QUALITY VS PRICE - THE PROVERBIAL QUESTION

The other day during the course of a conversation with someone senior ( still young compared to me ) in this industry, he made a point that the product I was selling was expensive and he would not like to lose a tender due to a price issue. I did not argue since I have long since stopped worrying about the price factor!

 

I tend to follow the thought that those who look at price are only worth the price they pay for a product and the products they choose tell you how much knowledge and worth they carry....

 

Long time back Hindustan Lever ran a brilliant series of ads for their detergent brand Surf.. The Ad showed a woman buying Surf and when asked why she chose Surf she said there was a difference between buying good stuff and cheap stuff. Eventually that Campaign saw Surf become the market leader in its segment.

 

I am similarly always asked why not a cheaper product? What's wrong with a cheaper product?

 

I really don't have an answer to this other than the fact that if you know your stuff one would never ask such a question.

 

I am also asked about Quality Vs Price and most people say Quality is relative..

 

I am very clear on this one.... Ask anyone to identify good stuff and they will chose a good product 10 times out of 10... they may differ on its valuation but never on the quality.. I always state that Quality is always seen.. Price is Relative!

It is this relative factor which makes people chose the cheaper stuff because the knowledge base does not exist to make them chose the quality product!

 

Let me explain this from a relative point of view... A person has a requirement to monitor an area just to see what's happening and nothing much more is needed.. he will chose the cheaper product since his need is only to monitor and the rest of the stuff from identification & recognition is not important.. so the product he buys is relative to his need.. He possibly knows that he is not buying quality but his need ensures he does not invest on a quality product. That's why I say Price is relative because he can then further reduce his investment by asking his vendors to fight price wars!

 

Question now.. should I be put in such a situation what would I buy.. Simple I would choose Quality! As the lady in the ad said... "Aache cheeze kareedne mein hi samajhdhari hai" in other words only an Intelligent person with Knowledge will understand the Difference!