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RAY
SCOTT OUTDOORS, INC. "Perceived
Value"
TULSA, Oklahoma - In marketing, as in "Selling 101", there's a recognized theory called perceived value. In other words, the higher priced item - obviously costs more - and obviously is the best. True or false? If you agree or disagree, okay, but here's the concept: Price = Value. Walking into a tackle shop, I asked the sales clerk, "Where are the spinning rods? I'm looking for a special action and can't find it at the local discount fishing department." The salesman grinned and motioned to follow him. The storefront sported a nationally known logo and brand associated with upscale sportsmen's needs. The Orvis gentlemen of the outdoor world. "If you're looking for a good rod, at a good price," the clerk pointed out, "our store brand is on special for $89.95. But, here feel this G. Loomis spinning rod. It's the Cadillac of its class." As if presenting King Arthur with his Excalibur sword, the salesman extended the 6 ˝-foot fiberglass foil, bowed gracefully and awaited my approval. "G. Loomis built this rod?" I intoned. "Nice blank. How much?" "Let me check the hang tag. Yes, this is the $245.00 model. Your spinning rod of a lifetime," chimed back the clerk. My questioning reply: "Did you say two-hundred and forty-five dollars? That's almost three times what the store's signature rod costs. Is a Loomis rod really that much more for the money?" "Well, let me say this," said the salesperson. "For that price, it must be the best." "Perceived value." If it cost more, it must be worth it. As a sidebar to this concept, take the simple selection process between two items. In this case, the choice between two four-color autograph photos used by myself for Boat Show memorabilia. The photos are identical. Ray Scott perched on the bow seat of a TRITON boat. But, for the curiosity of it, the side-by-side photos are marked: 25˘ and $1.00. Now, the two photos are absolutely identical, except for the price marked. Yet, the majority of the folks asking for an autographed photo choose the $1.00 picture. But, invariably, without exception one sharp-eyed baser will peer from photo to photo, do a double-take and demand to know "what's the difference?" My answer is simply, the obvious: "Seventy-five cents!" And invariably, the joke rates a chuckle and the reply, "I'll take the dollar one." Is it "perceived value" or maybe the fact hopefully: "No one wants a two-bit autographed photo of Ray Scott." For sure, there is recognized value in a proven brand name. Earl Bentz and TRITON Boats, if you've seen the advertisements, you know Ray Scott believes the Ashland City, Tennessee boat manufacturer builds it…the "ultimate bass boat." If you test drive a TRITON, try it in rough water. Then, you'll understand why the special composite, wood-free construction is the "Cadillac of its class" to borrow a phrase. Okay, as national spokesman for TRITON Boats, you expect to hear Ray Scott say and repeat as much. But, believe me, when I repeat perceived value it's a fact of life. Where's the high-dollar end, the selling price of a fully-rigged bass boat? You can spend $36,995.00 in the blink of an eye. But, evidently, that's not the top end price. Would you believe a 22-foot bass boat priced to sell for $50,000? At the recent Tulsa, Oklahoma Boat, Sports & Travel Expo, the talk of the show was the Tr-22 Triton powered with a 300 horsepower Mercury Outboard - with every gadget and gizmo known to a fisherman - displayed in the Nichols Marine booth. Gary Nichols, the Tulsa marine dealer, said, "Tulsa World's outdoor writer Sam Powell called it the most expensive bass boat rig in captivity." A show piece, an overpriced oddity to attract attention to Nichols Marine's display? If so, it worked big time. "We didn't back off the price," said Gary Nichols. "It was worth 50 grand, believe me." Not only did the show model sell right off the Tulsa Fairground's floor, Gary Nichols reportedly has two more buyers on the hook and interested in $50,000 bass fishing machines. As one of the new dealers in the TRITON Boats family, Nichols Marine operates dealerships in Tulsa, McAlester, Norman, and Afton in Oklahoma; as well as Lenoir City, Tennessee and Longview, Texas. Speaking of good value - perceived or otherwise - for bass tournament weekend anglers in the Tulsa-area, the 2002 TRITON Boat Oklahoma Tournament Trail presented by Nichols Marine is a "good deal." The five event fishing series, starting March 17th, at Lake Eufaula, will feature a first-place prize of a fully rigged Triton Tr-185 with a Mercury XR6 outboard (worth $20,000) and a $5,000 cash guarantee for second place…in all four qualifying tournaments. The winners of the final Citgo Championship Tournament, September 14-15, at Grand Lake of the Cherokees take home a Tr-20 Triton powered with a Mercury 225 outboard (a $37,000 value), and the runner-ups net a guaranteed $5,000. "This is a new tournament trail for us," said Gary Nichols, "and we want to offer something special in the way of awards for the weekend bass fisherman." Nichols added, "To my thinking, we're offering for the weekend fishermen what the big-time tournament pros have to travel all over the country, hoping to land a big payday." The opening Budweiser Invitational at Eufaula Cove, March 17th, will be followed by the Turnpike Transit-Rapala Invitational at Eufaula Cove, April 14th; the Falcon Graphite Rods Invitational at Martin Landing on Grand Lake, May 5th; and the MotorGuide-Pinpoint Invitational at Grand Lake, June 9th. All two-man teams that fish the four qualifying events will be eligible to fish the Championship, in mid-September out of Martin's Landing on Grand Lake. Gary Nichols says, "Any brand of boat may be used in the tournament. And, any safe boat 10-feet or longer, if powered by a 10 horsepower engine can be used." All entrants, signing an entry form, agree to a "truth detector" test (polygraph) to assure fish weighed-in are caught fairly under the rules of the tournament, according to Nichols. For a copy of the TRITON Boat Oklahoma Tournament Trail rules and entry form, contact: Nichols Marine, 6556 East 21st Street, Tulsa, OK 74129 or Ph (918) 838-2500 or Fax (918) 835-0509.
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