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The Truth About Pricing
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The Truth About Pricing

How to Apply Behavioral Economics So Customers Buy

Melina Palmer
Mango Publishing, 2024
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Applicable
  • Background

Recommendation

You may be surprised to learn that the price of a product or service is not most people’s first consideration when they’re making buying decisions. Consultant Melina Palmer advises businesses on how to focus on human behavior to get people to buy, instead of just setting a price and hoping to attract customers. The pricing context of behavioral economics draws on tactics such as nudging consumers at appropriate moments, catering to their herd instincts, and framing a purchase in an enticing way. Readers will find this important guide useful for its insights into drawing in customers.

Summary

When it comes to their purchases, consumers are less focused on an actual price tag and are more attuned to what’s going on in their own heads.

The truth about pricing is that “it’s not about the price.” Consumer psychology, and what’s going on in the consumer’s brain before seeing the price, matter more than the price tag you place on a product or service. If a seller provides adequate cues to the consumer, price won’t be the only aspect that draws in a buyer. When you provide a well-structured consumer experience, price is less important. Otherwise, the buyer has little to go on except the actual price itself.

Making a few simple changes to how you offer and present your product to consumers could influence their purchasing decision without having to make changes to your price or product. While you can frame your consumers’ interaction in such a way that price becomes almost an afterthought to them, it doesn’t mean that your price can’t be too high. A price can be too expensive for your target audience and more than the value they would get from your product. That’s why you should keep in mind your target audience and the value you are offering...

About the Author

Melina Palmer is the CEO of The Brainy Business, a behavioral economics consulting firm. She is also the author of What Your Employees Need and Can’t Tell You.

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