Pricing Strategy
Pricing Strategy
Pricing Strategy
Contents :
1. Pricing Considerations
Price as an Indicator of Value.
Price Elasticity of Demand.
Product-Line Pricing.
Estimating the Profit Impact from Price Changes.
2. Pricing Strategies
Full-Cost Pricing.
Variable-Cost Pricing.
New-Offering Pricing Strategies.
Pricing and Competitive Interaction.
Pricing considerations :
Pricing Objectives have to be consistent with an organizations overall marketing objectives
Government regulations;
Price of competitive offerings;
Organizational objectives and policies.
If the % change in quantity demanded is greater than the % change in price, demand is
said to be elastic E is greater than 1.
If the % change in quantity demanded is less than the % change in price, demand is said
to be inelastic E is less than 1.
Product-Line Pricing
Product-line pricing involves determining
Markup pricing : Fixed amount added to the total cost of the product.
Break-even pricing : Per-unit fixed costs + per-unit variable costs .
Rate-of-return pricing : Set to obtain a desired ROI .
Markup Pricing :
Selling price is determined by adding a fixed amount, usually a percentage, to the (total)
cost of the product.
Most commonly used pricing method (e.g., groceries and clothing).
Simple, flexible, controllable.
Example: If a product costs $4.60 to produce and selling price is $6.35, the market on
cost is 38% and markup on price is 28%.
Breakeven Pricing
Equals the per-unit fixed costs plus the per-unit variable costs.
Useful tool for determining the minimum price at which a product must be sold to cover
fixed and variable costs.
Often used by non-profit organizations, or by profit-making organizations that may have
a short-term breakeven objective.
Rate-of-Return Pricing
Price is set so as to obtain a pre-specified rate of return on investment (capital) for the
organization
Assumes a linear demand function and insensitivity of buyers to price
Most commonly used by large firms and public utilities whose return rates are closely
watched or regulated by government agencies or commissions
Variable-Cost Pricing
Represents the minimum selling price at which the product or service can be marketed in the
short run. It is often used to:
Advice for managers to avoid nearsightedness of not looking beyond the initial pricing decision:
1- Managers are advised to focus less on short-term outcomes and attend more to longer-
term consequences of actions
2- Managers are advised to step into the shoes of rival managers or companies and answer a
number of questions
What are competitors goals and objectives? How are they different from our goals and
objectives?
What assumptions has the competitor made about itself, our company and offerings,
and the marketplace? Are these assumptions different from ours?
What strengths does the competitor believe it has and what are its weaknesses? What
might the competitor believe our strengths and weaknesses to be?
Price War
A Price War involves successive price cutting by competitors to increase or maintain their
unit sales or market share.
Managers lower price to improve market share, unit sales, and profit
Competitors match the lower price Expected share, sales, and profit gain from
initial price cut are lost .
To avoid a price war, managers should consider price cutting only when:
Primary demand for a product class will grow if prices are lowered
The price cut is confined to specific products or customers and not across-the-
board.
Industry Characteristics and the Risk of Price Wars