Posts by: Tim J. Smith, PhD

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Strategically Escaping Price Compression: A Summary of D’Aveni’s Hyper-competition

By Tim J. Smith, PhD July 2, 2012

Hyper-competition made a big splash in the popular business press when it was first released yet few executives have had the patience and tolerance to get through this difficult tome.  We provide a summary article to communicate its key insights to executives.

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Top 6 – June 2012

By Tim J. Smith, PhD June 1, 2012

Mr. Leahy (Airbus CEO) said he was “shocked” by the magnitude of Boeing’s discounts but said they won’t stick. “They’ll try it…

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Best Buy & J.C. Penney: Strategically Confronting Dislocation and Price Pressures with Relevancy

By Tim J. Smith, PhD June 1, 2012

Declining profits and hammered by investors, Best Buy and J.C. Penney are having a tough go. Some seem to believe traditional brick and mortar retailers are circling the drain as US consumers switch to online channels. But take a deeper look, and you will find that both show promise.

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Top 6 – May 2012

By Tim J. Smith, PhD May 4, 2012

“A lot of people think, if you do nothing, you will stay at zero. But the reality is, if you do nothing,…

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Renault Got It. GM Didn’t. Business Philosophy Matters.

By Tim J. Smith, PhD May 4, 2012

Renault’s small car segment is led by Arnaud Deboeuf is earning above 6% profit margins on €7,700 cars. GM’s Opel loses $630 on every car sold in Europe. How does Renault do this and why can’t Opel?

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Celebrating 10 Years, 500 Articles, and 250,000 Readers

By Tim J. Smith, PhD May 4, 2012

10 years ago, the first Wiglaf Journal published. What have we accomplished and where are we going?

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Top 6 – April 2012

By Tim J. Smith, PhD April 1, 2012

Trust is composite belief based on Honesty, Competence, and Benevolence. If you want to build trust … deliver on all three. Honesty:…

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SPIN Selling and Value-Based Pricing – Friends or Foes?

By Tim J. Smith, PhD April 1, 2012

Is pricing out of touch with the market? Are salespeople frittering away profits? Are these two groups really at war with each other? Or, are they aiming for the same goal but language differences are preventing proper teamwork? Let’s review SPIN Selling from a pricing perspective.

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Top 6 – March 2012

By Tim J. Smith, PhD March 1, 2012

Giving up is living suicide. I choose life. The responsibility for ensuring your customers care about your differential value is yours. The…

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Pricing Strategy Defined in Three Questions

By Tim J. Smith, PhD March 1, 2012

There are three key questions that must be asked for every pricing problem. Each must be asked from the customer’s perspective, not your own. Number 1: What is the alternative? Number 2: Are you better or worse? And Number 3: Why should I expletive care?

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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.