How much for your body?
How’s five bucks!?
Believe it or not, that’s what you’re worth. Don’t take it personally. It’s not a reflection of the value placed on your life. The price of five dollars is a direct calculation of the value of your body when reduced to its molecular elements. When considered as a collection of “parts” sold on the black market, that number jumps dramatically, closer to $45 million. And if your loved ones were asked the price for you, the answer would likely be priceless.
How can this be?
How can the same object carry such wildly different prices?
It comes down to one thing: perceived value.
Whether in Oil & Gas, Agriculture, Professional Services, or any other industry, the price paid for a product or service is the ultimate gauge of how much value it is perceived to deliver.
Consider coffee beans. Although coffee is the world’s second most traded commodity after petroleum, green coffee beans are still treated as a commodity, trading at roughly $1.35 USD per pound. Roast, blend, and grind those beans into a distinct flavour profile and the price jumps to $10–$15 per pound. Brew that coffee and serve it to a morning commuter desperate for caffeine and suddenly the price exceeds $100 per pound. Call it Kona and serve it to an Albertan on vacation in Hawaii and the price can climb beyond $150 per pound.
Now add context.
Is there a difference between a Starbucks and a cup from Tim Hortons? A pour-over from a local café versus a vending machine brew? Or the only coffee shop open late at night when you need it most? Should all cups of coffee cost the same?
Of course not.
As human beings, we are deeply influenced by perception. We’ll happily pay more when demand exceeds supply, or when a product feels better, different, or more meaningful in the moment. Only when value is stripped away, when coffee becomes nothing more than undifferentiated green beans, does price become the dominant factor.
The same behavior plays out across B2B industries, including Oil & Gas. The prices buyers are willing to pay directly reflect how unique and valuable they believe a supplier to be.
Over the past 20 years, we’ve interviewed thousands of B2B buyers to understand how pricing fits into buying decisions. With the exception of a few short-lived economic anomalies, the pattern is remarkably consistent: when offerings are not perceived as commodities, decisions are rarely driven by price alone.
When a company clearly presents something that is both unique and valued, higher pricing follows naturally. When a company positions itself as interchangeable with competitors, price collapses. In nearly every case, price is the ultimate signal of perceived value.
So why are we seeing such unsustainable pricing across Oil & Gas services today?
The answer lies in the extraordinary economic cycle of the past few years. Since early 2015, collapsing oil prices forced producers and suppliers to work together to survive. Prices were temporarily reduced to keep the industry alive. But as forecasts improve, pricing will inevitably return to levels that reflect real value.
For some, that’s good news.
For others, it’s a reckoning.
Those who fail to articulate anything beyond “same as everyone else” will continue racing to the bottom. Those who clearly define and communicate what makes their offering unique and valued will earn pricing that reflects it, and sustain it.
If your pricing is under constant pressure, it’s often a positioning problem, not a sales one. Our brand positioning work helps companies clarify what makes them unique and valued so price becomes a reflection of strength, not compromise.Contact us to explore how this applies to your business.
