PromZ Vak 4 · 2026 · English edition

By Marjolein Straatman

Sebastian Glosemeyer

The psychology behind the price

The price of a product should not be taken lightly. Yet companies sometimes lack a wellthought-out strategy. That is a shame, because the right approach and the right psychology can often unlock much more potential.

Many of our purchases are not rational. We make decisions based on feeling and on the value we assign to a product, helped by a frame of reference built from previous experiences. The right stimulation of the brain can also increase our tendency to buy. These are interesting elements for a pricing strategy. Yet they are still far from widely embraced in the workplace. “Pricing is often seen as a technical matter or approached as a simple cost-plus calculation, where the cost price is increased by a margin. But there are many more, softer elements that can determine a price,” says Sebastian Glosemeyer. He is director at The House of Marketing, which supports companies in value-based pricing.

That approach mainly means that the price of a product is largely determined by the value it represents to the customer. In the process of arriving at the ideal price, the proposition is broken down into separate elements, such as brand, the product itself and any service that may be provided. Glosemeyer continues: “The sum of these elements ultimately determines willingness to pay. Through various research methods, we test what people are willing to pay for fictional products and services. This allows us to discover patterns and also see at which price point they drop out. Although, with a bit of courage, you can also do this yourself. You can experiment with different prices now and use historical data to see how customers have responded to your prices.”

Context

The value we assign to a product is subjective. After all, it depends entirely on what we are used to. In other words: on our experience. As soon as a potential buyer is confronted with a price, they often unconsciously compare it with previous purchases. In a split second, it becomes clear whether the price feels reasonable, explains neuromarketing expert Sergio Romijn. He is the founder of research agency Braynz. “A second important part of our perception of prices is context. A bottle of water does not cost the same everywhere. It makes quite a difference whether you buy it in a supermarket, at a petrol station or at a festival. It is the context that determines whether you are willing to pay the price,” he says. “For that reason, you may find five euros for a cup of coffee on the boulevard in Scheveningen more acceptable than on a terrace in a relatively unknown village. It can also happen that tonight you realise you still need a gift for tomorrow. If you do not have time to go shopping for it, five euros on top of the price of an item may seem reasonable if it is guaranteed to be delivered tomorrow.”

Positioning

The way companies position their brand, product and price can also influence price perception. Romijn, who also teaches at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, often illustrates this with “his” coffee example: “A kilo of coffee may cost between ten and twelve euros, with peaks of around twenty. Would you buy a type that costs tens of euros more? Probably not. Yet many people do exactly that when they buy capsules from a well-known premium coffee brand. The trick lies in the way the brand is positioned, but also in how the price is presented. A capsule costs around 30 cents, which seems very little for a cup of coffee. Until you calculate the price per kilo. The ideal price depends on various factors.”

Psychology in Pricing

Knowledge is still power. Knowing the customer and understanding more about their frame of reference and context