Setting the right price mattered a lot in the ch industry. The MTA maintained a public record on every certified ch sold by a ch designer. Potential custors often looked up his recent record to get an estimate on the value of his products.
The initial price often set the standard.
Consider coming up with a mundane product like a pair of shoes. These days, modern manufacturing techniques have turned these articles of footwear into a cheap commodity that could be bought for rock-bottom prices. So of the more affluent consurs even fabricate their own if they own a household 3D printer.
Most shoe manufacturers saw little future in trying to compete on price and volu. Instead, they went into the opposite direction, coming up with sothing fancy by employing famous fashion designers and incorporating trace exotics in their products.
All of that cost a lot of money, so the shoe manufacturers charged a higher premium for their fancy shoes. Sotis they charged fifty tis the unit cost of a single pair of shoes.
It sounded like a scam, right? Yet many shoe manufacturers sold out their most exclusive and expensive products the mont they released them on the market. They painstakingly built up a brand for excellence that consurs trusted.
Put in a cynical way, a strong brand effectively brainwashed the market. Consurs believed that the high prices the manufacturers adopted represented genuine value.
Sotis, this even turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. As brands grew in recognition and value, people who owned them earned more social recognition. Clothes made the man and woman.
Every company in pretty much every sector aid to built up a brand like this. Unfortunately for Ves, the Living ch Company hadn’t reached this level yet. It barely got off the starting line.
To charge a twelve million credit premium for the Mark II Eternal Edition could be considered arrogant and premature. Neither his company nor his design achieved a strong enough brand to let him get away with such an outrageous price hike.
At least according to conventional wisdom.
"Then again, nothing what I do adheres to conventional wisdom." Ves said to himself.
Ves faced two main hindrances to getting his audience accept his higher prices.
First, he barely started operating a year ago, and the LMC only ca into existence a couple of months ago.
While he built up his company’s brand on Cloudy Curtain, extending it to the vast and limitless Bentheim market required an even greater investnt than before. Throwing a couple of billion credits on ad campaigns would barely be able to bump his company’s profile from zero percent to one percent awareness.
Second, the true value of his products lay in the X-Factor, which had a definite effect on people but could not be asured directly. In addition, since Ves wished to keep his knowledge of the X-Factor a trade secret, he couldn’t even direct the audience to take note of its effects.
Buyers had to trust in their gut feeling to appreciate his chs enough to fork over the extra premium.
Yet they weren’t always stupid.
The more credits at stake, the more they started thinking with their brains instead of their guts. When they looked at the Mark II Eternal Edition and inspected its specs, they would know that its performance simply didn’t match its price.
If there was one thing consurs hated, it was being made aware that they were overcharging for a product. A strong brand blinded consurs to this occurrence, but Ves didn’t enjoy such a luxury at the mont.
A purchase should feel good. Ves hoped that anyone who decided to buy his chs felt happy that they went for his designs. He’d leave a bad taste in their mouths if he appeared to be overcharging his products. This explained his current lack of sales.
As visitors kept pouring into the convention center, Ves still hadn’t made a sale. The few potential buyers among the crowd soundly rejected his greedy prices and turned elsewhere to satisfy their cravings.
Even his neighboring booths sold a couple of chs. Ves didn’t think much of the mundane-looking chs neighboring his booth, but their ch designers joyfully appealed to the crowd milling in front of his show models.
The prices of their chs ranged from ten to twenty million credits. From what Ves could see, the desperate ch designers didn’t even charge much of a premium for their chs. They’d barely make more than half-a-million credits after deducting their production costs and license fees.
Still, as poor as they behaved, at least they made so progress. Ves on the other hand sat with empty hands while the first day of the festival already progressed halfway.
"It cos down to feeling." Ves realized after musing about this point. "There’s got to be a way to make the feeling more poignant."
He turned his head to the nearby simulator pods. Marcella’s organization brought ten pods to his booth to allow the guests to try out the virtual versions of his show models.
They loosely set a limit of ten minutes per guest so that every potentate got a turn. Even then, around fifty eager guests waited in line.
Ves noted that everyone who wanted to try out a simulation consisted of average festival goers. While that helped leave a good impression behind, the mass of people blocked his potential custors from accessing the pods quickly.
Ves imdiately turned to Antje. "I think it’s best to encourage our potential custors to try out the simulators. Let’s cut back on access to the pods to the general public."
"Hm. Good idea. While not everyone who expresses interest in our chs is a potentate, there are enough that it’s worthwhile so set so pods aside."
The sales manager imdiately went to work. She set three pods aside and instructed the sales representatives to encourage their use by anyone expressing interest in the chs.
Half an hour went by as the new policy went into effect. Ves sat back and watched as the potential custors got an opportunity to experience the chs up close. Their attitudes of his products changed once they got a taste of piloting the chs.
