The building was tall. I was on the ground floor though. Waiting for the elevator to come and take me up. And what I saw while waiting turned some lights in my brains.
A lady in a business suit turned up from nowhere. She went over to a vending machine. And of all things, she purchased a bottle of water. This wasn’t enlightening in itself. But when you take the whole ground floor into account, it is a bit. You see, there was a cold water cooler right across the vending machine. It would have just taken the lady 3 steps to cross over and drink water for free. Yet she spent 1.25$ on a bottle of water.
Why? Why did the lady buy the bottle of water when she could drink water it for free? The answer is perception. It is perceived that bottled water is safer than tap water. It is however not so. According to some studies, tap water contains some minerals that even mineral bottled water doesn’t. And these are minerals that the body needs.
Did you know that bottled water costs more than gas?
It is interesting how perception makes people spend more money on things. Water is available for free almost everywhere. Yet bottled water is big business. Interesting tid-bit: A gallon of bottled water is more expensive than a gallon of gas! And that’s not in the deserts in Asia where oil is abundant and water scarce! While gas is 1.7$ a gallon, mineral water would cost $3.85 per gallon! This when tap-water is available for free. Packaging and perception makes all the difference.
Action summary:
° How do your clients perceive your product?
° Improving the perception is easy. By changing the packaging, the perception changes too.
° Water is free. Yet bottled water is not. Oxygen is free. Yet people pay money to breathe it in oxygen bars. Just re-package your product and people will be willing to pay more for it.
° It’s all in the perception. A book can be sold as a course pack for more money. Free advice can be sold as consultation for more money.