Hans Schuller...
That time when I became an E-commerce business owner, selling cellos.
Sometime in 2011, when I was running a music school, I bought a few China-made cellos through a distributor, and decided to name it (of all names)... Hans Schuller cellos.
I don't know who Hans Schuller is. I don't know what it meant. I just thought it sounded cool (and expensive).
I decided to sell it online. I built a website called musicshop.com.my, and boom, I was in business.
I even made a cringey video. Watch it at your own risk:
To market the cello, I made the video, did some SEO, and posted on places like Lowyat Forum.
Remember, this was in 2011 - almost no one was doing things like paid advertising.
And it worked!
I sold cellos to an orchestra all the way in Sabah. And I would receive emails from interested buyers every other week.
Now, if you read the email above, Razlan actually dropped by my studio.
I later found out that his cellos, although no-name, were better than the China-made Hans Schuller cellos I had.
Still, he insisted on a brand-new Hans Schuller cello and left the studio quite pleased.
That's when I learnt about perceived value.
In marketing, perceived value starts with the story you tell and the positioning you create. It comes in the name, the way it's presented, and where it shows up.
Perception is everything.
Somehow, I had created a perception that the cellos I was selling were one of the best options he could get at that price in the market.
Here's another secret: It's easier to create a perception online, than in person. (That's why everyone on IG looks so successful.)
Recently, I did a whiteboard session with Faisal from WebMedic about perception and the conversion strategies you can take to increase sales on your E-Commerce site.
We also shared a checklist (including WebMedic's own conversion analyzer tool) as a resource, which you can download here