The Price of a Cup: How emotionomics – not just economics – drives brand choice

“One of the least understood things about ourselves, is why we pay the price we do for a cup of coffee. Aficionados are automatically selective in their choice … based on an intricate (and very personal) mix of perception, brand and price. In the third of this series of branding articles, Neil Osborne explains how the delicate balance of price and position can be a powerful force behind your brand.

At first glance, your fickle coffee tastes may seem irrelevant to the pricing decisions for a product or brand, but it’s really a microcosm of the selection and weighing process you go through when purchasing … well, anything.

How and when is price most real to you? For the majority of us, it’s in the context of our retail therapy sessions. In that environment, your consumption is rationed by prices. They guide you in allocating your resources – money, time and toil – and help you set priorities amongst your growing list of wants.

At every crossroads, prices nudge us to take one course of action or another. Every decision, whether it’s personal or business, is a choice amongst options to which you’ve assigned different values and the subsequent benefits gained from that purchase.