Posts by: Tim J. Smith, PhD
Executives are living in a time of strong market disruptions that are driving costs up across industries. The recession already squeezed the potential for productivity gains to make up for the lost margins. Now, for many executives selling tangible goods, it is time to push the price lever up. How should they raise prices? Read for the two keys to raising prices successfully.
More The chances are high there is very little left you can do to cut more costs and drive worker productivity. We must turn our focus towards increasing revenue in order to improve profitability. The only realistic way we can increase our price is to do so by driving our “average price” up. In other words, by selling more of the products and services our customers’ value and making sure we are priced as high as our next best competitor plus or minus the added value we bring. This article takes you through why pricing is your next most important area for focus and provides a glimpse into what we mean by raising price.
More True stories featuring Brand Keys 2010 predictions on categories ranging from copiers to cameras, and brands from Ford to Facebook, comparing what…
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“You’ve got to go out there and kill what you’re going to eat.” Andrew Mason, CEO Groupon Anytime someone says they are…
More Chief executive Howard Schultz had the right idea about evolving the Starbucks logo, but his solution shows some of the hubris that got the company into trouble a few years ago.
The best brands are built upon a clear business strategy translated into a clear brand strategy. A brand strategy is consistently communicated to both internal and external audiences until it becomes the DNA of both employees and customers. Starbucks accomplished this mission, and then killed it.
More In January 2011, American Airlines (AMR) and Sabre Holdings, parent company of Travelocity, came to loggerheads over content, fees, and the role of global distribution systems in the future of air travel. While American Airlines seeks to gain efficiencies and customer intimacy by encouraging customers and ticket brokers to connect directly with the American Airlines information systems, Sabre Holdings decries a reduction of choice and transparency and responds with a lower placement of American Airlines offerings in their distribution system.
Is American Airlines squeezing the distributors and harming customers or is this a strategic shift that improves welfare?
More Pigs Talking on “The ‘Free’ Model”, a take on Wiglaf Journal emerging media editor David Dalka on Dear Facebook, Please Return Our…
More “No sensible person would claim that [quantification] can tell the whole story.” Angus Maddison, professor at the University of Groningen and authority…
More Our understanding of pricing has come a long way since the 1890 when Alfred Marshall published his treatise on the economic scissors of supply and demand, and it is time for practice to catch-up. To go beyond the price to value mantra and create clarity in the actions and decisions executives should make, we can draw from the marketing orientation of the firm and an economic understanding of value exchange. In this article, we provide an outline of the path to better pricing.
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