A few months ago I stumbled on the show Yellowstone.
Without revealing any spoilers, it follows the Dutton family as they work to protect their ranch from people who want to take it away from them.
It’s full of conflict, drama, and lots of twists & turns.
It’s a show written by Taylor Sheridan who has an interesting “zero to hero” story of his own (how he went from struggling actor to signing nine figure deals with ViacomCBS within a fairly short timeline). If that’s of any interest to you, you can read the article here.
Naturally, after watching Yellowstone, I wanted more so I found 1883 which is the ‘prequel’ to Yellowstone. That show follows the Dutton family as they journey west. It’s another Taylor Sheridan series and if you’ve seen Yellowstone and loved it, you’ll probably enjoy 1883 as well.
Anyway, something interesting caught my attention about the show 1883.
The value of things based on location.
I particularly found it interesting what items became more valuable once they were out west.
Of course they had money (bills & coins) at the time but trade was a big part of the economy.
I’ll give you this piece of meat for ammunition.
Or I’ll give you these colorful fabrics for your buffalo hide, etc.
I won’t get into any more detail to give away any spoilers but it got me thinking about how people value things and…
A few reflection questions came to mind.
1 – Willingness to trade – People are not likely to trade with you unless what they are receiving in return is of equal or greater value than what they are giving for it.
Sounds like simple “common sense” stuff.
But are you applying it to your business?
Put yourself in the shoes of your audience. Get into their head and pretend you are them.
Would YOU (being them) be willing to trade your time, money, and effort for what your business is offering?
If that answer is an… “ehhh maybe” … then you’ve got some work to do on modifying your offer until the answer would be a “heck yes!”
2 – Value based on location – On the show, certain things become more valuable as they get farther away from civilization.
Fast forward to today and think about all the different places you can buy a bottle of water.
At the grocery store you can find a whole case of water bottles for about .10 to .13 cents per bottle.
I’ve seen people on the side of the road selling cold water bottles to drivers on a hot day. Sometimes those bottles will get sold at $1+ (about 8-10x more than what you can get it for at the grocery store).
If you’re at the airport or Disney, you may find a bottle of water for $2.50-$5.00.
Now, imagine you are at a stadium watching the Super Bowl. How much does a water bottle cost there? According to the New York Post, it’s about $5 to $6 a bottle.
The same (or almost the same) bottle of water is sold at varying prices based on who is buying, where they are buying it, and who they are buying it from.
Who do you need to be selling your products to in order to charge the price you want?
Where do you need to be selling your products in order to charge the price you want?
And who do you need to become in order to charge the price you want?
All things to ponder about your business, perhaps while watching Yellowstone or 1883 🙂
See you next time…
-Eddys Velasquez
DigitalMarketingRx
P.S. Have a burning question about selling digital products, growing an online business, or anything else?
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