This document discusses strategies for differentiating commodity products to change customer buying habits and avoid price wars. It recommends focusing on increasing customer benefits rather than lowering costs. Specific strategies discussed include targeting customer segments, developing brand preference, making it easy for customers to do business, selling through the appropriate channels, focusing on perceived benefits rather than costs, and conducting rigorous voice-of-customer research to identify areas of value.
This document provides guidance on pricing services for a business. It outlines three common methods for setting prices: cost-based pricing, competition-based pricing, and customer-based pricing. Cost-based pricing involves calculating costs and adding a markup. Competition-based pricing uses competitors' prices as a benchmark. Customer-based pricing considers customer demand and perceived value. The document also discusses factors like monitoring costs, determining profit margins, using hourly or flat rates, testing new prices, and raising prices over time. The overall message is that properly pricing services is important for business success but also subjective, requiring an understanding of costs, customers, and the market.
This document discusses how retailers can optimize offers across multiple channels through automation. It recommends a three step process: 1) offer management by considering different touchpoints and customer segments, 2) offer optimization by matching offers to individual customer data and behavior, and 3) offer delivery by pushing optimized offers through the appropriate channels. The document emphasizes that effective offer optimization requires collecting and analyzing customer data across all retail channels to personalize offers for each customer.
1. Retaining the best customers is becoming a top priority for all companies in all sectors. Customers are more educated and have more choices, so companies must focus on customer retention through personalized strategies.
2. Beyond traditional attrition of customers completely leaving, companies must address other types like partial reductions in business or hidden decreases in activity. Measuring and preventing inactivity can help address hidden attrition.
3. Successful retention requires understanding different customer segments and their needs at each lifecycle stage. Companies should define personalized retention strategies and offers for each segment to strengthen relationships and reduce all types of attrition.
Product and brand management unit-2
Product Market Evolution: Strategy and Planning. New Product Development: Innovation and New Product Development (NPD), Theories of NPD, Models of NPD, Generic Product Development process.
New Product Introduction, Growth Strategies Intensive, Interactive, Diversification Strategies. Product Portfolio analysis BCG, GE, Ad little. Shell International, Risk-Return analysis.
*************************************
The General Electric/McKinsey matrix
• Shell directional policy matrix
• Arthur D. Little strategic condition matrix
Successfully Executing Demo Programs In RetailWinston Ledet
This document discusses the importance of product demonstrations at retail to educate consumers and turn store traffic into sales. It outlines different types of demonstrations, such as product demonstrations to showcase unique features or project demonstrations to build confidence. Keys to successful demonstrations include choosing the right product, partner, timing, location, training approach, and tracking results. With the right execution, demonstrations can significantly increase short and long-term sales.
Path To Revolutionary Merchandising And Marketing DecisionsG3 Communications
The webinar discussed how retailers can take a more integrated approach to merchandising and marketing decisions by putting the shopper at the center. It outlined how industry trends are creating new challenges and how retailers need to think holistically across areas like strategy, technology, process, and organization. The webinar also included a case study of how Price Chopper used DemandTec's price optimization tool to improve pricing strategies and compete more effectively in a changing market.
Notes Version: The Paradigm From Sales To Profits Using Optimization AnalyticsVivastream
CVS Caremark utilized lift modeling and constraint-based optimization to improve their POS coupon program. They developed predictive models to identify customers most likely to purchase incrementally in response to offers. Testing found their initial models did not improve results, but refining the models using more data and a combined analytic and strategic approach significantly increased incremental sales and profit per customer. Lessons included focusing on the right success metrics, challenges of lift modeling, and the need for both analytic techniques and business knowledge.
This document discusses how companies can build customer satisfaction, value, and retention. It aims to explain what customer value and satisfaction are, how to attract and retain customers, and improve customer and company profitability. Some key points made include exceeding customer expectations, knowing customer needs, listening to feedback, creating customer motivation through demonstrations, ensuring quality, and focusing on repeat transactions and multiple products from a single customer to improve profits.
This document provides guidance on pricing services for a business. It outlines three common methods for setting prices: cost-based pricing, competition-based pricing, and customer-based pricing. Cost-based pricing involves calculating costs and adding a markup. Competition-based pricing uses competitors' prices as a benchmark. Customer-based pricing considers customer demand and perceived value. The document also discusses factors like monitoring costs, determining profit margins, using hourly or flat rates, testing new prices, and raising prices over time. The overall message is that properly pricing services is important for business success but also subjective, requiring an understanding of costs, customers, and the market.
This document discusses how retailers can optimize offers across multiple channels through automation. It recommends a three step process: 1) offer management by considering different touchpoints and customer segments, 2) offer optimization by matching offers to individual customer data and behavior, and 3) offer delivery by pushing optimized offers through the appropriate channels. The document emphasizes that effective offer optimization requires collecting and analyzing customer data across all retail channels to personalize offers for each customer.
