“Why Pay Retail When You Can Save Up To 70%”
What is the most powerful word in marketing and sales?
FREE.
So who is the first runner-up to FREE?
There will be some debate over this but my choice would be
SAVE.
“Save 80% of your effort when you buy our …”, ” Save 25% if you take action today”, “Why pay more when you can save …”.
Price is always a sensitive subject, both to the marketer and his clients. A marketer needs to set a right price for his target audience to buy willingly and unhesitatingly. A client must feel that the returns surpass the investment he made before he could be persuaded to buy with emotion and justify his actions� with reason later on. Most consumers did not buy with reasons. They bought because of emotion, the feelings of happiness, moodiness, worries, anger, boredom, etc, would compelled him to act without much thinking, persuading, convincing or urging.
This is why headline and copy are so important in any marketing materials. They instigate, direct, and influence your emotions so strongly that you just had to fish out your credit card and lug that nice-to-have home. A “want” became a “need”, a “nice-to have” transformed into a “must-have”.
I was looking for Casio G-Shock Watches for a 7-year boy and came across this site. From a design stand-point, this web site has nothing much to shout about. It was pretty ordinary. Yet, I was hooked because of its selling proposition: “Why pay retail when you can save up to 70%?” 
Yes, why should I pay retail price when I can get less for the same genuine Pierre Cardin, Seiko, Baby G-Shock Nixon, Timex watches? The cost of a lipstick is about $3 but the retail price is about $36. Where does $33 go to? Shop rental, manpower, training, marketing, advertising, sales, promotion, public relations, packaging … you get the idea.
There are 3 key phrases/words in that line: “Why pay retail”, “save”, “70%”. I’m totally bought over by not paying retail price. I like the idea that I am saving money (even though the site is actually asking me to spend money). I could not forget “70%”. I saw this site two evenings ago, but I still have a clear, top of the mind recall: “I save 70% of my money because I don’t pay retail price”. I did not take into account that I would be spending 30% or that I might choose a model that does not offer 70%. As if that punch line is not enough, there is a booster jab that said “Your number 1 source for branded watches and sunglasses”. This site is convincing me not to look elsewhere because it is the only viable, logical solution. It is number 1, which can be interpreted as best, first or even biggest. It sells only branded stuff which can be perceived as genuine, high end, premium, sought-after. Indeed strong marketing message that tugs the heart and pull the purse string. Even though I felt that overall design is weak, I was impressed by the rows upon rows of watches that were featured prominently. You don’t even need to click for a larger image to view the details. Until now, I can rattle off at least 5 brands – Casio, Timex, Seiko, G-Shock and� Baby-G. This made shopping fast, easy and convenient.
So did I buy? Not yet, but I almost wanted to� click on “Add to cart” for the Timex Triathlon Ironman 30 Lap Watch selling at $39. The retail price is $159. Good deal. What stopped me? The boy’s father suggested that I let the little guy made his own choice.
Read other related posts on pricing and copy:
How to Write Headlines That Sell
Are You Sure your Price Is Right?
How To Price Right If You Have No Idea What To Price At?
How Much Should You Pay for a Logo Design?
Interview of an $87 Million Adwords Spender
[tags]watches, casio watches, g-shock, baby-g, nixon, times, seiko, price, pricing strategy, copy, copywriting[/tags]