Yes, we have no (cheap) bananas today…

In his latest book, Get Rich Carefully, Jim Cramer dedicates several pages to the praise of Whole Foods. He also works in a clever zinger, “Give a man a fish, he eats for a day; teach a man to shop for fish at Whole Foods, he’ll be broke within the year.”

Ha!

In all seriousness, though, as Cramer points out, Whole Foods is quite a branding case study. They are, in the simplest of terms, a grocer. More to the point, a grocer dedicated to providing top-notch, higher-quality foods that come with the assurance of meeting rigorous natural and organic qualifications. As we’ve talked about, quality is always cheaper in the long run (you get what you pay for), but it initially comes at a premium, and that’s the case with Whole Foods. The fact that consumers are so willing and eager to pay that premium is noteworthy. The customer knows he or she is going to get quality, guaranteed quality, in fact, so they swipe the credit card with a smile.

Marketing is a VALUE for VALUE exchange. The more value the customer gets, the more he or she is willing to give in return, and as long as they perceive VALUE in the exchange (hopefully getting much more than they have to give up), they don’t begrudge a brand that charges a premium for the experience.

As a the provider of value, you shouldn’t be squeamish about charging a premium, either. To paraphrase what the late, great, legendary Zig Ziglar said when it comes to handling “price objections,” you can simply, but confidently, say that you made a decision as a company that you’d always rather explain the rationale behind your prices once rather than have to repeatedly, or ever, apologize for a less-than-quality experience.

Shouldn’t you welcome price objections as a way to proudly explain why you’re a better VALUE than the other guy?

Quality in a product or service is not what the supplier puts in. It is what the customer gets out and is willing to pay for.” – Peter F. Drucker

 

 

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