1. Retaining the best customers is becoming a top priority for all companies in all sectors. Customers are more educated and have more choices, so companies must focus on customer retention through personalized strategies.
2. Beyond traditional attrition of customers completely leaving, companies must address other types like partial reductions in business or hidden decreases in activity. Measuring and preventing inactivity can help address hidden attrition.
3. Successful retention requires understanding different customer segments and their needs at each lifecycle stage. Companies should define personalized retention strategies and offers for each segment to strengthen relationships and reduce all types of attrition.
Product and brand management unit-2
Product Market Evolution: Strategy and Planning. New Product Development: Innovation and New Product Development (NPD), Theories of NPD, Models of NPD, Generic Product Development process.
New Product Introduction, Growth Strategies Intensive, Interactive, Diversification Strategies. Product Portfolio analysis BCG, GE, Ad little. Shell International, Risk-Return analysis.
*************************************
The General Electric/McKinsey matrix
• Shell directional policy matrix
• Arthur D. Little strategic condition matrix
Successfully Executing Demo Programs In RetailWinston Ledet
This document discusses the importance of product demonstrations at retail to educate consumers and turn store traffic into sales. It outlines different types of demonstrations, such as product demonstrations to showcase unique features or project demonstrations to build confidence. Keys to successful demonstrations include choosing the right product, partner, timing, location, training approach, and tracking results. With the right execution, demonstrations can significantly increase short and long-term sales.
Path To Revolutionary Merchandising And Marketing DecisionsG3 Communications
The webinar discussed how retailers can take a more integrated approach to merchandising and marketing decisions by putting the shopper at the center. It outlined how industry trends are creating new challenges and how retailers need to think holistically across areas like strategy, technology, process, and organization. The webinar also included a case study of how Price Chopper used DemandTec's price optimization tool to improve pricing strategies and compete more effectively in a changing market.
Notes Version: The Paradigm From Sales To Profits Using Optimization AnalyticsVivastream
CVS Caremark utilized lift modeling and constraint-based optimization to improve their POS coupon program. They developed predictive models to identify customers most likely to purchase incrementally in response to offers. Testing found their initial models did not improve results, but refining the models using more data and a combined analytic and strategic approach significantly increased incremental sales and profit per customer. Lessons included focusing on the right success metrics, challenges of lift modeling, and the need for both analytic techniques and business knowledge.
This document discusses how companies can build customer satisfaction, value, and retention. It aims to explain what customer value and satisfaction are, how to attract and retain customers, and improve customer and company profitability. Some key points made include exceeding customer expectations, knowing customer needs, listening to feedback, creating customer motivation through demonstrations, ensuring quality, and focusing on repeat transactions and multiple products from a single customer to improve profits.
The document discusses how manufacturers and end users view value-added resellers (VARs) differently. Manufacturers see VARs as a way to increase revenue and reduce costs by functioning as an extension of the sales organization. They expect VARs to generate new business, increase brand recognition, and improve customer satisfaction. End users prefer to work directly with manufacturers due to perceived risks in problem resolution. However, VARs can differentiate themselves by offering new solutions, superior product support, knowledge of the customer's business, and effective communication and sales processes. Understanding both perspectives helps VARs bridge the gap and create unique value for manufacturers and end users.
Winback and Acquisition Strategies in Customer Relationship ManagementSanath Dasanayaka
Customer Winback and Acquisition Strategies play a key role in the success of any organization. Basically, winning back lost customers is a hard task in which an organization should be successful. here it is expected to discuss several strategies that can be utilized in customer winning back. Those strategies will be very significant for any business organization in any field.
How to research pricing decisions a presentation from business advantageBusiness Advantage
This document provides an overview of technical techniques to measure price elasticity and make pricing decisions, including simple and multivariate methods. Simple methods like the Gabor Granger and Van Westendorp price sensitivity meters determine the optimum price point through direct customer feedback on willingness to purchase at different prices. More sophisticated multivariate techniques like discrete choice modeling and Monte Carlo simulation account for complex customer decision making by simulating real-world tradeoffs between product attributes, price, and other factors. These techniques allow testing new concepts and pricing strategies to optimize sales and market share under various scenarios.
This document discusses various ways that safety information and health and safety policies will be communicated to employees. It notes that communication will occur through formal training sessions, supervisor and staff meetings, health and safety notice boards, team meetings, displayed health and safety law posters, online web pages, and induction briefings. The health and safety coordinator will be responsible for disseminating information within departments. Maintaining open communication about safety is important.
