7-up in a Champagne Bottle

So, you've just created the next best product. Not something outrageously spectacular like a hovercar that runs on negativity while converting it into employment opportunities.

No, your thing is just a better version of an available product. Like sliced bread but with a certain  je ne sais quoi.  You've done the studies, you've spent countless hours improving your product and now you are ready save humanity by providing a better choice. But of course, higher quality comes with a cost. People understand that they need to spend more money if they want a better quality product...right? After all, look at Nike, Jaguar, and Bose. That business model is working just fine for them. 

Unfortunately, that philosophy is absolutely NOT going to work for you. I have seen too many clients try this approach (before I met them). Heck, I've even tried it myself which went really well (and by "really well" I mean "crashed and burned"). Yes, high end products cost more but there are TWO reasons as to why they cost more;

Number ONE. There is more quality and attention put into upscale products. I used to work for a battery company. When the supply truck came to drop off our shipment I quickly noticed that it was carrying batteries from a competitor's brand. I discovered that all the batteries were made in the same factory but the lower end brands contained about half the materials that our batteries did. Thus they had a shorter lifespan.

Life lesson- you get what you pay for. 

Number TWO. This is the big one. Public perception. People have to believe in your brand. Then they have to brag about owning your brand. Then other people will NEED your brand. The end result is that you can then add yourself to the list of brand name elites. 

This is where a new company falls down. Building public trust, and perception takes a while. In your first year people will look at one thing. Competitive pricing. Until they know how great you are they need another reason to come to you. While you are giving consumers what they want,  take that time to build up your reputation. 

Remember, the ONLY point to marketing is to convince people that they are getting fair trade value for the money they spend with you.  So, if your "out of the gate" marketing model is to be more expensive thereby creating the impression that your product is more valuable ....stop. Even if your product costs a lot more to produce and is WAY better quality than anything else on the market. You will need a slick advertising campaign and A LOT of money to get consumers to buy into that right away. People just don't care about the extra time and expense that you've put into your product. Consumers cannot see what goes into production so they only care about cost. 

Bottom line - save yourself a lot of grief. Start off with competitive pricing and consider the lesser profit margin as your advertising budget. You are going to spend money on advertising anyway, why not put it where it makes more sense? Then make up the advertising difference with free self promotion on social media and networking websites.

So you will need to invest a year or maybe even two building up the proper foundation to be an overnight success.  Proper brand imaging takes time but it is well worth the effort.