Recently, in my real life job, this question was posed…
“What do you spend way too much money on?”
Without skipping a single beat, I answered, “Wine.”
That garnered a funny look for a split second from the trainer who posed that question, but he rolled with it. “Okay. I can see it. You appreciate the value you get from how a specific wine brings you back to a happy memory or how well it pairs with say, chicken,” was his reply.
That was the beginning of a discussion on selling value to a customer. Yes, your bill might be $185.62, but what exactly are you getting for that $185.62? Cable, internet & phone? Whole household entertainment options? Wow. Let me put this in perspective for you…you’ve got promotional pricing, so you could easily be paying $261.96* for everything that you have BEFORE taxes, fees & surcharges that we, as your telecommunications and cable provider, have no control over. That $185.62 INCLUDES your taxes and fees. You’ve got a fantastic deal, Mr./Ms. Customer.
(*DISCLAIMER: The $261.96 is based on my company’s full pricing for cable with all the premium movie channels, premium channel tiers, HD TV service, DVR service, 15 mbps Internet, Home Networking and Unlimited Long Distance telephone service…your cable & telecommunications providers’ pricing may vary…the $185.62 is an arbitrary number pulled out of my keester.)
Now, you’re probably wondering, “What does a cable and telecommunications bill have to do with wine?” Simple. In wine, we see value. Now, whether that value is seen in a $200 bottle of Chateau Chèque de Paie (translation: Chateau Paycheck) or $5 “Gonna Get Drunk and Be Somebody” Wine. We find *value* in paying what we pay for our wine…no matter where it comes from, what name is on the label or what price we paid.
It seems like there’s a general vibe of “the cheaper the wine, the cheaper the quality”. That’s not necessarily the case. Yes, I’ve had some cheap wine that got…umm…regurgitated (yes, I’m talking to you White Merlot…), but on the flip side I’ve also drank some cheap stuff that makes you do a double take with the price (Oh, hi, Jaume Serra Cristalino Cava…)!!
So, when we think about it…does the price we pay for our wine (or any product/service for that matter) *really* matter if we see the value in it?
