When I was asked how to exhibit pricing tables on a web page at a session I gave the other day, the topic of pricing came up. To draw in as many clients as possible, the questioner asked how pricing options may be shown on a website. The topic of whether individuals would choose the cheapest option if given a choice later came up in the conversation.
You undoubtedly offer a variety of goods and services at different price points. For instance, if you work in the consulting industry, you might offer basic assistance for a low one-time fee, all the way up to in-depth research and strategic planning at a much higher price. Similar to how you would have multiple price points for various goods and services if you were selling to consumers, a normal shoe store would have low, mid, and high priced shoes, for instance. The issue is that by offering several price points, we encourage individuals to select inexpensive things.
However, consistent research indicates that when it comes to determining exactly what people will buy, price is not one of the most important factors. It is a factor, to be sure, but it is comparatively minor. However, when a company draws the customer’s attention to pricing, it becomes a significant deciding factor in product selection. For instance, supermarkets compete on pricing and constantly point out that they sell lower-priced goods. When customers enter their stores, they are shopping with price in mind, searching for small discounts here and there. All of this results in decreased profitability for supermarkets. We wouldn’t concentrate on them as much if they ceased reminding us of the pricing…
On the opposite end of the scale, try counting the price tags in a posh jewelry shop! Playing “hunt the price” there will keep you there for a while. They withhold the price from you in order to draw your attention to the product’s quality and emotional appeal.
You do, however, need to disclose the cost to the public at some point. So how can you go about doing that without annoying them or insisting they see something cheaper?
According to psychological research, you may persuade individuals to purchase items at a greater price by showing the pricing in a way that encourages them to purchase the more expensive goods. Giving people a choice of prices is the first step in this process. On the Internet, you encounter this a lot. There is a table with three options, their prices, and the benefits associated with each price point. The same price options are available at supermarkets: a single can of beans costs 30p, a “special offer” of two cans costs 59p, or a pack of four cans costs £1.10. Many people buy the four-pack of beans even though they only need or want one tin “because it is cheaper” It is almost four times what they actually need to pay, which is obviously not the case.
You need to show costs so that customers feel like they have a choice in how much money they will spend. But in order to justify the higher pricing, those prices must imply greater value. In contrast, you should present your rates the other way around from how most websites do this, as I argue in my book Click.ology. The majority of internet price tables have the cheapest item on the left, the middle price in the center, and the most expensive item on the right. Having the greater price on the left and the lowest price on the right is more efficient. Having the greater price on the left and the lowest price on the right is more efficient. According to studies, humans see objects on the left as being smaller than those on the right. Therefore, if it is put on the left, the high price does not appear to be as high.
According to additional research, when given a choice between three options, people tend to select the middle option. For instance, if you were a courier and offered customers the option of delivery within an hour, within 12 hours, or within 24 hours, most customers would select the 12-hour window. If you price them at £10, £20, and £30, the majority of customers will pay £20. You only need to adjust the prices. When they are changed to £20, £30, and £40, the majority of customers now pay £30 since they select the middle choice.
So how do you prevent customers from selecting low prices? Easy. Give them a price range to choose from and raise your prices. If you list the highest price first in the list of options, people will choose it.