Price or quality?

[MichaelG]

Hi citizens,

I thought I should share this with you - just got this comment from a new customer on our online store:

Question (part of the checkout form):
What do you think of our website?

Customer comment:
"Excellent - I visited 4 other sites which were cheaper before buying from yours. The other sites either looked unprofessional or lacked important info like shipping details/cost and/or contact info"

Lesson learnt
We don't have to be cheaper than the other guy to win customers ;)

The Store
http://www.kidspcgames.co.uk

The customer's order was dispatched today and he also got a BIG thank you email from the customer services team ;)

Do we think he will return and buy more from us?
YES!

[webit]

My point exactly

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=6074&highlight=

[Richard Conyard]

But would you but a website for £350 ;-) --- JOKE: lets not turn this into another massive thread please.

[Astaroth]

There is certainly a balance between price and quality but different people have different perceptions of what the correct balance between the two are.

From looking at your website it would appear that you are aiming at the parents as the target market and parents are well known for wanting simplicity/ service - hence why Game (or which ever game software retailer it was) a couple of winters ago really pushed their helpfulness rather than their prices.

If your games were for older children/ teenagers who have their own buying power I am sure you would find that the majority of the kids would be more heavily price driven (got to make that paper round money last!)

I think this is more an example of knowing your customers and tailoring your proposition to them rather than a straight forward price/ quality.

[Rob Holmes]

Shame this wasn't set up as a poll!

Rob

[MichaelG]

Astaroth,

These are wonderful points and you are right on all counts. Understanding the customer is the key to a successful business.

With kidspcgames.co.uk we had a choice - ebayers or quality/service - we went for quality/service and so far so good. We are now getting a lot of referrers which for me, is a measure of success.

We are always open to suggestions on how we can improve the website so people keep the advise/suggestions coming.

Astaroth thanks for your contribution.

[DuaneJackson]

But do you think it's a bad idea to put on your marketing blurb, your website for instance, something along the lines of "We don't compete on price, but the quality of what we do is second to none" - obviously a bit more eloquently. Or should that message be put across more subtely in other ways?

How do you get this point across to the potential customer without screaming "We're expensive, go somewhere else!"

[MarkPearson]

I also think it depends on what the product or service is....

[MinuWeb]

One thing about the internet is that it is very easy for people to compare pricing of services / products but not so easy to compare quality, as they often don't find out until after payment has been made.

This makes it more important for the higher quality (more expensive) providers to show why they are more expensive, although the cheap providers are normally pretty quick to copy.......

[Astaroth]

From personal experience I have never trusted the testimonials on websites - though from experience a lot of americans companies go in for them in a big way.

Short of word of mouth - how would you approach "proving" your added value to customers in non-technical goods/ services? It is easy enough to claim any level of service (and have gaping loop holes in your terms and conditions) or have dubious testimonials.

[webit]

One thing about the internet is that it is very easy for people to compare pricing of services / products but not so easy to compare quality, as they often don't find out until after payment has been made.

It's very easy for someone to come in and undercut you on price but so much harder to gain share if the service is the USP.

[Jayne]

30 day trial are a good idea, or money back quarantee, that says to me that your product is good, or you wouldn't offer the trial or instant money back. :D

Jayne

[Richard Conyard]

How would you do a 30 day trial on a custom written solution like a website?

[Jayne]

Hi,

Thought he ment comp' games....

I'll have a think about the web site bit....off for a nosey at your site :D

Jayne

[Jayne]

Hi Richard....I'm not totally sure what you do, but an I right in guessing, you help people make there web sites better..didn't quite understand all that techy stuff. Plus, the colony features part, all the letters overlapped!

So to do better sales (my thoughts)are...

Make you site understandable for none techies...you see if they can understand your site, then they wouldn't need your help (if you get that).
For eq..what is Wisywig? I don't know that, but I have a web site and if I was looking to pay for help, i'd want to know what is was, without asking and sounding stupid :D

And for money back quarentees...say if my service isn't top notch, you get your money back (only if they can prove it though) :D

There you go, bet you wish you'd not asked now :lol:

Jayne

[JK_du_Toit]

Jayne,

This is for: What you see is what you get. Its all technical terms for webdesigners and webdevelopers. (CIW certified and those types)Technical guys should never sell any product, cause nobody knows what the heck they talk about and they can sound so enthusiastic about certain elements like a new microchip... we can do nothing but smile.

[Jayne]

Thanks for that...

Richard is a nice person, very techy :lol: I find it hard to understand the techies, but i'm learning more each day....see, just learned what wysiwyg means :lol:

Jayne

[Richard Conyard]

Make you site understandable for none techies...you see if they can understand your site, then they wouldn't need your help (if you get that).
For eq..what is Wisywig? I don't know that, but I have a web site and if I was looking to pay for help, i'd want to know what is was, without asking and sounding stupid :D

And for money back quarentees...say if my service isn't top notch, you get your money back (only if they can prove it though) :D


Unfortunately Jayne my market is techies, so it has to be a little technical. As a company we don't create websites, we write software that allows companies that create websites build more functional sites and more easy to manage sites. For more friendly information check out our sister company, http://www.redantdesign.com or perhaps the latest company to apply to our reseller program http://www.accessiblewebsites.co.uk

One tip on the abbreviations etc. if you look most/all abbreviations are underlined light grey, if you let your mouse hover over the term the abbreviation is explained. Hopefully you'll see a lot more of this around the web, helping to make things more understandable and good for SEO.

