Posts by: Tim J. Smith, PhD

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Creating a pricing function to adopt value based pricing and stop margin leakage

By Tim J. Smith, PhD September 1, 2010

Imagine, your executive just read an article that said she can expect at least a 1% improvement in her bottom line profit if she introduces a pricing initiative. Now, she wants to know what steps you will follow to create a new pricing function with the goals of implementing value based pricing and stopping margin leakage. What resources do you need to be successful and where do you focus first?

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P&G Shifts Pricing Strategy to Meet Post-Recession Market

By Tim J. Smith, PhD September 1, 2010

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Proctor & Gamble Co.’s new CEO, Robert McDonald, is “slashing prices” and warns of an impending price war in the branded consumer packaged good (CPG) industry.  Yet, Mr. McDonald states, “In my mind there’s not a price war going on.”  Is the Wall Street Journal guilty of hyperbole or is Mr. McDonald blithe to the profit destruction of price cuts?

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Introducing the Internet/Telephone Hybrid Survey

By Tim J. Smith, PhD August 3, 2010

Jim Berger’s latest (9th) intellectual property survey article (July, 2010 Intellectual Property Today) focuses on a newly developed hybrid telephone/Internet survey technique.…

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Top 6 – August 2010

By Tim J. Smith, PhD August 3, 2010

“Grilling, broiling, barbecuing – whatever you want to call it – is an art, not just a matter of building a pyre…

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Price Change from $45 to $200,000,000: The Value of a Brand Part 1.

By Tim J. Smith, PhD August 3, 2010

How much is a brand worth? For Rick Norsigian, a garage sale hunter and public school building painter, it represents the difference between a $45 set of nice glass negative plates and a rare $200 MM find of Ansel Adams’ art.

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Price Change from $3.49 to $2.99: The Value of a Brand Part 2.

By Tim J. Smith, PhD August 3, 2010

How much is a brand worth? For Whole Foods, a premium grocer, it represents the difference between a $3.49 canister of Quaker Oats rolled oats and $2.99 canister of 365 store brand oats.

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Top 6 – July 2010

By Tim J. Smith, PhD July 8, 2010

“What business are you in?” Theodore Levitt, 1925-2006. First to market doesn’t make you the winner, the best offering does. A growing…

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Prices and Product Lifecycle – Must All Prices Fall?
An examination of Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Apple iPad

By Tim J. Smith, PhD July 8, 2010

The classic product lifecycle theory predicts that prices fall as competitors enter. Well, do all prices fall? Similarly, many pundits like to talk about first-mover advantage. Well, does it really exist?

An examination of e-reader market demonstrates some serious flaws in a cursory acceptance of these premises. In this article, we look at the price and product evolution of the Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Apple iPad to demonstrate some finer nuances of the product lifecycle.

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Top 6 – June 2010

By Tim J. Smith, PhD June 3, 2010

“All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten.” Robert Fulghum “Say you’re sorry when you hurt someone.” Toyota should have…

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Nordstrom: Price Menu Management Delivers Results

By Tim J. Smith, PhD June 3, 2010

Going into the great recession, many commentators suggested and corporations undertook across the board price cuts. Many, but not all. Nordstrom took a different route. The results of their approach are in: better customer attraction, better profits, better post-recession positioning.

In this article, we will examine some key strategic decisions made by Nordstrom which enabled their counter-trend approach to triumph over the oft quoted “best practices”.

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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.