Archives

Evolving Product Strategy in a Growing Industry

By Tim J. Smith, PhD January 30, 2019

Between the highest- and the lowest-priced products, other products will be positioned. A plethora of product positions in price and benefits should be considered the norm as an industry moves from introduction, through growth, and into maturity.

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What Stock Market Volatility Tells Us

By James T. Berger January 30, 2019

One thing is for sure, it’s virtually impossible to predict the stock market. In many ways, the stock market might be compared to a day at the racetrack. Predicting today or tomorrow’s winners is virtually impossible. What we can do very well is explain why something happened after it happened.

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Strategic Movements: January 2019

By Tim J. Smith, PhD January 30, 2019

MoviePass pays theatres for each visit by a patron. Simply, it’s poor thinking on MoviePass’s part. Pricing Strategy, Chapters 12 and 13 would have told them this was poor thinking. Too caught up in Lemming Thinking on e-subscription services.

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Federal Court v. Apple on Tying Arrangements

By Tim J. Smith, PhD December 31, 2018

As of November 27, 2018, the Supreme Court is determining whether a group of consumers have standing to sue Apple Inc. over the way they manage iPhone apps (1). The probability of this suit being adjudicated by the Supreme Court is definitely non-zero.

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Is General Electric the Next Icon to Fall?

By James T. Berger December 31, 2018

In its more recent years, GE’s success has stemmed from its ability to buy, run and sell profitable companies. Its success formula partially stems from its famous product portfolio analysis matrix, called the GE Matrix or the GE McKinsey matrix.

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Pricing Governance and Culture Change

By Tim J. Smith, PhD November 30, 2018

In order for any pricing improvement project to deliver its potential value, price governance and pricing culture must intersect. Some may want to dismiss this as “too much to take on,” but the results of addressing fundamental questions from both sectors creates the difference between the companies that slog-along and those that thrive.

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Strategic Movements: November 2018

By Tim J. Smith, PhD November 30, 2018

While specifics are not clear, the Swedish company Electrolux is noted to have raised U.S. prices by 10%, and is suspected to be seeking a further 4% price increase in early Q1 2019.

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The Netflix Success Story: Reaping Rewards from Disruptive Innovation

By James T. Berger November 30, 2018

Netflix, a company founded in 1997 as a direct mail retailer of DVD movies, has made a series of brilliant business decisions that have elevated the company to an elite player in today’s home entertainment marketplace.

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Major Commercial Policy Design Issues

By Tim J. Smith, PhD October 30, 2018

In this missive, I examine how companies selling to end customers through distributors and retailers can design their commercial policy.

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Fixed vs. Variable Pricing

By Kyle T. Westra October 30, 2018

Home Page Text Tailoring price according to willingness to pay is theoretically sound but culturally still questionable. It’s important to determine how your customers will react to such variable pricing when deciding whether to have price variance, and by what characteristics.

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