Value vs. Price: Ideas to Help Out-Innovate Your Competition Without Cutting Prices
Austin, Texas: The media has been reporting that many major retailers, like Wal-Mart, Staples and Bed Bath and Beyond are offering lowest-price guarantees this fall in hopes of stimulating immediate sales, at the expense of long-term profitability.
For many, it seems like a return to the free-falling days of Fall 2008.
But can low price truly be your competitive advantage?
There can only be one lowest-priced brand per category, and if every company shoots for that nadir, then innovation, marketing, packaging, branding and other areas of differentiation would fail to exist.
Sure, the economy is soft, but consumers want value. Why else would Apple be outselling its lower priced competitors in the phone, tablet and computer markets?
Don’t settle for the bottom. Customers still want to be wowed, or at least, pleasantly surprised.
Where will you be building your strengths?
What will you be doing to differentiate your company from others?
What new niche can you serve?
What niches can you expand to?
Can you value-add your product or service?
Can you add snob-appeal?
Are you selling value, rather than price?
Can you run a cross-marketing promotion to entice demand rather than discounting price?
Spend the next several hours preparing for your Value-Added Plan, instead of thinking of ways to cut your price.
Your company needs bolder ideas to grow and expand its bottom line.
Price cutting just to meet or beat your competitors, doesn’t make sense.
What are you going to do to out-think and out-innovate your competition?
