Use Good/Better/Best for Checking Success
By Mike Branton, Managing Partner
Originally posted on BankDirector.com
Shop for a new car, a cell phone plan, a cable TV package or a major appliance these days and you’ll find one consistent and very successful product strategy–Good/Better/Best (GBB).
GBB is a three-tiered strategy conceptually defined as follows:
- Good: A basic level of value for price sensitive customers. Good offers a minimal amount of added value to differentiate yourself from your competitors and/or to marginally satisfy comparison shoppers. For example, coach class airline tickets would fit in this category.
- Better: An in-between level of value for customers who appreciate some level of value and are willing to pay a certain price to receive it, because they are still a bit price sensitive. The amount of value added above Good depends on the product type and marketplace, but the incremental level of value must be noticeable. For example, business class airline tickets would be better than coach but not as expensive as first class.
- Best: An advanced level of value for those customers who are actively looking for maximum added value. Price sensitivity is not a priority. The amount of value added above Better has to be all that is economically possible to add and still maintain acceptable profit margins or strategic goals. First class airline tickets would be a Best option when flying.
Every successful GBB design works when the product offerings build on each other. Your Good product is fundamental. Better is Good plus more. Best is Better plus more. GBB provides choices by comparison, easily showing how the price changes when different features are added or subtracted. As a result, buyers will be content that they decided to buy only as much as they needed. The power behind GBB is simplicity and familiarity.
While buyers appreciate choice, too many choices are counterproductive. The paradox of choice theory holds that too many options discourages rather than encourages buyers to buy. Why? Because it increases the effort that goes into making a buying decision. So buyers decide not to decide and don’t buy your product. Or if they do buy, the effort to make the decision often diminishes from the enjoyment derived from the product. In short, buyers do not respond well to choice overload and GBB keeps it simple. It’s very familiar to think in terms of three when buying things. Popular use of GBB product design by retailers for commonly purchased items has conditioned the typical buyer to be at ease with this product design.
