Coach Boz’s Blog

just block that guy and the play will work

Sounds simple enough. Just block him and the play will work. Problem is, the guy is a 6’6″ 340 pound beast who happens to be pretty dang good. So “just block him and the play will work” is certainly a valid theory, but getting there is a bit more challenging than the “simple” statement implies. That’s how I feel about a recent post from Seth Godwin on commoditized pricing.

Basically he says that you don’t need to lower your price, just increase your value. Here’s a quote:

You need to increase your value. If people don’t want to pay, it’s because you’re not delivering enough value for the money you’re charging. You’re not selling a commodity unless you want to.

Talk about your platitudes. Of course, he’s right. Value and pricing are typically inextricably linked. The real question is: Does a market ever reach a point where there is no more value to be added that would allow you to move the pricing needle? A friend of mine says, “No.” I brought up the example of nails, and he has set out to prove me wrong there. He also muttered something about $100 toilet bowl brushes (not sold to the government, he claims!), but if he wishes to expand on that one, I’ll let him do so in the comments section.

I tend to think that in theory Seth may be right; but in practice, it seems loaded with some really major challenges that can be dangerous. How long do you pursue that fleeting “value” with more and more resources before calling the market a commodity and reacting accordingly?

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