Do you know the true COST of bottled water?

Bottled water is THE most profitable drink product in the world,  selling for 3000 to 9000 times what you pay for the perfectly safe,  inexpensive liquid that comes out of your tap at home.

To put this in context, paying $2.40-3.90 for a 750ml bottle of water is  equivalent to:

$10,000 for a tuna sandwich at your local cafe or
• A bill from your  water company this month for $3000/tonne of water (as opposed to the going rate  of $1.2/tonne)

According to the Australasian Bottled Water Institute, Australians consume  over 250 million litres a year at a price of $385 million. We have been  systematically brainwashed by the beverage industry to believe that our tap  water is somehow unsafe or insufficient – look around and you will see that  there are now hundreds of brands competing for your attention with clever  marketing campaigns designed to scare, seduce and mislead you to part with your  hard earned money.

Despite its association with prestige, purity and pristine conditions,  bottled water is often no better than tap water (in terms of taste and  cleanliness) and the production process it is extremely harmful to our  environment.

Did you know that:

• For every 250 million litres of bottled water, it takes 125million litres  of oil to produce the plastic bottles, refrigerate and ship them from one part  of the world to another
• For every litre of bottled water sold, another 2  litres are used up in the production process
• More than ½ of the brands on  the market are derived from municipal water supplies, despite the fact that the  packaging would lead us to believe they come from unspoiled mountain streams or  underground springs
• Over 80% of the bottles end up in landfills and are  never recycled

It is estimated that bottled water has become a more than $45 billion dollar  industry worldwide. Surprisingly, 97% of it is consumed in countries which have  plentiful sources of clean, safe drinking water. We can afford to turn our noses  up, avoid the tap and fork out millions for bottled water: our choice however is  purely a lifestyle one. A lifestyle choice for us with life and death  consequences for others and our planet.

For 2.6 billion people in the developing world, lack of clean water and basic  sanitation is a life or death situation. It is estimated that half of the people  in the developing world are suffering from diseases associated with inadequate  water or sanitation and that 5 million people die each year. According to the  International Water Management Institute, clean water and improved sanitation  could be provided to everyone on earth for an outlay of $11 billion a year (less  than a quarter of our global $45 million spending on bottled water), yet to  date, there has been no impetus to re-channel the money and change our thinking  on this important issue.

So you may be sitting there and thinking, what does this mean for YOU and  your business?

Well, nothing… and yet perhaps, everything.

How often have you (or someone else in your team) said:

• “if we had more money, we could invest in X and improve our business?”
• “if we put our prices up by 10%, we will lose customers.” or
• “we  can’t afford to buy X because it’s too expensive.”

You already have enough money to do and buy all of the things that you need – it’s simply a matter of common sense and priorities. We are all affluent in this  country: It is your mindset and your language which is lacking, not your bank  account.

In fact, each and every day you and I waste money by overpaying for bottled water  and other convenience/impulse items. We  rarely stop to think about the true value of what we got vs. what we paid.  Bottled water is just one obvious example and it is not difficult to see how  this might be playing out in other areas of our lives.

You and I have happily overpaid for products. Yet we struggle to charge what we  are worth or put our prices up because we fear that no one will buy. Isn’t that  interesting?

Perhaps you and I need to take a lesson from the bottled beverage industry and  focus on how we are marketing and selling our products/services? Is fear more  powerful than selling benefits? Is perception more influential than reality? Are  you seducing your customers with sizzle or merely putting them to sleep with  your low prices?

Think about it. Beverage companies have managed to package and sell to us  something that is practically free and plentifully abundant, for thousands of  times what it is worth. And up until now, we have all paid willingly. Bottled  water has in fact made us all look a bit foolish.

Maybe it’s not the price you are charging that is the problem? It’s the way  you are choosing to promote your product/service. The best time to change your  mindset and your approach is now. Anything is possible.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4936397

ImagineeringNow
About The Author
Rhondalynn's life changed forever after the loss of her mother due to a senseless tragedy in 1992. She decided that despite her formal training and a promising career as a lawyer and chartered accountant, she wanted to do something more. So despite the fact she had already invested 10 years of her adult life in university and articling, she did the unthinkable. She left her high paid job as Commercial Manager for one of the largest corporations in the country, she re-trained herself in the sciences of the mind and she discovered a passion for writing and sharing her knowledge with business owners and executives. Rhondalynn has distilled the secrets to business success - that she learned from her life experience and working in GM level roles with Price Waterhouse Coopers, Max Factor, Village Cinemas, and Coles Group Ltd. - and produced a simple step-by-step process that you can apply to your business to boost your sales and bottom line. Rhondalynn can help you put strategies in place to grow your bottom line and ensure that your customers would never think of going elsewhere. She is the leading expert on harnessing the power of your brain and using it to improve your financial results in business. Rhondalynn is the author of On The Shoulders of Giants, Imagineering Your Destiny, Sobre Hombros deGigantes, Financial Foreplay®, and Sales Seduction. She has appeared on CNN, Bnet/CBS, Channel 7, Channel 9, Kochie's Business Builders and 3AW, and writes for Yahoo, MYOB, Fast Thinking, Sunday Life, Dynamic Business, Business Spectator and Australian Retailer.

2 Comments:


  • By Michael Dubois 20 Sep 2011

    What a wake up call! Bottled water is a rip off – it bothers me that so many bottles never even get recycled. Criminal!

  • By Sam totberf 21 Sep 2011

    Great article. We all need to stop discounting increase our prices and upsell our services!!!!

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Can’t find what you’re looking for?

Connect with Rhondalynn


Archives

Categories