How are the price wars going in the high street near you?
You’ve probably seen Topshop, H&M and Zara going at it hammer and tongs with window displays of late, although I bet you’ve never seen anything quite like this, which I stumbled upon recently:
In Barking, Essex, a 97p store opened up right next door to a 99p store, and not only that, it’s launch featured an introductory 95p sale!
When I saw the photo, my first thought was – does the fact that a shop is selling a product for two pence less than their neighbour really make THAT much of a difference to anyone who shops in either store?
Surely it can’t.
Then it got me wondering why the 97p store decided to open up and use their SLIGHTLY cheaper prices as their main USP. It just seems rather silly to me.
What if they’d opened up next door – and instead of selling the same products for 2p cheaper, they sold better products for more money? Would that be a more successful business model?
Almost certainly.
With better quality products, they’d have had the potential for more profit and higher margins, which at the very least would’ve given them the revenue to make the shop look a lot more professional than it does right now.
If they’d spent a bit of cash on the exterior and the interior of the shop, and sold higher quality products for higher prices, do you think they’d have been thrown into the mix with shops like the 99p store? Of course they wouldn’t.
They’d be elevated, they’d be well thought of and they’d be better positioned to attract clientele who want what they’re selling and are prepared to pay a decent price for it.
The quality of the product you sell will always matter more than any superficial and unimpressive saving that your customer will make; and that’s something well worth us all thinking about in our businesses.
It’s also worth remembering that 86% of your customers would pay 25% MORE for a better customer experience – further proof that they never buy based on price alone!
Have a great week – and keep FIT!
FIT Tip of the week
Remember – The only place you’ll find SUCCESS before WORK is in a dictionary!
