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CURRENT NEWSLETTER
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Lindemann Chimney Supply sells wholesale only to the chimney and hearth industry.
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 March 2006
Perceived Value
 Many of our customers have something in common with all of us here at Lindemann Chimney Supply and that is we are both quite proud of our repeat customers.
We both understand the basic principle underlying all such loyalty-based strategies, that business must deliver superior perceived customer value on a regular and consistent basis.
Both perceived value and satisfaction have long been regarded as fundamental marketing concepts. Customers buy products not for their features and/or their specific function, but rather for the perceived benefits that the product delivers.
Customer perceptions are critically important! While your chimney cover may meet your customer's general criteria, you will only get the sale if your customer recognizes (i.e. “perceives”) it will deliver the desired benefits.
Perceived value is the difference between the perceived benefit's the aforementioned chimney cap delivers and the perceived price. Value translates to “benefits per dollar.” A standard measure of benefits to price (value), as perceived by customers, relative to other comparable chimney covers.
Price has always been a confusing variable, making everyone appear to be a price buyer. A price buyer is someone willing to exchange perceived benefits for a lower price, and accept the consequences of choosing the lower priced galvanized chimney cover instead of the more expensive stainless steel one.
What's the price of a good horse? One would think that a good horse should go for about what a good horse goes for. This is not necessarily always true as Shakespeare's literary figure, King Richard III, so amply demonstrated.
Dismounted on the battlefield with his life in the balance, he cries out “A horse! A horse! My kingdom
for a horse!” At that moment, he was gladly willing to give up all his wealth and power in exchange
for a practical means to survival. In a word, circumstances had made him very price insensitive. Like King Richard, customers (though perhaps less dramatically) will often agree to pay more (and sometimes not as much) because
of their circumstances.
However, most buyers are still value buyers; i.e., they want a product or service that matches their requirements. Buyers don't buy price, they buy perceived value.
If you could simply raise the perceived value of your products or services, you can raise your prices, make more money, and your customers will be just as pleased with the experience.
If you don't think you can do it, you've never been to Starbucks. Starbucks convinced the world that 39 cents for a cup of coffee really should be $1.75. They knew they could not pull it off by selling a Large Coffee, because the world perceived a Large Coffee to be worth about 39 cents. But a Venti Coffee brewed with a blend of Latin American and East African Beans imported exclusively for Starbucks, now that's worth $1.75.
Sounds exotic, and you can't get it anywhere but Starbucks. The reality is coffee is not grown in Iowa, but
in places that most Americans consider erotic and will never travel to. Where do you think the beans making the coffee at your local gas station comes from?
The fact that Starbucks could raise everyone's perception that the coffee of the day had features: “a fleeting, floral aroma with a bright yet soft finish and, like the best Sidamo coffees, a wonderful hint of lemon.”
Firstly, the guy at the gas station has no idea where Sidamo is. If by chance he did, I doubt he would tell you that it “pairs beautifully with citrus, nuts, and tart fruits.” Well at least until he saw what Starbucks was selling their coffee for.
Find what may make your customers value your products or services and then take it to the next level and market that. If somebody can do it with a commodity such as coffee, you certainly can do it while risking your life to make peoples homes safer.
“See Ya'll Soon”
That's the only way to invite all of our friends to our booth #408,409 & 410, at the upcoming National Chimney Sweep Guild convention and trade show in Louisville, Kentucky. Don't forget the dates are March 29th through April 1st. We look forward to seeing you then.
“Nobody ever complains about
paying too much for Quality.”
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