What characteristics do you value as a consumer when you make a decision to buy a product, use a service, or otherwise engage with a company? There isn’t some blanket “right” answer here… it’s a combination of characteristics that vary in importance per product. Some of those factors are:
- Price
- Brand / Image
- Features
- Quality (or, more often, “perceived quality”)
- Values or Governance (is it “Green”? Is it a product of Sweatshops?)
- Control / Access to mashup
- Time (cost of attention to engage or learn)
Is this list complete? What else belongs here?
I’m interested in this subject because I want to know how these characteristics differ between physical goods and internet services. My own usage tells me that price is paramount in web services. If it’s not free, I don’t use it. Some people dismiss this as a generational difference (Not sure that I agree). Whereas, with physical products over $20 (namely electronics… I’m not talking about a bottle of laundry detergent here), I think “perceived quality” and “features” are far more important than price for me. So, what’s the difference between web services and physical goods that makes me value some characteristics of the product more than others?
This isn’t a well-thought out post. Just trying to get this question out of my head and on to paper. I’ll continue posting about this idea as it continue to bake.
The assumption is that you can find the same or a similar product online for no cost - so in most instances, there is little reason to pay for something online. There is no expectation of getting such a deal when buying a physical good.
Remember Cyberrebate.com?? I know some people who lost many thousands of dollars when it went under — but for a while, when the company was alive and thriving, my friends’ attitude was “why buy it from the store when I can get something like it on cyberrebate for free?” It is about expectations and relative value.
I guess its the cirumsatnce of using the “good”.
Difficult to compare a “web-Service” with e.g. some design-furniture or hifi-device.
In any case almost all Web-Services are there for you to use intensively - they are all “lean-forward” services, so it´s important you get in to them fast (time) and at 0-low costs with immediate “success” feedback.
The “value” you associate with something physical is always higher. Your attendance to spend more time, more money and more patience is inherent.
After all many of those goods are typical “lean-back” devices - eg any hifi-device.
I like the “lean-back” / “lean-forward” distinction. Feels like a characteristic I should add to the list.
On the Web, I generally only pay for business services that automate tasks I hate to do: Blinksale (because I hate writing invoices), Quickbooks downloads from my bank, Fogbugz, and Highrise are some examples. And of course hosting, which is one web service that is widely paid for, and provides a huge amount of value, and that doesn’t come for free. I don’t think brand/image, values, or other factors enter as much into play on the Web as much as pure utility or functionality.
The buying decision is based on the type of item being purchased. Is it someting quick/small, is it utilitarian (based on perceived benefits/features/brand) or is it ego-expressive in which all the
categories you mentioned play a role. Different people have different neuroeconomics of purchasing.
It’s interesting that a persons’ lifestyle and self-esteem can also play a role at the time of purchase, so happiness is a factor. We may tend to buy things in certain mindstates when we normally wouldn’t at other times. But I guess that’s not really adding anything new it’s just variations in what you’ve said.
Web services involve a larger time span til acquisition of good but a faster acquisition of service whereas physical requires you to reach a specific destination. Web definitely is about functionality but once people start becoming brands themsleves and spokespeople for brands in a platform like facebook which connects the web to real life, then brand will start playing a larger role. How can one take advantage of these changing behaviors? We talk more about entrepreneurs at our site http://www.revupnet.com
The buying decision is based on the type of item being purchased. Is it someting quick/small, is it utilitarian (based on perceived benefits/features/brand) or is it ego-expressive in which all the
categories you mentioned play a role. Different people have different neuroeconomics of purchasing.
It’s interesting that a persons’ lifestyle and self-esteem can also play a role at the time of purchase, so happiness is a factor. We may tend to buy things in certain mindstates when we normally wouldn’t at other times. But I guess that’s not really adding anything new it’s just variations in what you’ve said.
Web services involve a larger time span til acquisition of good but a faster acquisition of service whereas physical requires you to reach a specific destination. Web definitely is about functionality but once people start becoming brands themsleves and spokespeople for brands in a platform like facebook which connects the web to real life, then brand will start playing a larger role. How can one take advantage of these changing behaviors? We talk more about entrepreneurs at our site http://www.revupnet.com