Aligning Ecommerce Value With Customer Expectations

Price isn't just about a number—it's about the mental model that supports it. 🧠 When OpenStore approached us about OpenDesk—their AI customer support tool for eCommerce brands—they faced a classic behavioral challenge: pricing doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The behavioral POV on value is that it’s subjective and created in the moment. That was true here, too. It wasn't actually the price point that was holding them back. It was the invisible mental accounting happening in customers' heads. 😬 Merchants mentally categorized support tools as expenses, not investments. This mental accounting created a pricing perception problem. When something falls into your "expense" bucket, your goal is to minimize it. When it's in your "investment" bucket, you evaluate ROI instead. 💡 When we reframe the value proposition, willingness to pay changes. Instead of "better customer support," we positioned OpenDesk as a "customer retention driver" – shifting its category from cost center to revenue generator. With this new mental model established, we designed pricing strategies that reinforced this investment framing: 💲 A hybrid model combining subscription + per-ticket charges that balanced predictability with value 🔢 A usage-based option with an interactive calculator that made total costs transparent—similar to how merchants evaluate ROI on other investments 👥 A per-seat model that simplified budgeting while aligning costs with team structure Curious to see where they landed, or to get ideas on optimizing product positioning or pricing strategy? 👇 Check out the case study in the comments. #BehavioralDesign #AIStrategy #ProductPricing

When brands work on their offerings they often take an inside-out approach. (1) Figure out the offering (2) Assess the competition  (3) Try to retrofit it into something customers want And then have long discussions about why folks aren’t buying…. When we work on positioning it’s the opposite: (1) Understand your customer’s needs (2) Assess the solutions they might consider (3) Find the areas of the offering that satisfy those needs and create separation from competitors When everything you do depends on creating alignment with your customers it makes sense to put it at the front of the line. It’s tricky though to know who the ideal target customer is. It’s about finding the best possible fit between their needs and your solution. To help with that you can use this simple rubric of questions (the “core need” here refers to the brand’s primary focus area): ⦿ Pain Intensity How much of a blocker is the core need for the target customer’s critical work functions if it isn’t resolved? ⦿ Pain Frequency How often does this core need repeat itself for the target customer over the span of a typical month / quarter?  ⦿ Value Alignment How well does the target customer’s core need align with the most valuable aspects of the brand’s offering? ⦿ Solution Awareness How much familiarity and depth of knowledge does the target customer have with possible solutions?  Score each one on a level of 1 to 3 and then add them up. The higher the score the better the alignment between the customer and the brand. (See the graphic for more details) Whether you’re debating between potential segments to focus on or just trying to find one that works, this gives you a way to tease apart the qualities you want to consider. This is key for getting in a customer-first mindset. And it’s absolutely essential for creating positioning that customers actually understand and remember.

Users determine whether your products are right for them in just 1/2 a second. If you're leading with discounts, you've already lost the game... First impressions don't just matter, they're everything in the digital world. Half a second is all it takes to form a lasting anchor in your customer's mind. Yesterday I spoke with an ecommerce brand selling premium products at premium prices. The first thing visitors see on their site? A 15% discount offer. This undermines everything they've built. The psychological principle at play here is called anchoring bias: whatever users see first becomes the reference point for every decision that follows. So when your homepage leads with "15% OFF!" you're telling customers price is your main differentiator. You've just anchored your brand as a discount option, even if you sell luxury goods 😳 This has devastating long-term effects on perceived value. Customers trained to expect discounts will wait for sales rather than buying at full price. They'll question the value of anything that isn't discounted. The data proves this approach is deadly for conversions. For one client, we shifted focus from discounts to their unique value proposition: "the best guarantees in the industry." This simple change in anchoring generated over $1.1 million in additional sales. The initial anchor point set customer expectations for the entire journey. When we positioned the brand as premium rather than cheap, customers responded accordingly. Take a hard look at your website's first impression: ↳ Are you anchoring on value or on discounts? ↳ Are you setting yourself up for sustainable growth or a race to the bottom?

Marketing Won’t Scale Your Business. This Will. Most people think marketing is the key to growing an eCommerce brand. But here’s the truth: 💡 If you can’t clearly explain why your product is different, you’ll struggle to sell—no matter how much you spend on ads. Messaging is everything. If you can’t answer these questions immediately, you have a problem: ✔️ Why should someone buy from you instead of a competitor? ✔️ How does your product fit into your customers' lives? ✔️ What’s the real transformation or benefit you provide? ✔️ When does someone use your product? What’s the exact use case? ✔️ What problem does your product actually solve? 👉 Because here’s the truth: No one cares about your branding, pretty images, or clever slogans. People only care when they see why your product matters to them. If you want people to click your ad, open your email, and actually buy, your messaging needs to be airtight: 🔹 Value Proposition – Why this product? Why now? 🔹 Use Case – When & how does someone use it? 🔹 Solution – What real problem does it solve? Get this right, and your ads, emails, and content will convert better—instantly. Here's what I do. And It Works: Every single year, I work with brands I’ve been with for 4, 5, even 6 years. We re-validate every possible value proposition, use case, and solution. And guess what? Every year, we uncover new opportunities for growth. 🔹 Example: Let’s say you sell underwear. 🚫 The use case isn’t “underwear.” That’s just a product category. ✅ The use case is WHEN and WHY someone chooses your underwear. -For the gym? Sweat-wicking. Breathable. Built for movement. -For a night out? Sleek. Seamless. Designed to feel sexy. -For all-day comfort? Stretch fabric that moves with you. -For a barely-there feel? Soft. Lightweight. Second skin. The brands that win don’t just sell products. They sell solutions. They sell moments. They sell transformation. I break this all down in my free masterclass. Because if you don’t get this right—nothing else will work. THIS is the work that has scaled some of my clients +1544% in 48 months in DTC only revenue (without Amazon, retail, and wholesale). If your ads and emails aren’t converting like they should, watch it now. 📌 https://lnkd.in/gXRTQE3V