The current recession has driven a large number of customers to delay or cancel planned purchases. Those that have an immediate requirement that must be facilitated have been, very rightly, even more price conscious that pre recession times. In these circumstances the buy decision criteria tends to lend even more emphasis to the initial purchase price rather than the whole life costs of ownership.

Should a customer be loyal to a highly reputable business who will, for instance, hold stock, provide good quality advice, enable equipment demonstrations and comparisons, provide levels of integration, take responsibility for product health and safety, ensure all the leads and connectors required for the users configuration are included, provide after sales support, provide repair services and so on, knowing that this will attract a ‘premium’ price ? The alternatives can include : internet purchases, where the longer you search the lower the price, or perhaps the inexpensive alternatives to brand leaders (e.g. the so called ‘cheap Chinese’ products) ?

If a customer knows exactly what they want and can support the product themselves then there is no reason to pay the premium price – the value add doesn’t justify the price premium.

Knowledgeable customers can work out their own price performance points, if they need a specific product for a specific application that can be met by an inexpensive source then that is the right decision.

However…….at LSL we are now seeing a raft of customers who have made highly competitive purchases only to find that the products and/or service have not met their requirements in the way that they had anticipated. The costs of developing a satisfactory solution can range from modification to replacement, ultimately wiping out their expected savings and/or compromising performance and supportability.

At LSL we are committed to selling, hiring and supporting products and solutions that have been fully tested as excellent price-performance and robust, this does mean that we are not a source of the lowest priced alternatives, relying on our branded portfolio and wide range of value add to justify what we hope is sustainable and reasonable pricing.

We are always open to feedback and suggestions and would love to hear your views and ideas on this approach