Archives posted in: Pricing
In late October, Wal-Mart kicked off the most devastating book price war in a decade by selling its 10 most anticipated hardbacks for $10 a piece when pre-ordered online. Hours later, Amazon picked up the gauntlet and declared a defensive stance with matching prices. Wal-Mart lunged back on the offensive with a price cut to $9. Within a day, Amazon responded with a Prise de Fer by also moving to $9. The war is on. Read how it must end.
More By most indicators, the major economies of the world are coming out of the deepest global recession a lifetime. Yet, the recovery is far from a return to pre-recessionary trends. Executives might be hoping for return to strong growth, yet most of should expect a tepid climate at best. How should they react? Read on.
More In late August, Starbucks (SBUX) raised their prices on several more complex beverages while lowering them for more basic drinks. Responses from bloggers have been overwhelming negative. Did Starbucks misjudge their pricing power or are the pundits punching thin air?
More In September of 2009, JBS SA, a Brazilian beef giant, indicated intentions to purchase Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. Perhaps this will write a new chapter on Pilgrim’s Pride.
More Now that the recession seems to be ending and the slow recovery process is under way, a new vision of the post-recession economic environments is beginning to take shape. And, the picture is a lot different than it was before the economy’s free fall.
More The current recession has been longer, deeper, and generally more damaging than any other since the great depression. As we move past the recessionary scramble to survive and into some semblance of a recovery, no intelligent executive should expect things to return to the way they were. Research into customer behavior is showing two general trends: (1) Demand is not only generally lower, but also the demand that does exist is at a lower price point. (2) This shift in customer demand and preferences is likely to persist for the foreseeable future.
If the world has changed, so must strategy:
Choice is good, more choice is better … or is it? Is it always better to offer customers more choices, or should companies restrict the choices available to customers in some situations?
More Come into most executives’ offices and say “I have a great promotional idea: Let’s let customers pay what they want. It will be great!” and your career there is all but over. Yet, experiments recently demonstrated that it was great, and more specifically, it was great for profits. How can this be?
More For many companies, 2008 has been a challenging year. The new realities of our current market and economy have impacted many sectors, and even more expect to feel the effects in 2009. This makes it even more important than ever to plan smarter, more effective ways to market to industrial and technical buyers in the year ahead. Based on research into market trends, here are strategic recommendations to achieve marketing success in 2009. All of these recommendations have something in common: better decision making when it comes to marketing choices.
More Templeton would go into the customer’s negotiating room with a metaphorical gun on the table. Customers would force him to place the gun against his head and ask him to drop prices or pull the trigger. Templeton didn’t know if the gun was loaded or not. For four years, Templeton managed this challenge, and the bullet never fired. Templeton’s method of managing this struggle over prices reveals a key to pricing in opaque business markets.
(True story account.)
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