I just came back from China, where a cup of green tea *normally* costs about 25 cents. That’s the price at a typical street vendor.

But at the world-famous Forbidden City in Beijing, crawling with gringo tourists, a cup of green tea costs $4.00.

Why does it cost 16X as much in the Forbidden City as it costs 3 blocks away?

Because some people are willing to pay four bucks. That’s why.

It doesn’t even have to be a lot of ’em. Just some some. It’s what they want, where they want, and they have the dinero.

This is not only true in China. It’s just more obvious there.

If I had to reduce ALL the sweeping changes in online marketing since the 2008 crash to one single thing, it’s this:

*A ton of businesses that were “selling tea for 25 cents” are now DOA because “rent” at the “Forbidden City” went up.*

The ones who can still afford traffic are the ones who have a $1 tea department and another $4 tea department. That lowly 25 cent item is merely a loss leader. All the money is made on the upsell. And the affluent client.

If you cannot quickly and clearly articulate your own $4.00 tea strategy, your business is already in trouble. Better buy your burial plot before the price of that goes up too.

Sleep with one eye open. And build out your product offerings relentlessly.

Perry Marshall

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About the Author

Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.

He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.