This document provides an abstract for a thesis written by Emma Aspfors titled "Customer perception of service, store image and product assortment – from an interior store perspective." The abstract summarizes the following key points in 3 sentences:
The purpose of the thesis is to analyze existing customers' perceptions of an interior store called Sisustus CASA, including their store, products, and service, and to investigate how the store can develop based on this knowledge. A quantitative questionnaire was conducted among Sisustus CASA's customers to understand their strengths and weaknesses. The results showed that customers feel the store sells high quality, unique products, but excellent customer service was not seen as the single biggest advantage compared to other stores
A fresh look at clearly defining your marketing strategy by defining the 3 Ps of Price, Product & Promotion.
Learn how to define your strategy by asking yourself the right questions on your Competitive Edge, Value-Added Clients and much more.
The document discusses the marketing mix for sWaP watches, a smartwatch and phone product. It covers the key aspects of the marketing mix - product, price, place, and promotion. For the product element, it emphasizes that developing a high quality, unique product is important to drive customer satisfaction and repeat purchases. It recommends using cost-plus or skimming pricing strategies to set a reasonable price that attracts customers while ensuring profitability. Overall, the document suggests that product should be emphasized the most in the marketing mix since the technology needs to be fully developed for customers to be satisfied.
The document discusses various marketing concepts related to the 4Ps - product, price, place, and promotion. It defines key terms like branding, consumer products, pricing strategies, product life cycle, and promotion methods. It explains that product refers to the end result sold to satisfy customer needs. Branding differentiates products and creates a unique identity. There are various consumer product categories and pricing considerations. The product life cycle shows sales patterns from launch to withdrawal. A company's promotion methods can be above-the-line like advertising or below-the-line incentives.
1. The document discusses the evolution of marketing concepts from production and product-focused to more customer-centric approaches like the marketing concept.
2. It covers key marketing mix elements like product, price, place, and promotion and how firms can create and deliver value to customers through these elements.
3. The marketing mix, brand positioning, pricing strategies, and importance of understanding customer needs and satisfaction are some of the major topics discussed.
The document discusses the new product development process. It begins by listing 5 categories of new products and 10 considerations for evaluating new product ideas. It then discusses that innovation and new products are important for winning in the marketplace. The remainder of the document outlines the 7 stages of new product development: 1) idea generation, 2) screening, 3) concept development and testing, 4) prototype development, 5) market testing, 6) commercialization, and 7) business analysis. Key aspects of each stage are described.
* In an increasingly copy-cat economy, the new basis of competition is business model innovation.
* Unfortunately, the work of business model innovation is too often left undone, at great cost to the organization's longer term growth opportunities and its profitability. This gap is the outcome of marketing's role increasingly being defined around demand generation and brand communications in increasingly fragmented channels, roles that have required many new marketing subspecialties.
* The CMO is ideally suited to facilitate business model strategy decisions, decisions that must be made by the leadership team as a whole.
* Deploying the CMO to facilitate business model innovation will align brand and business strategy, benefiting the success of both.
All of these questions are answered I just need you to read the an.docxnettletondevon
All of these questions are answered I just need you to read the answers, understand them and paraphrase them in your own way with keeping the same idea. Just rewrite it with the same idea but in a different phrase than these.
Essay Questions:
1. Identify and discuss reasons why firms become so infatuated with pricing. Why is pricing given a great deal of attention?
Answer/ ANS:
There is no other component of the marketing program that firms become more infatuated with than pricing. There are at least four reasons for the attention given to pricing. First, the revenue equation is pretty simple: Revenue equals the price times quantity sold. There are only two ways for a firm to grow revenue: increase prices or increase the volume of product sold. Rarely can a firm do both simultaneously. Although there are literally hundreds of ways to increase profit by controlling costs and operating expenses, the revenue side has only two variables—one being price and the other being heavily influenced by price.
A second reason that firms become enamored with pricing is that it is the easiest of all marketing variables to change. Although changing the product and its distribution or promotion can take months or even years, changes in pricing can be executed immediately in real time. Likewise, product, distribution, or promotion changes can also be quite expensive, especially if research and development (R&D) or production must be rescheduled. Conversely, changing prices is a very low-cost option.
The third reason for the importance of pricing is that firms take considerable pains to discover and anticipate the pricing strategies and tactics of other firms. Salespeople learn to read a competitor’s price sheet upside down at a buyer’s desk. Retailers send “secret shoppers” into competitors’ stores to learn what they charge for the same merchandise. In this age of e-commerce, tracking what competitors charge for their goods and services has become so daunting that an entire price-tracking industry has emerged.
Finally, pricing is given a great deal of attention because it is considered to be the only real means of differentiation in mature markets plagued by commoditization. When customers see all competing products as offering the same features and benefits, their buying decisions are primarily driven by price.
