When you think of value, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Money?
You’re not alone.
Most of the world will think that money is the best way to measure the value of a product or service. After all, the monetary cost is what people pay to get what you sell.
But the actual money cost is not what people genuinely value about your product or service. In fact, it’s a very poor misrepresentation of the true value that they crave.
The problem with selling based on price is that it doesn’t give any context of what people actually get from your product. You end up speaking at a level that makes you appear the same as every other brand.
As I have worked with different businesses over the years, I have tried to understand what the real value of each product and service is. To me, there seem to be three types of true value that underlie most purchase decisions. Each is powerful, but for different reasons.
Utility Value
This kind of value is probably the easiest to understand and quantify. If what you sell has some useful aspect, meaning it solves a tangible problem, then people buy it for utility.
Most products and services in the marketplace are sold on the premise of utility. Buy this, and it will do this. Pretty simple to understand, and simple to market.
Status Value
A more subtle, but more powerful type of value is status. The feeling that a product or service will raise the social status of a person is a big reason why we buy. All luxury brands basically trade on status value. If you can find a way to create some level of social status attached to your products or services, then you can create a much higher price tag.
Sentimental Value
The most intangible, yet powerful form of value is sentimental. This is when someone has developed a personal relationship with a product or service. This doesn’t just count for family heirlooms, it counts for everyday products, clothing brands, airlines and almost anything you can think of.
If a person has a great experience with a branded product or service, they will grow a sentimental attachment to it. Over time, this is where brand loyalty grows from.
These three types of value are important to understand when starting to create your marketing. The better you can target the specific type of value your customers and clients want, the easier it becomes to attract their attention.
Of course, the most powerful type of value is when you stack all three together. A product that has utility, status and
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