Posts by: Tim J. Smith, PhD

Pricing Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs

By Tim J. Smith, PhD March 25, 2019

Entrepreneurs are generally entering a business landscape with less information, less skills, less resources than an established business. In fact, one should wonder how any entrepreneur can succeed against large, entrenched corporations they’re forced to share the market with.

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Strategic Movements: March 2019

By Tim J. Smith, PhD March 24, 2019

I know Elon Musk is a Silicon Valley type person, but is he being rational with distribution and price? Tesla announced in late February a plan to end all physical dealerships and move to an online-only distribution. Their justification: to reduce vehicle price to the mythical $35,000. Is this smart?

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Do CPG Companies Really Have Control Over Pricing?

By Tim J. Smith, PhD February 27, 2019

What can a CPG control and what must be taken as a “given” from the market? Which price should a CPG use as its benchmark for comparing different channels and retailers? Which price points should a CPG attempt to manage?

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Strategic Movements: February 2019

By Tim J. Smith, PhD February 27, 2019

Netflix is raising its prices from $8 to $9 for its “good” version that allows for streaming to one device at a time and from $11 to $13 for its “better” version that allows for streaming to two devices at a time. They justify it to customers by claiming it is for the development of better content (good PR plan).

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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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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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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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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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About The Author

timjsmith
Tim J. Smith, PhD, is the founder and CEO of Wiglaf Pricing, an Adjunct Professor of Marketing and Economics at DePaul University, and the author of Pricing Done Right (Wiley 2016) and Pricing Strategy (Cengage 2012). At Wiglaf Pricing, Tim leads client engagements. Smith’s popular business book, Pricing Done Right: The Pricing Framework Proven Successful by the World’s Most Profitable Companies, was noted by Dennis Stone, CEO of Overhead Door Corp, as "Essential reading… While many books cover the concepts of pricing, Pricing Done Right goes the additional step of applying the concepts in the real world." Tim’s textbook, Pricing Strategy: Setting Price Levels, Managing Price Discounts, & Establishing Price Structures, has been described by independent reviewers as “the most comprehensive pricing strategy book” on the market. As well as serving as the Academic Advisor to the Professional Pricing Society’s Certified Pricing Professional program, Tim is a member of the American Marketing Association and American Physical Society. He holds a BS in Physics and Chemistry from Southern Methodist University, a BA in Mathematics from Southern Methodist University, a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Chicago, and an MBA with high honors in Strategy and Marketing from the University of Chicago GSB.