Pricing is a Pretend Thing

Marketing Shenanigans (#023)

There’s no hard rule for how much someone will pay for a product—if it solves a problem they care about.

But here’s the thing: no one’s buying your product unless they feel the value you’re offering.

Look at Patagonia.

Their mission is straightforward: to save our home planet. Their products? On average, they cost 37% more than the competition.

Why? Because a Patagonia jacket isn’t just a jacket:

♻️ It’s sustainably manufactured clothing.

🌎 It’s a ticket to support grassroots environmental efforts

✅ It’s backed by a lifetime guarantee.

Now, let’s compare that to Costco. You could snag a similar jacket there—for a fraction of the price.

Here’s the wild part: both brands sell. Both products do the job. But the appeal? Completely different.

Patagonia’s customers? They’re buying into sustainability, durability, and impact. Costco’s customers? They value affordability and practicality above all else.

The Takeaway

Price matters less than you think. What truly sells is how well your product aligns with the values of your audience. If they see their values in what you’re offering, the price tag suddenly becomes a non-issue.

Bottom Line:

Your strongest marketing tool isn’t a flashy discount or clever pricing strategy—it’s clarity. Stand firm in your values, and you’ll attract people who already believe in what you’re selling. When that happens, there’s no need to justify your prices—they’ll already understand why it’s worth it.

Pricing works best when it reflects the value your audience sees. The clearer your mission, the easier it is to connect with the right people (and stop worrying about price wars).

Cheers,

Teddy

Teddy Giard

In case you don’t already know, my name is Teddy, and I operate a firm that specializes in marketing strategies for outdoor brands. Our approach is simple: align your product development timeline with your marketing production timeline; by doing so, we can own the distribution of our message and our products.

If you’d like to explore working together, feel free to fill out this form, and if we’re a good fit, we can schedule a discovery call. We ask this because we keep a fairly narrow target for whom we work, and we like to be as open about that on the front end as possible. After all, time is life’s most valuable resource.