• Article: Value-pricing strategy: "We're not the cheapest but..."
• Review: Pricing Psychology Report by Marlene Jensen
• Tip: Anti-spam email address for your website

Using a value-pricing strategy is a better proposition because it attracts loyal customers. Why do customers buy designer-labelled clothes and luxury cars? Why are those items more expensive when they don’t cost so much more to make? The answer lies in the perceived value. Value is not an inherent attribute of the product but it commands a higher price.

Customers do not buy features and benefits, they buy VALUE.

Value is subjective. Value is a benefit but a benefit is not necessarily of value to all customers.
For example, a vendor offers free installation and free updates for his software. Customer-A considers "free installation" as "value"’ because he has no technical knowledge and this will save him time and effort. Customer-B rates the free installation as "nice to have" but the drawcard or "value" is the free updates that will save him money in the long run. Customers do not assign value to the same benefits.

Behind value-pricing strategies there are a few important concepts:

• Customers are value conscious rather than price conscious e.g. some customers will pay extra for prompt delivery.
• Customers assign a personal value to a product or service e.g. a teenager is willing to pay a premium price for a concert performed by his idol.
• The selling price is based on customers’ perceived value rather than on the vendor’s costs e.g. an ebook costs less to produce than a paperback but readers will pay more for it because of the value placed on format and instant delivery.

When customers evaluate competing products, they are usually comparing value. To increase the value of your products, you can either add benefits or reduce the perceived risk factors rather than resorting to reducing your price.

Adding benefits
Value-added benefits do not replace comprehensive product information but are complimentary strategies to help converting website visitors into customers and giving you the competitive edge.
Try these value-pricing strategies:

• Special packaging e.g. recyclable containers, gift wrapping with card
• Package deals (for convenience) e.g. bundles, "all inclusive" value pack
• Fulfilment options e.g. "white glove" delivery service, instant download
• Payment options e.g. monthly and yearly plans
• Free training material e.g. online manual, video, audio
• Personalised service e.g. "I oversee each account"
• Free product updates or refreshers (for courses)
• Bonus offers
• Certification e.g. licence, training certificate

Book review: Pricing Psychology Report by Marlene Jensen

Ebook in PDF format, 56 pages, 2nd Edition - April 2004

In Pricing Psychology Report, Marlene Jensen, an experienced pricing strategist, looks beyond economics and the accounting relationships between cost, price and profit. She puts forward pricing strategies based on how consumers respond to numbers and psychological pricing tactics.

I found it fascinating how consumers are influenced by particular numbers. Did you know that some numbers will favourably impact your sales whereas others will set a psychological barrier?
I knew that $9.99 pulled more sales than $10 but I wasn’t aware of the "magic" numbers and "poison" prices. And, I never thought of using cents in pricing as a means to emphasise a discount.

It is also enlightening to discover that in some situations, a price increase could raise your status while generating more sales. Marlene’s strategies based on psychological factors and visual perceptions are well-documented.

The Pricing Psychology Report is well-presented with bookmarks and a comprehensive Table
of Contents. From this practical and concise reference guide, you will learn:

• How to raise prices without losing sales - what works and why
• "Magic" numbers that increase orders
• "Bad" numbers that discourage orders
• When putting cents in your price is a danger
• How your "decor" is connected to the price you can get
• Psychological tricks in discounting
• How to "hide" price increases in plain sight
• The psychology of negotiating prices
• Pricing alerts - danger signs that you're seriously underpriced
• How to charge different prices to different groups - legally
• Two FREE online testing solutions - so you can test prices yourself
  PLUS... a chapter of interviews with Internet marketing gurus - including Jim Edwards, Anne Holland, Harmony Major, Michael Nicholas, and Dr. Judith Briles - on what they've found works in pricing psychology.

I highly recommend the Pricing Psychology Report to anyone involved in pricing. The Pricing Psychology Report is a smorgasbord of pricing strategies, scenarios, test results and research findings that will satisfy the needs of students, business owners and professional marketers.
An excellent read that will leave you enthused and keen to implement these simple and effective psychological pricing strategies.

You can purchase this book directly from Marlene's website.

©2005 Henriette Martel-Lawson

Are you afraid of putting your email address on your website for fear that spam robots will collect your address? Are you offering a web contact form in lieu of an email link just to preserve your inbox from being clogged?

Web contact forms don’t replace email links. Why? Because communicating through email is effortless, familiar and convenient. The forwarding address is pre-filled and there is space to accommodate any length of message and also freedom to give as much or as little personal information as the visitor (or customer) wishes to provide. Encourage people to contact you.

But how to prevent spam robots harvesting your email address?

Those email harvesters don’t read Javascripts. By inserting a snippet of Javascript, the address becomes invisible to them. I’m not a Javascript writer but since I’ve used a Javascript to hide my address, I still receive feedback and enquiries but the number of unsolicited messages from spammers has reduced considerably.

Any of the following Javascripts will camouflage your address. Follow these three steps:

This is the example:

Instructions

1. Substitute your username and domain name for mine using one of the below scripts
2. Copy the script and paste it in your text editor e.g. Notepad (Microsoft Word is not a text editor)
3. Now, copy the script (from Notepad) and paste it into the BODY of your HTML document.

Script One

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE ="JavaScript">
document.write('<a href="mailto:hmartel' + '@' + 'marketingcues.com">' + 'hmartel' + '@' + 'marketingcues.com</a>')
</SCRIPT>

Script Two

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
username = 'hmartel';
domain = 'marketingcues.com';
document.write('<a href=\"mailto:' + username + '@' + domain + '\">');
document.write(username + '@' + domain + '</a>');
</SCRIPT>

After a few days, you’ll start enjoying the difference.