[Enigma121]

Jayne,

This is for: What you see is what you get. Its all technical terms for webdesigners and webdevelopers. (CIW certified and those types)Technical guys should never sell any product, cause nobody knows what the heck they talk about and they can sound so enthusiastic about certain elements like a new microchip... we can do nothing but smile.

I don't really agree with this, but should confess I'm a bit of a techie myself. Nothing looks worse than a salesperson who doesn't know about his / her product when the technical question is asked.

I cast my mind back to sales discussions in Comet and Currys where a question get's thrown in that the salesperson can't answer. You feel embarrassed for them. Then they run around looking for a techie, this looks worse.

What's needed is a "toned down" technical response. We need to encourage technical people to be enthusiastic about SALES and see things through the eyes of the customer. Oh, and perhaps less enthusiastic about Star Trek, if you know what I mean.

If any non-techies out there have a little time to proof read our website and provide some feedback this would be useful. We are looking to give it a makeover, with less technical blurb and more of the sort of thing customers are looking for. Constructive criticism is gratefully received.

[Rob Holmes]

It's hard - in an ideal company Salespersons should be able to answer any mid-level technical question and a techie should be able to close a sale and be aware and identify where in the sales process the customer is so he can close at the right time.

Sometimes I believe it is a little personality and character based - by this I mean - sales people may tend to be slightly more 'people' orientated and not over interested in the detail - they get their buzz from closing the sale - techies may be a little more reserved and look more at the detail and get their buzz from 'cracking' the technical problem.

In big businesses people need a little training of each but in smaller businesses it becomes more crucial to be skilled in both.

Rob

[Jayne]

Make you site understandable for none techies...you see if they can understand your site, then they wouldn't need your help (if you get that).
For eq..what is Wisywig? I don't know that, but I have a web site and if I was looking to pay for help, i'd want to know what is was, without asking and sounding stupid :D

And for money back quarentees...say if my service isn't top notch, you get your money back (only if they can prove it though) :D


Unfortunately Jayne my market is techies, so it has to be a little technical. As a company we don't create websites, we write software that allows companies that create websites build more functional sites and more easy to manage sites. For more friendly information check out our sister company, http://www.redantdesign.com or perhaps the latest company to apply to our reseller program http://www.accessiblewebsites.co.uk

One tip on the abbreviations etc. if you look most/all abbreviations are underlined light grey, if you let your mouse hover over the term the abbreviation is explained. Hopefully you'll see a lot more of this around the web, helping to make things more understandable and good for SEO.


So that means, you are a techies, techy :D Got you now!

Jayne

[MichaelG]

Please can we all get back to the original topic!

[babybiz]

Back on the original topic, what about the price match technique to combine price and quality? Does having that on a site that sells by quality add extra security to get customers buying or does it come across as tacky?

I was having this conversation with DH, I like to shop around but will always buy from the best shop at the lowest price if that makes sense. i.e I'll pay a few pennies more for a good looking site but not a few pounds more. I'm always wondering if there is a better shop one click away and where I see these and the price is close I normally say bugger the pennies and just buy (providing the site is nice).

DH is the opposite he'll buy from wherever as long as it looks good. Actually he'll buy from wherever as long has he doesn't have to do any more shopping but you get what I mean. He finds the more you have to decide the more annoying it is so remove temptation and simply sell on quality.

Any thoughts? Also curious as the real value of this price match offer, I've often wondered if it just serves to tempt people away from your site on a hurry or whether it gives them enough assurance you cant be beaten not to be tempted away searching?

Tashxx

[Astaroth]

I must say, from a personal perspective I do not like price matching. I have always prefered to "reward" those with a lower price with my business rather than certain large corporations which claim to be the lowest prices and have a price match promise.

When I bought a new vac I was had to go to a large high street electrical store due to time constraints, even though they claim to have the lowest prices I managed to get them to price match another company and got £50 off the price. Directly behind me in the queue was another couple buying the same vac but were still charged the full price and given a receipt saying that they are the lowest price. Needless to say, a couple of weeks later, they are still claiming to be the cheapest but still charging £50 more than other companies.

The only company which I have seen that does seem to get a lot of business from their price match offer is John Lewis on their electrical department but this is probably because of the added value of the fact they include a free 5 year extended warrenty on the items even when price matching.

[JK_du_Toit]

Price or Quality...?

Depends on where you go for business. You sell services to large companies, mid-level management look at pricing. Top-level management look at quality. Where do you niche? Go through to top-management if you are selling something to companies.

For smaller purchases (public daily uses), like hairdryers etc, a good combination is always good, but the majority of the market want quality for a good price. There are going to be a few exceptions who will buy the cheapest on the market, but, firstly, do you want to be known as the cheapest? And secondly, do you WANT a market who always buys for the cheapest prices?
There is a reason why they are buying the cheapest...

Then again, depends on your location...

Location Location Location....

Waitrose or Tescos?

Find your Niche and then decide. I am definately a Waitrose...

It is going to be interesting to see where this forum leads...