Need Versus Want – Product Perception

As an ecommerce storeowner, heck as anyone who sells anything online, how can you shield yourself from the nimble hands of Internet price shoppers?

If I asked you to tell me how much a low priced color scanner goes for online, could you? If you couldn’t, how many searches would it take for you to get that price? Two? Yep. If you spelled “Scanner” wrong on the first try.

Now, if I asked you to tell me how much a Battle Ready Shirt Of Chain Mail would cost…

How about a Replica Tiffany Lamp? A Novelty Pool Cue? A Life-Size Cardboard Movie Standee From Lord Of The Rings? A Mutual Fund Investment System? A Hello Kitty EZ-Bake Oven?

My point is, the products mentioned above have “I Want It” value. Their price is not restricted or encumbered by a model number.  They can’t be easily compared in the marketplace because they are not staple products. They are passion buys.

You want a Life-Size cardboard Darth Vader to greet your house guests? How much is that worth to the person who’s license plate says Jedi?

NASCAR Fan? Oh wait – Are you a Pool Shootin’ NASCAR Fan? How much is that Rusty Wallace Billiard cue with the Mother of Pearl Inlay worth? The answer? Whatever your willing to pay for it.

Let’s face it, everything computer, Internet, electronic, and anything else with a plug or a model number already has a manufacturer screaming it’s value to the marketplace. If you sell these types of products, you’re saddled with shoppers who are going to compare “Apples to Apples” and the reach of the Internet makes it easy for them to do that.

That’s not to say that a shopper who is dying to get their hands on a Battle Ready Chain Mail Shirt will not already have done their research. They absolutely will, but because Sony has not yet released a Chain Mail Shirt Model, you can use carefully crafted product listings to build a high perception of value for that product.

Your success in ecommerce depends on your ability to market and sell a product that has a high perceived value to your customer, not a value that is determined by the marketplace. Isn’t it amazing how much an avid sport fisher will spend on a lure that measures 2 inches by 3 inches? Yet, they will never buy a microwave oven unless it’s on sale at BestBuy.

Need vs. Want. That is your key to ecommerce success. We already know that the best chance for a 1 or 2 person ecommerce shop to succeed is to specialize, to stay in the niche markets. Now, take that a step further. Instead of selling a product that you think a customer needs, sell them a product that they “WANT”.

Your customers buy based on emotion, and then back up their purchase decisions with logic. Yes, you should sell them something that they are crazy about, but then keep the sale alive by offering good customer service, a great guarantee, an easy way to contact you, and a fair price for a product that satisfies their passion.