Choice is always a good thing isn’t it? Would you rather be forced into a choice thanks to the lack of choices available? Or would you rather have a path or range of options for your perusal? The choice here?
It’s obvious – you’d rather have options. Everyone would rather have a range to choose from than be forced into an option because of a lack of options!
This is important in business. We’d all rather have a range of choices regarding situations in our lives, but in business it can make a difference between a sale and no sale. On a large scale, that is the difference between a profit and a loss. Over years, profit and loss can ensure the survival or demise of a business. If your business isn’t offering choices – what exactly is it offering?
Every business can offer choices in payment. From coins, notes, cards, checks and financing, there are a wide range of cash collection options for businesses. Even extending to digital options such as Paypal cash collection and bitcoin machines. Offering payment choices is a good idea as you never know what your target market can afford, or what is in their wallets. You’ll have a general idea – but it won’t be complex or clear at all. You can account for all range of budgets with payment options though.
Some people might pay with a digital Paypal balance, and if you don’t have the facility to accept that type of payment – you may have just missed out on a sale! It is worth ensuring that your business can take all manner of payments, so that it doesn’t potentially miss out on any sales. Other premium options exist as well, like vyze.com who offer financing plans for bigger purchases. If you can offer these options, you increase your chances of a sale.
How else can a business offer choice? A choice that matters?
Well look at restaurants. A Mexican eatery will serve Mexican style food and cuisine to diners. Does it simply sell one dish? No – it will sell a range of dishes to suit all tastebuds. If you walk in and the only thing being offered is a quesadilla, you’re out of luck if you hate them – especially if there is only one type on offer.
Restaurants offer menus that account for a variety of tastes and dietary requirements. Restaurants serve the vegan and vegetarian markets with special foods. While a restaurant will position itself under a certain bracket, it won’t usually exclude certain markets – it will try to cater for a wide range.
That’s exactly what you need to do with your products, and your price range. If you can offer prices that appeal to a wide range of people, and offer products that could grab the attention of more than just your target market – you’ll be selling more than if you didn’t.There is a lot that matters in business – your money, your customer – but also the choices available to your target market.
Maria Fonseca is the Editor and Infographic Artist for IntelligentHQ. She is also a thought leader writing about social innovation, sharing economy, social business, and the commons. Aside her work for IntelligentHQ, Maria Fonseca is a visual artist and filmmaker that has exhibited widely in international events such as Manifesta 5, Sao Paulo Biennial, Photo Espana, Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Joshibi University and many others. She concluded her PhD on essayistic filmmaking , taken at University of Westminster in London and is preparing her post doc that will explore the links between creativity and the sharing economy.