產品標籤也會影響銷售？

美國最新研究顯示，產品的成本細項列在標籤上時，該產品會更加受到消費者青睞。雖然成本一向被列為商業機密，但多家企業已開始採取公開成本細項的做法，這樣做真的會增加銷售嗎?

進入本文前，請先想想如何表達以下單字：

a)   列舉

b)  機密

c)   利潤

When a company sets a price for a product, shoppers typically know nothing about the costs of producing it. But it turns out that consumers reward efforts to come clean about these figures. For example, a company selling T-shirts can 1) strike a chord with consumers by a) itemizing what it spends on cotton, cutting, sewing, dyeing, finishing, and transporting each T-shirt.

產品究竟怎麼定價，成本如何，消費者多半不知道，以往也沒想過告訴消費者。但研究顯示商家公開產品的成本，反而會獲得消費者青睞。例如，T恤公司如果逐項列出棉花、剪裁、縫紉、染色、整理以及運輸成本，也許會引起市場共鳴。

Since cost breakdowns are often considered b) hush-hush, when a firm does share this information, consumers see it as a form of “intimate disclosure”--and people are usually more drawn to brands that disclose intimate information. “If we think about our interpersonal relationships, when people share things with us … we tend to like them better,” researcher Ryan Buell says. “We find it interesting that we’re seeing evidence of the same thing in our relationships with companies.”

成本經常是商業機密，當商家公開這項機密時，消費者會視之為一種「親密披露」，而人們通常會對透露私密資訊的品牌產生好感。「仔細想想人際關係也是如此，對於願意分享的人，我們傾向於更喜歡他們，」研究員萊恩‧布爾表示。「有趣的是，這樣的情形也發生在我們和這些公司之間。」

Nonetheless, consumers seem to have varying levels of tolerance for different cost variables. They appear to appreciate the cost of raw materials, such as cotton, but certain expenses, like the cost of shipping, seem to be a waste of money to people--even though it is a real cost for the company.

儘管如此，消費者似乎對不同的成本變數有不同程度的容忍度。他們較能理解原物料成本，如棉花，但某些支出，像是運費，對他們來說似乎是浪費錢──即使對商家而言，運費是再真實不過的成本。

Cost transparency fails only when prices become so high that they go against the market norm—and when the firm makes it clear that its own c) markup is much higher than what competitors charge.

如果商家哄抬價格不符合市場行情，而且很明顯地利潤遠高於競爭對手時，成本透明化的策略就會變得無效。

All in all, companies should open themselves up in terms of production cost, because people like you more when you 2) put your cards on the table. Costs needn’t remain a closed book to consumers. It’s interesting to see something that is usually hidden can improve the relationship between consumers and companies.

公司應該讓生產成本更加透明化，因為當你坦白真誠時，人們會更喜歡你。成本的確不需遮遮掩掩。我們樂見的是，過去經常被隱藏的資訊，居然能夠改善消費者與商家之間的關係。

口語詞彙:

1.     Strike a chord (with someone)  引起共鳴

Our boss’ success story really struck a chord with everyone in the company, because he has built his business empire from scratch.老板的成功故事確實引起公司所有人的共鳴，因為他白手起家建立商業帝國。

2.     Put/lay your cards on the table 開誠布公

Thinking it was time to lay her cards on the table, Mary told John straightaway that she had no intention of marrying him. 瑪麗認為開誠布公的時機到了，她立即告訴約翰她無意嫁給他。

參考資料：Harvard Business Review