There are so many stories that can demonstrate cost vs value. We have all seen them over the years and many appear on social media whether they are factually correct or not. I am sure there will be many opinions about my ramblings here (particularly from the marketeers amongst us), but they are my opinions based on my experience. You can choose to ignore them if you want!
I like to make my stories personal and relevant, because when you are working with people everyday I think it is important to show your personality and connect on a human level not just a business level.
Helping businesses and business owners is what I have always loved, but to do this successfully you need to build trust and have an ongoing relationship in which you can both be open about things. This saves so much time in the long run. Being able to have honest conversations cuts through all the bull and politics that big companies suffer from so badly and allows you to make decisions and get things done.
So why do we choose to work with certain companies or individuals or buy certain products and services? A lot has to do with perceived value, and that is a very individual 'feeling' or emotion. One person's perception of value can be completely different from another.
Here is my little example from a personal point of view to demonstrate cost and value. You will see from the photo I won't be becoming a model for jewellery anytime soon.
The first white gold band is my wedding ring.
The second gold band is a normal run of the mill gold band. Probably has a cost of no more than a couple of hundred pounds and could be replaced for such. However, what is true value?
Now some would say, I suppose the value is what it is worth, what someone will pay for it, right? Its value therefore is a couple of hundred pounds?
So the value is determined by an individual or group and their 'feeling' or 'emotion' towards it. Of course, gold prices are also valued on a supply and demand basis. The price of gold has been increasing significantly over the past few years, something tangible that you can put your hands on, unlike Crypto currency or digital bank accounts where we never even see our actual money, just numbers on an app or computer screen. Gold is something you can hold or wear, and is real.
Of course there is also the case of something that is in short supply being deemed as more 'valuable'. Take the current supply of Playstation 5's. They are in high demand and there are not enough being made or shipped, so people are paying higher (what some may feel ridiculous) prices to get their hands on them. But to some, it's worth paying more as the value they get from it is worth more 'to them'. Others may perceive them as complete 'f' wits.
So back to my ring. How much is it worth? Well the answer for me of course is that no amount of money could buy the ring from me. It is priceless. You see, it was my late Mums wedding ring. She wore it for 61 love filled years married to my Dad and now I'am wearing it. When my daughter is old enough she will wear it, and we can carry that love on for another 61 and more years. Its value is worth way more to me than its cost.
When I am working with people, I choose to work with the ones who value things in a similar way to me. We are not all the same, we all see the world through a different set of lenses (our own perspective), or 'the view from our mountain' or whatever way you want to put it. None of it is wrong, just different, and personal.
I know my value, I am confident that my value outweighs my cost. Can you say the same thing about the service or product that you provide? Do your customers see value or cost?
Of course some would argue that the real valuable things in life we cant actually buy. What is the cost of time? Love? Friendship? Wisdom? The cost of that new dress or suit is irrelevant if it makes you 'feel' a million dollars (pounds doesn't have quite the same ring - why is that? hmmm)
Here is a little exercise for you, do a Google Image search on the word 'valuable', do any of the above mentioned things appear? The image at the end of this blog is the last photo of me my parents and my sister that we took together, it was on Mum and Dads diamond wedding anniversary. We didn't know it at the time (over a year before they passed away) but that moment in time was more 'valuable' than we could ever have known.
We come across the cost vs value conundrum everyday in our lives, everyday without fail and we make decisions based on many things; cognitive dissonance, unconscious bias, tradition, others opinions, convenience, or impulse. 'Buy cheap, pay twice' ever heard that one? But who doesn't like a bargain? \
Worth the risk isn't it?
You decide.
