Airlines and Innovation

Whereas airlines are a particularly visible example of an industry struggling with price structures and value offerings, every company in every industry should pay close attention to their customers and what their customers value. Airlines are a particularly visible example of an industry struggling to think creatively about how best to capture the right price for the value provided.

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Semiconductor Socket Wars – II

If a customer doesn’t need to make design changes to change the chip in a socket they are likely to continuously engage with multiple competing suppliers – not just to get the best price but also to secure supply. In fact in some cases customers are reluctant to design in proprietary chips, as they believe that having a single supplier for a product is very risky!

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Love Tools but Love People More

The pricing software revolution is in full swing so who needs people anymore? Tim J. Smith, PhD takes on the thorny question of the information revolution impacting entry level and mid-tier pricing jobs and actually finds good news.

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Semiconductor Socket Wars – I

For a company, a socket means a business. When they talk about winning a “socket” they mean winning a new business. For example let’s say a product uses a microcontroller – all microcontroller companies would be fighting to win the microcontroller socket inside that product and all other such products that use a microcontroller.

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Spotify and Monetizing What Can be Accessed for Free

At a certain level, the method of accessing a certain music track should be a commodity — it is the track that matters, not the delivery mechanism. Instead of differentiating on price, platforms are trying to do so with exclusive artist agreements and various extras for the consumer, as well as additional marketing support for the artist.

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Big Show Idea Vlog

Join Tim J. Smith PhD in a new video blogging series covering all things pricing. From Hertz, big oil, airline price gouges and Zulily to homemade soda and Gucci, step into a vlogosphere dissecting what’s affecting prices, the economy and you.

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Will Ford Find a Market for F-150 Trucks Above $60,000?

With recovery in job security and wealth, and having successfully survived the worst recession in most of our lifetimes, truck buyers are in a better position and mind-frame to spend. Moreover, since many blue-collar entrepreneurs spend a significant part of their day driving their truck, and it is normal for people to want their working environment to be comfortable, they are willing to spend for luxury work truck.

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Why Retail Has Reached an “Inflexion Point”

Alvarez says that if you have two or three mall anchors of tenants driving traffic, this affects the entire mall. This creates a domino effect that reached down into the community through the lowering of tax base. “One major trend that Retail Revolution (the book) points out is that retailers will reduce store count and also reduce the size of those locations as online commerce begins to satisfy more and more demand….”

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Pricing Isn’t an Event, it’s a Journey

In the price improvement strategy, firms develop the organizational capabilities to manage prices better. Pricing and discount management processes are developed. People are hired to drive those processes. Tools are acquired to accelerate achievements. Cultures are changed towards a profit and discount cautious mentality.

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