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PRICING 3: BE THE CHEAPEST
It’s generally recognised in the world of business that adopting the brand position of the cheapest in your market can never be a longterm strategy. There is always someone who can find a way to come into your market and undercut you; even if they don’t stay in the business long, they could be there long enough to damage your reputation and force you to reduce your prices.
The idea John Lewis has been using the slogan “Never Knowingly Undersold” since 1925. It completely baffled me when I was a child. It means: “As far as we are aware, no one gives better value than we do.” In these days of Internet price comparison, John Lewis had to reconsider what to do with this line. Competitors deliberately targeted the items they sold, and reduced their own prices forcing John Lewis to do the same in order to keep their decades old promise. John Lewis would have had to restrict their stock to obscure brands that none of their competitors sold, their own brand and undiscounted products like upmarket cosmetics, or to change their decades-old strategy. They chose to tweak their principle of pricing their products. Their slogan now refers to the total value and quality they give, not just the price. If you want to build a reputation for having the lowest prices in the market, then something’s got to give. It’s either quality, 100 GREAT BRANDING IDEAS • 53
100 Great Branding Ideas 14dec.indd 53
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