive you and how you feel about that elevated position. For example: I’m a guy who's movin' and shakin'. Look out world!
What drives the humor in the movie scene is the fact that Martin is taking something we all recognize as utility value (being listed in the phone book) - something any business can do...
...and treating it as if it gives him instant status.
You can't help but laugh. (Although not sure Millenials will find the same humor as we dinosaurs.) Lol
When your website just down-and-dirty lists your packages and prices because "either they want what I'm selling or not" - you're just advertising the utility value.
I'm sure you don't do that. But you see it done in restaurants all the time.
A cheap fast-food place just lists the items and the prices. Bare bones. Order or don't.
A mid-level restaurant at least shows a picture. Think of the typical menu in your local American-Chinese joint. Everybody's seen the picture of General Tso's Chicken, Beef & Broccoli, and Fried Rice.
A nicer restaurant lists the ingredients and how they are prepared.
And...an upscale restaurant will tell you what the CHEF has done to create your meal.
At each level, they are conveying the type of value needed to justify their price.
You need to do the same.
The answer isn't to drop your price.
Instead, raise the perceived value or the service or product you're offering.
Make sure your messaging is dialed in at each milestone of your marketing and sales funnel...from optin to sales page.
Or you can just let us do it.
Later!
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