The Obscure P

Of the four P's of marketing, I always worried the least about price. Even learning about it in school, I thought to myself, "Isn't price something for finance to worry about?" Through the past few years, I have learned that price really is a marketing job, at least partly. Setting an acceptable price point, but also having a price that appears to be good. The old .99 trick is surprisingly successful, even though we all know that $3.99 is basically $4. Why is it that I would by the $3.99 sandwich but not the $4 sandwich? Today my husband and I saw the following traffic sign:

Do not block intersection

$101 fine

We got into a discussion about why the extra dollar. My husband, who is not a marketer, said it was pointless and they should simlify it and just have it be a $100 fine. I like the 101 for several reasons.

1) $101 really does feel like a lot more than $100 to me. It's amazing the difference it makes to be able to say "over $100".
2) The 101 seems more offical and calculated. It's not like one of those violations where they say, "I don't know, you shouldn't do it, so I guess we'll slap a hundred bucks on it." It's very official. You block the intersection and you cause exactly $101 worth of damage or inconvenience, and you'll have to pay for that.
3) From a design standpoint, I actually think 101 looks better than 100. I hate even dollar amounts. They always feel boring and seem like a waste of 0's. If I were going to paint a picture of traffic sign, I'd want it to have a nice symmetric 101.

When it comes down to it, price does matter. It is, in fact, a very important P.