Win a $1 million Deal with $1 dollar Sushi Dinner?

Hi ,

In the last email we talked about 3 core desires humans look to fulfill:

1. Better Health
2. Better Status (money, wealth, respect)
3. Better Relationships

And that the core desire that motivated us to pick one restaurant for an important client (Better Status) was completely different than the core desire (Better Relationships) for choosing the playful restaurant for a 3 year old’s birthday.

Hunger was not the core desire so the food was almost irrelevant.

We also said both restaurants were successful in their respective niches because they understood these core desires in their respective segments and created the right atmosphere.

The right atmosphere to attract the customers they wanted and more important to repel the ones they didn’t.

Hence how we automatically found it ridiculous to imagine throwing a party for 3 year old children at an expensive restaurant geared towards business deals or trying  to close an important deal while Bozo the clown is trumpeting in our ears and nerf balls flying everywhere.

All businesses ultimately can fulfill more than one mass desire but they must know the core one and be able to fill that critical one the best.

When they do.. they get customers to want to buy only from them…

They stand out as unique and superior… the best.

Now…what wasn’t a factor in our example… price…

But here’s the thing, screwing up your pricing can be a huge detriment.

For example, imagine our expensive business restaurant owner ate some special brownies and suddenly announced a 90% cut in their menu prices.

Would I still take the new client I’m looking to impress?

No.

Why?

Because I would lose status. I would be seen as cheap.  As someone not successful so the client would more likely take his $1 million project elsewhere.

How about the Child Restaurant?

Let’s say that owner watched some bad cliché motivation tapes, ate a tub of steorids and decided to raise the prices 90%.  Would I still have the party there?

No

Why?

Because the atmosphere would be transformed.  There would be no one there!  Who would pay $150 for a margharita pizza and a show from 6 foot puppets?

So my daughter’s friends would be bored, the party would suck, my wife would grill me for wasting the money, and my embarrassed daughter wouldn’t be impressed.

So what’s the point of all this…

Each restaurant knew how to create the atmosphere to bring in the customers they want – over and over – and to repel the ones they didn’t.

They created an atmosphere to fulfill the core desires running underneath their customer segments.

And they priced it accordingly.. but didn’t compete on it.

What does that mean for your business?

If you understand the core desire driving your market and you create the solutions that are seen as unique and superior, you will attract the customers you want, and be able to charge the prices you want (within reason).

Most of your competitors on the other hand will often get hung up on features and benefits at a more superficial level and bore everyone. Or even better for you – they will obsess about prices and being the cheapest or squeezing every cent out of their customers. 

You’ll out manoeuver and out compete them.

And they will never know why…