Is It All About Price?

If there is one thing in retail I will never understand it’s why customers expect everything for nothing. What I mean by that is, when customers come in to a retail environment, such as my mine, they believe that what they see on the price tag does not matter. On top of that, they believe that they should get other items, which can make their experience better, for no extra cost. Now I know that people work hard for their money and want to ensure that they are getting the best, but let us be realistic. Once we determine what qualifies as the best in their mind, the price is not acceptable.

For example, I had a customer walk in to my work and wanted to buy a 37-inch TV. That TV was going for $1299. The customer decided that even though we took great care of them and they could not find this kind of customer service anywhere else, they wanted to shop around. Well, since we are an outstanding research and development company, we had all the competitors pricing right there on one sheet of paper. We gave them the lowest price that any company offered on the TV ($899) and they still were not happy. They said we should give them free installation, accessories and a service plan. I was outraged. Here I am trying to assist a customer in finding their ideal TV for their family and I feel that I was taken advantage of. For this customer it was not about the service, it was just about the price. 

In our self-storage world, we try to win the customer with excellent service, a super clean facility and all the other amenities that would make anyone drool. When you are taking the time to discover the customer’s needs, just ask them, What is the most important thing to you in looking around for storage? You might be pleasantly surprised that it will be price. However, some people out there will not even blink at the price of the self-storage unit, if the amenities are great. Therefore, before giving out the price, maybe you can throw the question out there for the customer, Have you been shopping around? If so, what did you like/dislike out there? This way, you gain insight just on what the customer is thinking and you can cater your presentation around the insight into their thinking.

For the customer in my example above, if I knew that it came down to price, I would have spent less time trying to razzle dazzle them with my unique sales approach and just sat them down and crunched numbers. That would have been a better experience for them.

Written by: Joel Little, Experienced Sales Manager

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