Pragmatic Competitive Intelligence for Pricing Precision
Managers feel frustrated when the lack of reliable competitive information mars their ability to plan precise price actions. They try to find validation by sketching their competitors’ as irrational, opportunistic or short-sighted but that is hardly useful. Managers seeking dependable competitive intelligence should start by defining clear objectives prior to gathering competitive intelligence. The problem definition should determine requirements, where and how much competitive data to collect, how to analyze it, and how to share it within the organization.
Deconstruct for Costs then Reconstruct for Value
Value-based pricing is acknowledged to be the ideal scenario yet few companies have put it in practice. Most companies struggle with cost-plus pricing which simply requires charging a set margin over incurred costs. Companies also try other approaches, such as, competition-based pricing or willingness-to-pay, but without knowing their costs, these are equally or even more [...]
Green Products Greener Profits
Environmental consciousness is getting notice from manufacturers and retailers as they prepare to tap the burgeoning demand with innovative products and services and also modify their value message to customers. After all, green initiatives hold the promise of gaining market share with customers who identify value with earth-friendliness…
Luxury Goods Price Cuts
A Wall Street Journal article reported today, “For the first time in recent memory, luxury goods makers are cutting prices on designer apparel, shoes and handbags in the U.S. market.”[1] Just a few weeks ago, I felt so sure that luxury brands would hold prices despite weakness in the global economy. After all, isn’t price [...]
Lesson from Luxury Goods Pricing
In this gloomy economy there are pockets of unreal abundance where the sun continues to shine brightly. Consumers are reining in spending as the tightening credit puts pressure on prices of products and services. Yet producers of luxury brands continue to hold the line. And profit. There must be a lesson here for the rest [...]
Quality in Pricing
It is common among companies, especially in the B2B space, to drop prices in pursuit of increased sales and market share. There is little consideration given to pre-analysis or process. In times of economic slowdown, a top concern in the US currently, sales and marketing teams in companies are even quicker to reduce transactional prices. [...]
Six Sigma Pricing