Is your customer buying…
impulsive gratification?
the right to procrastinate?
the fact that someone else can’t have it, while they can?
looking good to a boss?
a moment of positive attention from a significant other?
stress reduction?
adventure?
self confidence?
a class or economic or social statement?
a way to reverse a risky decision (if it goes bad)?
security in the face of perceived danger or [...]

Understand what makes your product most valuable to your customers. Exercise caution when selling under any other circumstances.
Price is always a strategic value question. It gets short shrift in the business plan when the business doesn’t understand its customers’ buying decisions.
Price power is also why so many companies outsource noncore tasks or divest noncore assets. [...]

Charge more than your costs. Charge as much as you can. Charge as much as you should. Sound simple? It’s not…

Question: “I see a logo (or matching stationery, rebranding, whatever) as an investment. What should I spend to make a beautiful brand for myself?”
Answer: As a marketer, I can’t care too deeply about the logo until something is actually happening.
Why? Your first customers won’t buy because of the logo. They’ll buy because they need something [...]

Fortune 100 marketers admitted to Marketing Sherpa that long-term “brand equity” campaigns are largely bunk. If a campaign does not produce a short-term lift, there will not be a long-term lift, either.
This doesn’t mean that brand power doesn’t exist. In a world that’s looking for more marketing accountability, though, visibility is not an end in [...]