🧠 No Valuable Customer Shops the Clearance Section

Welcome back to the 73rd edition of Nord Media

Something quite profound I’ve come to realize lately is “to do more, you have to do less.”

It’s a bit of a backward ideology, but if you’ve ever hit a plateau in business, fitness, or life in general, you can probably relate. 

Take lifting weights. You want to get stronger, so you keep piling on the plates, pushing harder, doing more. 

But at some point, progress stalls. You’re grinding through reps, feeling beat up, and somehow... not actually getting stronger. 

The breakthrough happens when you strip things back. Dial in your form, clean up your recovery, and make every lift count.

Pricing works the same way. 

Don’t assume the fastest way to grow revenue is to get more customers. 

Slashing prices, running endless discounts, and trying to out-cheap their competitors only attract the wrong customers…

Those who bounce after one purchase, ignore your brand, and only shop when there’s a sale.

Fortunately, making more money without constantly chasing new buyers is possible.

It’s called “Smart Pricing.”

And today we’re breaking down exactly what that means for your brand:

• How pricing psychology shapes conversions, LTV, and retention 

• Why newer DTC brands often price too low and attract customers who aren’t worth keeping

• Advanced pricing strategies that increase perceived value & profitability, without racing to the bottom

Let’s get into it.

How Pricing Psychology Shapes Conversions, LTV, and Retention (Way More Than You Think)

Whether you realize it or not, your price tag is telling a story about your brand.

Think about the last time you hesitated before buying something. 

Maybe it felt too cheap, and you questioned the quality. Or maybe it was expensive, but everything about the experience made it feel worth the price. 

That’s pricing psychology at work.

Apply this to your brand.

Your pricing shaped:

• Who buys.

• How often they come back. 

• How much they’re willing to spend over time. 

A lower price might drive more conversions today, but if it attracts deal-seekers who never repurchase, your LTV suffers. 

But then a premium price shifts how people perceive your brand and what they expect from it.

Pricing decisions aren’t based on logic purely. Customers make emotional choices and justify them later. 

If you understand that, you can price strategically to drive conversions, increase retention, and maximize LTV all without constantly chasing new customers.

• Use price anchoring 

Position a higher-priced option first to make your main offer feel like a better deal. This works especially well for tiered pricing models.

• Avoid the bargain bin effect

If a price feels too low, customers assume something is off. Higher prices, when justified by brand, quality, and experience, can create stronger perceived value.

• Charm pricing vs. rounded pricing 

Prices ending in .99 feel cheaper and more transactional. Rounded numbers ($50 vs. $49.99) convey quality and trustworthiness, making them better suited for premium brands.

• Strategic bundling

Grouping products together at a slightly lower total price increases perceived value and raises average order value.

• Test a price increase

Raising prices by 10-20% doesn’t always hurt conversions, but it does improve margins and often attracts better customers.

Pricing is a tool that can sway how your customers perceive your brand and the way they interact with it. 

Getting it right = Smarter sales.

Why Newer DTC Brands Price Too Low and Attract the Wrong Customers

​​On paper, it might make sense to price lower in an attempt to drive more sales.

Yes, you may get more sales. But now you’ve attracted the wrong buyers. 

Underpricing signals that your product is a commodity, not something valuable or premium. It tells customers to buy from you because you’re cheap, not because you’re better. 

The customers who shop based on price alone are first to churn, the hardest to upsell, and the least likely to become loyal.

Lower prices don’t build strong brands. They build race-to-the-bottom businesses that struggle to scale.

Here’s what happens when your pricing is too low:

• You attract discount-driven buyers 

These customers aren’t invested in your brand. They’ll switch the second a competitor offers a lower price.

• You devalue your product

If something feels too affordable, people assume it’s lower quality. Premium brands charge more because their customers expect more.

• You leave no room for profitability

Scaling a brand with thin margins is a nightmare. You can’t afford quality marketing, customer support, or product improvements.

• You make it harder to raise prices later

Once customers are anchored to a lower price, increasing it feels like a betrayal, leading to backlash and lower retention.

So how do you avoid this?

Instead of competing on price, compete on value. 

Build a brand that customers want to pay more for

If your product delivers real value, your pricing should reflect that.

Advanced Pricing Strategies That Maximize Perceived Value & Profitability

Raising prices feels risky. 

The fear is always the same. What if it kills conversions? What if customers push back?

Pricing right doesn’t mean squeezing more out of customers. You must align the price with perceived value so customers feel confident spending more.

Here’s how to make that happen:

• Anchor your pricing

Customers don’t instinctively know what something should cost. They compare it to what’s next to it. Leading with a higher-priced option makes your main offer feel like a better deal.

• Use strategic bundling

Instead of discounting, bundle complementary products together. It raises AOV, increases perceived value, and avoids cheapening your brand.

• Leverage tiered pricing

Offering multiple pricing tiers (basic, standard, premium) makes the mid-tier feel like the best value and nudges customers to spend more than they planned.

• Justify premium pricing with brand & experience

People pay more for brands that feel worth it. Premium packaging, strong storytelling, and a great buying experience reinforce higher pricing.

• Test price increases

A 10-20% price increase won’t always hurt conversions—but it will improve margins. If your pricing feels too cheap for what you’re offering, test raising it.

Stop pricing based on fear. Price based on value.

If you’ve built something great, customers will pay for it. But they need to see why it’s worth more. That part is up to you.

Closing Thoughts

You might not have a pricing problem. You might have a perceived value problem.

Lowering prices feels like the easiest way to drive sales, but it attracts the wrong buyers, shrinks your margins, and makes scaling harder. 

Competing on price alone forces you into a race to the bottom. One that you don’t want to win.

If you’re struggling to charge more, start by making your brand feel like it deserves a higher price.

 Do that, and you won’t have to convince customers to pay more. They’ll see the value for themselves.

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Thank you for reading! I appreciate you.

Sincerely,
Kody