While the experience paled in comparison to entering the actual cockpits, the rules forbid the practice out of safety concerns.
"I still need an extra oomph to get across the idea that my chs are different."
He looked at his models and compared them to the simulated footage displayed by the various projectors at his booth. The projected chs looked a lot more vivid due to their motion and sothing else that Ves had overlooked.
"The Festive Cloud Generators are inactive."
Ves declined to add the generator to his lightly modified Caesar Augustus, he did add them to his variants. The Mark II Eternal Edition featured a striking red vertical head crest while the Marcus Aurelius as a rolling purple cape. When both modules turned active, it made the ch seem larger than life.
However, the organizers strictly prohibited the activation of any show models. Even turning on the lights posed too much of a risk. Still, Ves wanted to try and see if he could get an exemption on this rule.
He summoned up the hall manager. A round-bellied man with a moustache showed up. He dressed in a weirdly formal costu that emphasized the girth of his belly. In an age where various weight-reducing treatnts existed, being fat was more of a fashion statent than a sign of obesity.
"What a wonderful trio of chs!" The hall manager exclaid as he arrived at his booth. A couple of security officers had to shove the crowd aside to allow his portly body to get close. "I love what you did to the Caesar Augustus! It’s one of the best I’ve ever seen! You could apply for a masterwork certificate from the MTA with this beauty!"
Ves awkwardly laughed. "I’m still too junior to think about such a thing."
chs had to et a lot of strict criteria before they beca eligible for a masterwork certificate. Generally, only Senior and Master ch Designers possessed the skills to reach this standard.
"Then what seems to be the problem?"
"I’m looking to turn on a function of two of my show models." Ves replied and guided him to a projection that showed the Mark II Eternal Edition and the Marcus Aurelius in action. "The Festive Cloud Generator injects minute particles into harmless water vapor to achieve these visual effects."
"I do admit the chs look dazzling when the so-called cloud generators are active, but the potential risks are nurous. The main reason why we don’t allow chs to run any systems is because their reactors have to co online. Even at their lowest operating level, they generate a significant amount of heat and energy. If anything goes wrong with these reactors, the consequences could be catastrophic to the nearby crowd."
The hall manager gestured to the pressing mass of people who beca enchanted by his chs. From a public safety standpoint, the man had a point. From a technical standpoint, the chance the reactors malfunctioned and exploded was virtually nil.
"These are brand-new chs that have gone through certification. The MTA insured they’re safe. What’s the harm in turning on a couple of vapor generators? Think of how much better my chs will look like. The festival will be better off if the crowd can see my chs at their best."
His argunts slowly persuaded the hall manager to the rits of letting his chs appear at their best.
Ves figured out that the shrewd man in charge of this side hall competed against the managers of the other halls to attract the most visitors. The manager never told him this directly, but his responses hinted at this dynamic at work. The more he talked, the more he honed in on these benefits.
"My chs are already one the biggest draws in this hall. I know you have reservations for turning on those cheaply-built chs, but my products are different. I didn’t cut any corners when I designed and fabricated these chs. I can truly guarantee you that nothing will go wrong if I’m allowed to turn on the generators."
It took five more minutes to squeeze an exemption out of the reluctant manager. At the end, Ves had the feeling he was rely providing an excuse for sothing the manager actually wanted at the beginning. His training and instructions prevented him from complying right away, but talk long enough and even the steel-hearted started to waver.
When Ves quickly entered the cockpits and turned them online at their lowest level, the entire crowd held their breath. Since he received an exemption to run his chs at their lowest activity level, he sneakily bent the rules and turned a few more lights on as well.
The difference beca apparent right away. A low murmur of appreciation ran through the crowd as the two models underwent a transformation.
The exclusive Marcus Aurelius especially appeared dramatic. Its rolling purple cape reinforced the regal quality to his eternal ch. While it always beca a hit with the older folk, even the kids and teenagers started to admire the sage-like model.
As the only two chs that received permission to co online, the spectacle instantly doubled the crowd. Ves didn’t care about that but instead directed his attention to an affluent visitor who just exited a simulator pod.
When the man entered the pod, the chs still remained dormant. Only when he got to enjoy the simulations for ten short minutes did he erge with an entirely new view. His gaze admired the aggressive contours of the Mark II and the ethereal ambiance radiated by the Marcus Aurelius.
He turned his attention back to the Mark II after a while. It appeared his budget only allowed him to consider the cheapest offering. Even if Ves planned to auction the Marcus Aurelius, its high production cost ensured that it would not co cheap.
Eventually, the potential custor made a choice. He caught the attention of a sales representative. "I’d like to purchase a copy of this design."
Ves smiled when he heard those words. If everything went right, he just made his first sale.
"This is just the start."
User Comments
0 comments from readers