Although ideas and issues are often spoken of as being great or weighty, they have no mass,
cannot be physically delivered and are not ordinarily exchanged for cash. Yet, for a marketing
transaction to take place, something must be paid out by the purchaser. This chapter delves into
price as a marketng factor and calls attention to a reality of pricing sometimes overlooked by
marketing planners. That reality is the concept of the price -- beyond the monetary price -- paid by
an individual in purchasing a good or a service, but especially in adopting an idea or taking a side on
an issue.
Many characteristics associated with a particular product offering are studied by marketers as
product attributes, while the possibility that these very characteristics may be perceived by
consumers as integral parts of the price paid in purchasing that product is overlooked. Thus the
amount of time spent waiting for attention at the doctor's office may in one context be construed as
an attribute of that form of health care service. However, viewed in another light. the time expended
might be seen as a non-monetary price paid in addition to the cash fee. Other non-monetary prices
include the effort expected of the habitual driver who turns to mass transit and the shame endured by
the adopter of the idea of a radically unusual hairstyle.
In any given situation, whether a characteristic is likely to be perceived as a product attribute or
as part of price will not always be obvious. The important concern to marketers is the determination
of which viewpoint suggests more effective strategies for marketing planning. That is, if consumers
do indeed perceive themselves as expending resources beyond money when they make purchases, it
becomes important for purveyors to take into account these "things'' given up in exchange for the
product offerings.
The price vs. product attribute distinction may be restated in terms of what has been called the
approach-avoidance concept. Product attributes comprise an approach vector because they attract
the consumer whereas price factors repel him or her. The latter are components of an avoidance
vector. The model thus has an element of pleasure/pain theory built into it (Seth 1980). These
considerations have their most obvious usefulness in the planning of promotional strategy, but they
may also be important in the design of the product itself
PRICE
Price is the most quantifiable, tractable and readily analyzed element in the marketing mix. It is
virtually the only marketing factor addressed by economists. Price is generally defined as “the
amount of goods, services, money value of the same, (that is) set as the required payment given by
the buyer for some amount of goods or services offered by the seller (Alpert 1971, p. 4). This
definition applies whether the price is called admission, assessment, charge, collection,
compensation, contribution, dues, fare, fine, fee, honorarium, levy, interest, penalty, premium, rent,
reward, tariff, tax, toll, or tuition.
The Monetary And Social Components Of PriceThe price construct has two components. One is that which is most generally associated with
price, the price paid in cash by the buyer to the seller. The other is a non-monetary or intrinsic
component extending beyond money, which is "paid'' by the buyer in every type of exchange:… the price can also be non-monetary. Thus it can include many things more personal than money,
such as time, effort, love, power, prestige, pride, friendship and the like. Alcoholics Anonymous, for
example, charges a very high price -commitment not to drink and public admission of one's problem.
The Third Nail, a drug rehabilitation center, expects its clients to abstain from drugs and to contribute
time and effort toward the maintenance of the center
It is suggested that non-financial prices be formally distinguished from money prices and the
appellation social price be assigned to the former. Other terms could be used: ancillary price,
supplemental price, collateral price, intangible price, intrinsic price, symbolic price, psychic price,
etc. But the term social price seems most appropriate particularly since it resonates well within the
domain of social marketing. The notion of social price is exemplified in such everyday remarks as
"We paid dearly for ... ," or "Freedom at any price;" one is said to "spend" time and "pay" respect
and attention.
cannot be physically delivered and are not ordinarily exchanged for cash. Yet, for a marketing
transaction to take place, something must be paid out by the purchaser. This chapter delves into
price as a marketng factor and calls attention to a reality of pricing sometimes overlooked by
marketing planners. That reality is the concept of the price -- beyond the monetary price -- paid by
an individual in purchasing a good or a service, but especially in adopting an idea or taking a side on
an issue.
Many characteristics associated with a particular product offering are studied by marketers as
product attributes, while the possibility that these very characteristics may be perceived by
consumers as integral parts of the price paid in purchasing that product is overlooked. Thus the
amount of time spent waiting for attention at the doctor's office may in one context be construed as
an attribute of that form of health care service. However, viewed in another light. the time expended
might be seen as a non-monetary price paid in addition to the cash fee. Other non-monetary prices
include the effort expected of the habitual driver who turns to mass transit and the shame endured by
the adopter of the idea of a radically unusual hairstyle.
In any given situation, whether a characteristic is likely to be perceived as a product attribute or
as part of price will not always be obvious. The important concern to marketers is the determination
of which viewpoint suggests more effective strategies for marketing planning. That is, if consumers
do indeed perceive themselves as expending resources beyond money when they make purchases, it
becomes important for purveyors to take into account these "things'' given up in exchange for the
product offerings.
The price vs. product attribute distinction may be restated in terms of what has been called the
approach-avoidance concept. Product attributes comprise an approach vector because they attract
the consumer whereas price factors repel him or her. The latter are components of an avoidance
vector. The model thus has an element of pleasure/pain theory built into it (Seth 1980). These
considerations have their most obvious usefulness in the planning of promotional strategy, but they
may also be important in the design of the product itself
PRICE
Price is the most quantifiable, tractable and readily analyzed element in the marketing mix. It is
virtually the only marketing factor addressed by economists. Price is generally defined as “the
amount of goods, services, money value of the same, (that is) set as the required payment given by
the buyer for some amount of goods or services offered by the seller (Alpert 1971, p. 4). This
definition applies whether the price is called admission, assessment, charge, collection,
compensation, contribution, dues, fare, fine, fee, honorarium, levy, interest, penalty, premium, rent,
reward, tariff, tax, toll, or tuition.
The Monetary And Social Components Of PriceThe price construct has two components. One is that which is most generally associated with
price, the price paid in cash by the buyer to the seller. The other is a non-monetary or intrinsic
component extending beyond money, which is "paid'' by the buyer in every type of exchange:… the price can also be non-monetary. Thus it can include many things more personal than money,
such as time, effort, love, power, prestige, pride, friendship and the like. Alcoholics Anonymous, for
example, charges a very high price -commitment not to drink and public admission of one's problem.
The Third Nail, a drug rehabilitation center, expects its clients to abstain from drugs and to contribute
time and effort toward the maintenance of the center
It is suggested that non-financial prices be formally distinguished from money prices and the
appellation social price be assigned to the former. Other terms could be used: ancillary price,
supplemental price, collateral price, intangible price, intrinsic price, symbolic price, psychic price,
etc. But the term social price seems most appropriate particularly since it resonates well within the
domain of social marketing. The notion of social price is exemplified in such everyday remarks as
"We paid dearly for ... ," or "Freedom at any price;" one is said to "spend" time and "pay" respect
and attention.
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