Here's a reminder that impression or your brand can have an impact on your top line, whether your you have a brick-and-mortar or click-business.
When your business (or website) looks professional, your customers can expect certain level of service. If it looks cheap, people will expect your products or service to be of lower quality and price.
In a real life example, both Target and Walmart are in the same business of merchandising. However, they both have a different market space. Walmart focuses on its price conscious message "Save money, Live better" while Target focuses on "store experience and a product that is exciting and unique".
Both stores have competitive pricing but their consumers view it differently! In a recent Fortune magazine, an analyst polled some shoppers and found that "though Target consistently underprices supermarkets on groceries by about 10% to 15%, shoppers perceived the opposite: that Target's prices were a full 20% higher"!
The Target Experience
Additionally, "though prices at Target average out to within 1% to 3% of those of Wal-Mart, 87% of respondents said they shopped at Wal-Mart because it was the cheapest. "The problem could be that some of these stores are so clean that you just assume you're paying more,"
The typical Walmart experience
There is no right or wrong message. What's important to remember is to know what your message is and keep reminding your clients and prospects your same message over and over in every touch points (e.g. website, policies, stores, etc)
Related links
Fortune article
Compare Target's website to Walmart's website
Justin Lim is currently the Content Editor and Head of Marketing and Sales for Profitimo.com. He enjoys looking at everything in a marketing perspective and does everything for fun.
