Top 6 – June 2008
Published June 1, 2008
In the Heat of the Night … Plan and Frolic
- Set your goals, pursue them, measure attainment, imagine new horizons.
- Some risks are too big and should be avoided, others manageable with expected results, and then there are those you have no choice but to take.
- There is only so far that productivity improvements can go. At some point, executives have to raise prices to maintain profitability.
- Target your best prospects, then lavish them with attention.
- eCommerce and flexible manufacturing may make serving the niches more profitable, but the big profits still come from the big hits. Seek the bulk, not the long tail.
- Frame price increases as a necessary condition for the industry, and make sure your competitors know that it is time to raise prices too.
About The Author
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.