You Get What You Pay For

Your customers know they always get what they pay for, right?

Right?

Here's a thought: free is not always bad, and more expensive is not always better. It may sound obvious, but I still hear the "get what you pay for" pitch in presentations and see heads nodding. But take a look at Google's growing list of tools. Do you (as an amateur at least) really want to pay for a photo editing and filing system when you can download Picasa?

In the area of computer security, as I've mentioned previously, there are free solutions for spam control, spyware and virus protection independently rated better than some you pay for (Alwil, Spybot, Trend Micro).

Competitive marketing cannot be simply on the basis of "you'll see our value is commensurate with our price." With a few exceptions, like the Jaguar XKE (pronounced Jah-gyew-ur at the dealership) and some bottled water, most things just don't as much have as much prestige value as they used to.

Of increasing importance to the deal, especially as your price goes up, is your (demonstrable) unique value proposition. As Eli Goldratt has said, when it comes down to it, the only two things you really need for a sale are a unique value proposition and an unrefusable offer. Create these and you win.