Good, Better, Best: Building a Price Ladder for Cutting Boards

Faced with twelve similar boards, a customer picks the cheapest one or leaves. Faced with three clearly different options, the choice is easy, and many people take the middle one. That is the idea behind a good, better, best range.

1. Give each level a job

• Good: a compact solid ash or oak board in a simple shape. It brings customers into the category, so it must still be real quality.
• Better: the board you want to sell most. Larger and thicker, with a juice groove or a handle. This is your volume product.
• Best: an end-grain board, a large format or a set with a knife holder. It shows what is possible, sells as a gift and makes the middle option look reasonable.

2. Make the differences visible
Each step up must add something a customer can see or feel within seconds: size, thickness, construction, extras. If you need a long explanation, the steps are too close together.

3. Space the prices
As a rule of thumb, each level costs about 1.5 to 2.5 times the previous one. Too close, and the levels compete with each other. Too far, and the top one is ignored. For illustration: €29, €55 and €119.

4. Present it as a ladder
Arrange the three boards in the same order everywhere, in store and online. Put “better” in the centre at eye level and mark it as your recommendation.

5. Train one sentence per level

• Good: “A solid board for everyday use.”
• Better: “The one we recommend for daily cooking.”
• Best: “For people who cook a lot, or as a gift that lasts.”

6. Avoid the usual mistakes

• Too many models at each level
• A cheap entry board of poor quality, which damages the whole shelf
• A top model that is never in stock
• Discounts that erase the gap between levels

7. Check the numbers
After two or three months, look at the share of each level. If almost everyone buys “good”, the step to “better” is too big or not visible enough. If “best” sells rarely but the middle sells well, the ladder is working.