Perception of value – it gets us all!

I think I know a bit about how people perceive value. I observe it, test it, document it and write about it. I’m pretty cynical when it comes to assessing the true value of things.
Or so I thought
Or so I thought……………until I caught myself assessing the value of something I purchased today. You see, I purchased an e-book today. It came with 4 bonus ‘reports’.
When I downloaded the pdf files (the e-book and the reports) I opened the folder I’d saved them in. The first thing I noted was the file size. The book had the largest file size. I immediately assigned that as having the most value.
Next most valuable in my quick review was the next highest file size report.
As soon as I made that judgement I knew I’d made a judgement call on value based on flimsy, flimsy evidence. All it would take is an extra large graphic within a report and it would suddenly be perceived (to me anyway) as being more valuable.
The point is this: We make judgement calls every single day. Based often on nothing more than very poor criteria (like file size for instance!).
How do people judge your service or product? Every single part of your business matters. It all says something to your customers. Are those things saying the right thing?
Brendon