Price Affects Perceived Value
I was staring at my crappy Kenneth Cole watch today. It’s my first experience with this brand. I just bought the watch because I needed something that looked nice with work clothes (my ginormous heart rate monitor watch is a bit bulky on my 8 year old child-sized wrists). I want to write Kenneth Cole a letter and tell them their watch sucks. I want to tell them that the poor craftsmanship let dust and condensation sneak in under the glass within the first week. I want to mention that, due to the way it’s constructed, there is no way to replace the crappy faux-leather bands that I think are biodegrading off the watch and will probably be gone in a fortnight (Tah! I said “fortnight”).
It’s kind of shocking because Kenneth Cole is definitely a company that tries to convey quality, expensiveness. When you wear “the Cole” you’re saying, “I am a fancy-pants rich person and I am breath-takingly attractive because of my money”. And, yes, the watch was freakin’ expensive, I think I spent $70 on this piece of junk!
You might be wondering why this entry is filed under “Web Design”. Well, I’ve found that when doing freelance work, the way that you price a job often affects the client’s perceived value of your work. So, if I give a client a bargain-basement price — because I’m thinking that the work will be fun or a good portfolio piece, or maybe it’s for a friend — they will turn out to be the worst kind of client. They will be fickle, ask for a lot of changes, and they certainly won’t consider me an expert and defer to my opinion on things. Conversely, charging more money can change the dynamic. The client now sees you as a valuable expert, your opinion matters suddenly.
Just keep that in mind when you’re thinking about being nice and cutting someone a deal, it’s like spoiling a child, they’ll just turn all nasty on you. Oh, and also don’t ever buy a Kenneth Cole watch.