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| | The Marketing, Channels/Partnership & Sales Execs Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | Apples and Oranges... | Views: 657 | | Dec 05, 2004 12:44 pm | | Apples and Oranges... | # | 
Andrew Kraft | | Ok... I had to weigh in here. The problem is that the examples given so far in this great conversation re: value vs. benefits, etc. are widely different audiences.
Why consumers buy at small ticket prices (razor blades) vs. middle ticket prices (TV) vs. luxury prices (diamonds) is very different at each level. Luxury purchasing isn't about value or benefits at ALL. It's about status and/or desire, as an example. Read any luxury retail magazine and it'll show that.
Now move to the B2B world, and the reasons are different, as well.
But there =IS= one universality. It isn't value. It isn't benefits. It has to do with the painkiller vs. the vitamin.
When people are in pain... they buy a painkiller. When people have no pains, and have the luxury of wanting to get better/stronger/faster, they buy a vitamin. It can call come down to this.
Luxury items, going back to the example above, are vitamins. If you're incredibly wealthy, and you want a private jet to get you around the country faster than regular airline travel, in most cases you're buying a vitamin. And that's great. Now, of course, there are some people who are wealthy and work all over (like a Donald Trump) who actually feel they need private transportation to do their job. To them, it's a painkiller.
Why do you buy razor blades for your razor or soap? Because most likely you believe that it is good hygeine to be clean and you know that it will hurt you in this world if you walk around smelling like yesterday's sewage. Thus this is a painkiller. You can't really go without it unless you have no choice but to be "in pain". And so razorblades and soap get purchased before TVs and jet planes.
But wait... isn't that about benefits solving pain? Not necessarily. It could be just about feeling good! I have a Ford Taurus. Not because it's the sexiest car I could get. Not because it's got all the really good features. Most cars are NOT bought because they have the best feature count. They are bought because the person buying it 'feels right' about it. Oh, yes... some people do go down the list to buy for features. Those people have pain points (gas prices, fear of injury, concern with resale value) that need to be answered. For some people it's a vitamin (the "I have so much money, why SHOULDN'T I have a Porsche?" reason for purchasing). But for most... it's about feeling right.
And THAT is where sales comes in. If you look at most of the ads out there and you really listen to most salespeople sell, the benefits, the value, the painkilling aspects, the vitamin aspects... all those are talked about. But what is REALLY going on is that the seller is trying to build up a trust factor that makes the buyer feel good. It's really that plain and simple. In the luxury world, it's often "feel good through pleasure". In the B2B world it's often "feel good through solving your pain point" or even "feel good that buying Microsoft or Oracle will never get you fired, even if it may be the wrong decision". In the consumer world it's "feel good that you're buying the same mint toothpaste that Mike Piazza uses".
They say people don't buy from companies... people buy from people.
And that's why.
People can make people feel good.
The key is having people who make people feel good (or in the direct-to-consumer world, ads that make people feel good) with a product that has value, benefits... and is a nearly universal painkiller. :)
AndrewPrivate Reply to Andrew Kraft | | Dec 06, 2004 9:44 am | | re: Apples and Oranges... | # | 
Priyanka Sethi | |
Hi Andrew
I have read through the string of conversations here and I find your views very true and realistic.
I am into selling/marketing a Web based sales, marketing and CRM solution and this got me thinking - if I am providing a pain-killer or the vitamin..
But in this case I think there is an overlapping. Technology, is used as a painkiller these days.. often trying to enforce a rule or system, with out the correct infrastructure (Mindset of the people).
However - the real value/benefits of technology and solutions like the one I introduce to the market - lies in the fact that people recognise their pain - dont just go for a pain killer - but go for a healthy life. Its a huge change in the mindset - because you want a vitamin and you want to get rid of the pain for ever and not temporarily.
Great ideas.... it has got me thinking further...
Thanks
Priyanka
> Andrew Kraft wrote:
> Ok... I had to weigh in here. The problem is that the examples given so far in this great conversation re: value vs. benefits, etc. are widely different audiences.
>
>Why consumers buy at small ticket prices (razor blades) vs. middle ticket prices (TV) vs. luxury prices (diamonds) is very different at each level. Luxury purchasing isn't about value or benefits at ALL. It's about status and/or desire, as an example. Read any luxury retail magazine and it'll show that.
>
>Now move to the B2B world, and the reasons are different, as well.
>
>But there =IS= one universality. It isn't value. It isn't benefits. It has to do with the painkiller vs. the vitamin.
>
>When people are in pain... they buy a painkiller. When people have no pains, and have the luxury of wanting to get better/stronger/faster, they buy a vitamin. It can call come down to this.
>
>Luxury items, going back to the example above, are vitamins. If you're incredibly wealthy, and you want a private jet to get you around the country faster than regular airline travel, in most cases you're buying a vitamin. And that's great. Now, of course, there are some people who are wealthy and work all over (like a Donald Trump) who actually feel they need private transportation to do their job. To them, it's a painkiller.
>
>Why do you buy razor blades for your razor or soap? Because most likely you believe that it is good hygeine to be clean and you know that it will hurt you in this world if you walk around smelling like yesterday's sewage. Thus this is a painkiller. You can't really go without it unless you have no choice but to be "in pain". And so razorblades and soap get purchased before TVs and jet planes.
>
>But wait... isn't that about benefits solving pain? Not necessarily. It could be just about feeling good! I have a Ford Taurus. Not because it's the sexiest car I could get. Not because it's got all the really good features. Most cars are NOT bought because they have the best feature count. They are bought because the person buying it 'feels right' about it. Oh, yes... some people do go down the list to buy for features. Those people have pain points (gas prices, fear of injury, concern with resale value) that need to be answered. For some people it's a vitamin (the "I have so much money, why SHOULDN'T I have a Porsche?" reason for purchasing). But for most... it's about feeling right.
>
>And THAT is where sales comes in. If you look at most of the ads out there and you really listen to most salespeople sell, the benefits, the value, the painkilling aspects, the vitamin aspects... all those are talked about. But what is REALLY going on is that the seller is trying to build up a trust factor that makes the buyer feel good. It's really that plain and simple. In the luxury world, it's often "feel good through pleasure". In the B2B world it's often "feel good through solving your pain point" or even "feel good that buying Microsoft or Oracle will never get you fired, even if it may be the wrong decision". In the consumer world it's "feel good that you're buying the same mint toothpaste that Mike Piazza uses".
>
>They say people don't buy from companies... people buy from people.
>
>And that's why.
>
>People can make people feel good.
>
>The key is having people who make people feel good (or in the direct-to-consumer world, ads that make people feel good) with a product that has value, benefits... and is a nearly universal painkiller. :)
>
>Andrew Private Reply to Priyanka Sethi | | |
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