The personal approach
Radiohead introduced a whole new way of retailing music with their album In Rainbows.
In addition to the pay what you want online release they also offered a very pricey special edition boxed set.
Now Nine Inch Nails have taken the Radiohead model a step further.
They offered a $300 deluxe version of their new album. It sold out in 2 days! Grossing them somewhere in the region of $750,000.
The album was released under a Creative Commons license, yet it managed to gross sales of $1.6 million.
Goes to show that if you have something worth buying people will pay for it.
So maybe the future is not, as many experts will tell you, all about free.
Maybe, just maybe, it's about offering something a little more personal.
posted by Stan Lee at 4:13 am
5 Comments:
I am just dropping by to say thank you, thank you, and thank you for your writing every week for Whip column at Junior. Your words of advice and insights are invaluable. Thank you once again!
Wow! Thanks for the kind words Mr Anonymous.
I read a story once about how a South African winery was unsure what retail price they should set a new wine at. So they sent a case to some of their most loyal customers with a note along the lines of “here’s our new wine, it is free but if you think it is worth it then send us an amount that you think is fair”.
Apparently most people sent in an amount that was greater than the company was thinking they would set the retail price at e.g. they were thinking $120 a case but most people sent $150 9even though they could have kept the wine for nothing!).
The thing about the winery and the Nine Inch Nails examples is that they already had fans and loyal customers. I’d hazard a guess that there was already an “emotional” connection to the brand or music and so people felt guilty taking something for nothing when they perceived to have been getting such great value from the brands in the past.
I wonder if people are responsive to this type of approach because they get scared that it might not be there in the future? E.g. “If I don’t do the right thing now then maybe Nine Inch Nails will disappear” … that might be a stretch but there has to be some psychology involved?
This approach probably wouldn’t stack up if a random case of wine just landed on my door from a company I had never heard off before.
As always, you make a good point Daniel. I'm with you, happy to pay over the odds for what I know I'll love. Obviously unknow brands need to pursue more of a try before you buy approach I think.
I've learned that providing a personal touch to a product gives consumers a better connection with the product. They feel that what they got is unique and therefore more valuable.
Post a Comment
<< Home