Is $10 worth $10 everywhere?
I’ve always, well maybe not always, but ever since I started school and learned to read and write, I’ve understood that money is not equal. Or the worth of money.
I live in one of the best countries to live in, especially if you get sick or would like to have maternity leave. But I have yet to meet a tourist in Norway saying it’s cheap to visit.
That said, for those in Norway not having high income levels, or where they have to live on social welfare, the prices for food and electricity are too high. To an extent where they’ll sometimes have to choose between meals and a pair of shoes to one of the kids.
Ever since I started my own business, first a fabric shop online, in 2009, then gradually changing to digital offerings, I’ve tried to study data from where my customers come from. And my average paying customer these days are female, living in the US and between 30-45 years old. When it comes to those downloading my freebies, I have people from all over the world, and for a much wider age range. There will of course always be more people downloading free stuff than the paid one, but there are a couple of continents that have never purchased anything.
My aim, since I started mommakingmoneyathome.com a little over 2 years ago, was and still are, to make it possible for anyone to start a business from home. Or at least work remotely, not having to commute, still keeping social distance whenever necessary. All with the use of a computer and an internet connection.
I could of course give away all of my products and all of my courses for free, but then I wouldn’t make money, and I – like you – have bills to pay.
The cost of living is different throughout the countries of the world. So are the wages. So when we say something costs $10, that’s just $10 in the US. In Norway $10 is more like $9.9 and in Turkey $10 is more like $17. (Big Mac Index)
We all, as business owners, shout from the rooftops about BLM, gender equality and other important things like environmental changes, the past 2 years of being isolated and so on. But we never talk about $10 not being $10 to all of us.
I have always had this thought at the back of my head though, that I should do something about it. And today I did.
Because I read a post in the Thrivecart community on Facebook where someone asked a question on how to implement different charges depending on where your visitor lives, through Thrivecart. One of the answers linked to Zoe Linda, and there I read about the Parity Bar, a 100% free html plugin.
Why diversify, why not give out a general discount link if people ask for it?
Because of the stigma.
It’s never easy to beg, or ask for discounts because you can’t afford something. Many people ask for discounts even though they can actually afford it, but that’s a whole other story.
But if the bar at the top of the page says “Hey, I see you live in Turkey, we support parity pay and if you need, you can use the code XXX to get a 70% discount on the price”(which it will say with the help of the paritybar plugin), you feel seen. You feel that the business has taken into consideration that not all are paid the same.
It’s not a discount(it is, but it isn’t), it’s an adjustment of the price based on your location and your expenses on a day to day basis.
I’ve installed the parity bar on my site today. The bar is visible on my membership pages( HERE and HERE), but only to those not living in the US or Europe.
For Europe there should actually be a price increase, but who really wants to use a code to pay MORE?