The psychology of “Value”​ vs. Price


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The challenge is that most businesses try to predict consumer behavior rather than predicting value-assimilation.It’s more than just a purchase — think of the utilitarian principle which says the product or service is of as much value as the job it performs. It’s also riddled with emotional considerations because a human being is not monolithic nor are they purely rational. Emotional bases are often the driver for the products we buy and the things we do.

So, what you want to do is “Learn to understand the emotions of the consumer.” This is harder to do because emotions beyond the binary (think here, happy vs sad) are harder to understand & even harder to collect data on. What is the data point for satisfied but unhappy?

The thing about value is that simplistically we tend to think value is price. Not so.

Price is the cost of something. Value is the benefit (real or perceived) derived from the thing.

Building a business for value is much more complex. It’s not just about the perpetual rise in revenues, growth in market share or customer share of wallet.


What about customers that say, “You’re too expensive”?I think we are entering an era where for the first time the depth of community engagement (notice: not the size of the community but the depth of the engagement) will be the key driver of a great strategy, budget allocation from finance & ultimately shareholder value.

Beyond commodities or commodity services, expensive is about affordability. Your target client will tell you if you are mispriced by choosing a “functionally equal” alternative. The prospect that says “expensive” often cannot afford the product.

Affordability is about the capacity to buy, while mispriced is about the preference to buy.

But consider that, as Conrad Shezi says, value is determined by time & scarcity. The value of a cellphone call 20 years ago was far higher & the satisfaction index was far more pronounced (even though the technology was poorer) because of the availability or scarcity of the technology as well as the low expectation of the customer.

I had NEVER considered that.

Value is not static hence the “time-value” of something.

If value is benefit perceived & derived, then value is Personal (functional utility); Communal (perception) & time based.

evaluate your value proposition and have fun doing it.

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