06-04-2011, 09:23 PM
It is a simple explanation but I wasn't going to write a thesis.
And people will spend more when it finally becomes apparent to them that it is in their best interest to do so. Apple is fast becoming a prime example - it wasn't until Windows started becoming a nightmare of difficulties and virus issues that Apple started selling again (with considerable assistance from the iPod, iPhone and lately the iPad). We can see the same cost/benefit tradeoff with Honda or Toyota over Ford/Chevy. It took the terrible products put out by the domestic automakers in the 80's and 90's for the foreign brands to truly become the American car of choice. Likewise Lexus vs Cadillac or Lincoln.
However there is only so much a grill maker can do in order to make their product viable at a higher price. Most consumers do not understand or care that a high gauge steel means better temperature control and thus better cooking. So if costs can be contained by using a slightly thinner gauge, then most consumers won't really know or care.
Given the market for grills is rather small in the grand scheme of things. This is a situation that cannot be overcome through advertising. That works for, say, Tylenol vs. generics where the market is so vast that even a 5% portion control would likely pay for all the advertising needed for Johnson&Johnson to justify the advertising expense. Is Tylenol really worth double the cost of a generic equivalent? Only the consumer can decide that and they vote with their wallet.
Marketing and the science behind it is both fascinating and scary.
And people will spend more when it finally becomes apparent to them that it is in their best interest to do so. Apple is fast becoming a prime example - it wasn't until Windows started becoming a nightmare of difficulties and virus issues that Apple started selling again (with considerable assistance from the iPod, iPhone and lately the iPad). We can see the same cost/benefit tradeoff with Honda or Toyota over Ford/Chevy. It took the terrible products put out by the domestic automakers in the 80's and 90's for the foreign brands to truly become the American car of choice. Likewise Lexus vs Cadillac or Lincoln.
However there is only so much a grill maker can do in order to make their product viable at a higher price. Most consumers do not understand or care that a high gauge steel means better temperature control and thus better cooking. So if costs can be contained by using a slightly thinner gauge, then most consumers won't really know or care.
Given the market for grills is rather small in the grand scheme of things. This is a situation that cannot be overcome through advertising. That works for, say, Tylenol vs. generics where the market is so vast that even a 5% portion control would likely pay for all the advertising needed for Johnson&Johnson to justify the advertising expense. Is Tylenol really worth double the cost of a generic equivalent? Only the consumer can decide that and they vote with their wallet.
Marketing and the science behind it is both fascinating and scary.
