Don't
Hide That Price Tag!
by: R.M. Blackledge
R.M. Blackledge
© Copyright 2005
One of the most
common misconceptions about selling is that the naming of
a final price shouldn't be done until you've already closed
the sale. This tactic is commonly used in new and used car sales.
"How much,
exactly?" The customer
asks. But the salesperson doesn't immediately answer, instead
he/she continues babbling on about some finer point of the
product. In effect, the salesperson is trying to entice the
customer into falling in love with the product, such that
the final price won't really matter all that much.
The customer will find the money somehow...
This tactic must
work relatively well, because it's ages old. Unfortunately,
the sales game on the internet is a little different than
in
the brick and mortar world. Web merchants have to be concerned
about a little thing known as bandwidth.
Traffic that doesn't
convert into sales wastes bandwidth, which can become a BIG
FACTOR if you have a ton of pages on the same web host.
The cost of placing your site[s] online is something that must
be factored in when you start your web business. It's common
sense then, to consider that poor affiliates will never become
wealthy affiliates if they don't pay attention to the bottom line.
Pay-per-click
search engine advertising is a big deal now that banner ads
have become so ubiquitous as to be almost useless. Many affiliates
swear by their pay-per click campaigns. This type of advertising
method brings highly targeted traffic to the merchant's site.
In effect the people are ready to buy. But are they?
Many affiliates
who use pay-per-click advertising also believe that a sales
price is something that should be hidden until the very last
moment. Thus, on the affiliate's site the price will be located
at the bottom
of the page next to the sales link. The hope is that the customer
will read all the sales text FIRST, and thus still be willing
to make a purchase - even if the sales price is not exactly
what they expected.
Is this the best way to go about making an internet sale?
It may depend
really on whether you're selling a big ticket item, or a
small ticket item. If you're a merchant, for example, that
sells
refurbished computers online, the customer obviously is not
going to expect to purchase a quality used computer for only
50 bucks.
So then what is
to be gained by hiding the price until the very last moment?
If the customer can't afford your product, hiding the price
down at the bottom of the sales page will not put spending
money in their pocket,
they don't already have. Conversely, if you're selling computer
software that has a retail price of under thirty dollars.
Only thirty dollars is a bargain for software. But, if your
visitors are really looking for freeware, you may still lose
out.
In effect, not
discussing price just postpones the inevitable. Customers
will usually make up their minds about whether to stay on
your site
within the first five-to-six seconds. If you've pre-sold your
product effectively in the first place, then the customer
knows what to expect. Placing your
sales price right in front of their eyes - so that they don't
have to search for it- may actually help you make a sale or
two.
This also demonstrates
that you have confidence in your product. If the customer
gets the impression that you're not trying to B.S.
them, they will be impressed, instead of put-off.
Also, if your
main advertising method is by use of a pay-per-click campaign,
placing your sales price right in the middle of your ad will
save you the headache of wasting your pay-per-click advertising
dollars on those
web surfers who are just browsers and not buyers.
In conclusion,
a sales price prominently placed can be an effective tool
for weeding out the bandwidth-wasting window shoppers, from
those
who are serious customers.
That's what you want!
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About The Author:
R.M. Blackledge is the owner of TheWorkAtHomeBlog.Com and is the publisher of numerous business and self-help articles.
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