Having a solid understanding of these issues is important because far too many firms and their managers use a seat-of-the-pants approach to pricing by guessing the best price for their goods and services. Guessing is never a good strategy in marketing; it can be downright deadly when it comes to setting prices.
2. In many (if not most) circumstances, cutting prices to increase sales volume is not a good idea. Explain why this is so. What are some alternatives that are preferable to cutting prices?
Answer/ ANS: All marketers understand the relationship between price and revenue. However, firms cannot charge high prices without goo.
This document discusses flexible market offerings that provide both "naked solutions" and optional services. It begins by noting that business customers increasingly demand customized offerings at low prices and high quality. The document then presents two examples where companies lost customers by not understanding what they truly valued. It introduces the concept of "flexible market offerings" that provide basic "naked solutions" along with optional extra services. Companies that implement this approach can better meet customer needs while controlling costs. The document outlines steps for companies to take in articulating their current offerings, assessing customer value and own costs, and designing new flexible offerings segmented by customer needs.
The document discusses pricing strategies for new products. It argues that companies often underestimate what customers are willing to pay and set prices too low. To avoid this, companies should determine the full range of potential pricing options by establishing a price ceiling based on customer benefits and a price floor based on costs. Market research is needed to understand demand at different price points. The optimal price maximizes long-term profits rather than just market share. Setting the initial reference price too low can undermine the product's perceived value over time.
The document discusses the importance of properly pricing new products. It argues that companies often underestimate what customers are willing to pay by taking an incremental approach and basing prices only on costs. Instead, companies should explore the full range of potential prices by determining both the highest and lowest possible prices. The highest price is based on a thorough understanding of the product's benefits to customers through market research. The lowest price is determined by accurately calculating all development and production costs. Market research is also needed to understand demand at different price points. By fully exploring pricing options, companies can maximize profits from new products.
The document discusses issues in the client-agency relationship from both the agency and client perspectives. It notes that clients often feel frustrated by agencies' lack of integrated solutions, lack of focus on ROI, lack of media transparency, and reliance on saturation tactics over engagement. Meanwhile, agencies acknowledge problems like focusing too much on awards over results and not always prioritizing the client's needs. The document proposes rules for both clients and agencies to improve the relationship, such as clients providing clear briefs and priorities and agencies committing to objective solutions and confronting clients when needed.
The document discusses the marketing mix principles known as the 4 P's - product, price, place, and promotion. It explains that these controllable variables must be carefully managed to meet the needs of the target group. The marketing mix involves analyzing product strategies like design and packaging, price strategies, place strategies for distribution, and promotion strategies. An effective marketing mix offers the right combination of the 4 P's to improve marketing results.
The document discusses how salespeople can escape the trap of constant discount requests from purchasing departments by identifying "hotspots" or value spots within their customers' organizations. It provides an example of a supplier who was able to save a hospital time and optimize operating room usage by creating customized surgical instrument packs for specific procedures. The document advocates that salespeople follow through after delivering products to understand how the customer benefits in order to develop value propositions tailored to different decision makers within the customer.
Why is this book so important? One of the biggest lessons I have learned within the startup landscape is that even though pricing, together with the business model, remains by far the lever that most impacts revenue, the subject is a sensitive one.
Pricing is a strong — but often underused — tool available to capture a share of value created for customers
Pricing is one of the biggest challenges that startup face. The book is a practical toolkit that positively influences the pricing strategies of startups. It reveals insights in the different pricing methods and tactics used by successful companies.
The document discusses several challenges faced by businesses using internet marketing:
1. Converting website visits and leads into actual sales is difficult without attracting and retaining customers.
2. Managing an online marketplace requires regularly updating the website, responding to customer feedback, and providing good customer service. This ongoing maintenance is costly.
3. Prioritizing time, energy, and money effectively is challenging to maximize results without incurring losses.
This short article aimes the entrepreneur and the decision maker in the SME environment in order to help them valued their new product or solution and then fix a selling price consequently
Growing Revenue with Near-Zero Investment - GROWTH INNOVATIONInnomantra
Growing Revenue with Near-Zero Investment - GROWTH INNOVATION
In a tough business environment when demand
in the core market gets challenged, businesses should look at tapping adjacencies that leverage the organizations' foundational assets. Not only are these moves less risky, but they also do not call for many upfront investments.
The document discusses how manufacturers and end users view value-added resellers (VARs) differently. Manufacturers see VARs as a way to increase revenue and reduce costs by functioning as an extension of the sales organization. They expect VARs to generate new business, increase brand recognition, and improve customer satisfaction. End users prefer to work directly with manufacturers due to perceived risks in problem resolution. However, VARs can differentiate themselves by offering new solutions, superior product support, knowledge of the customer's business, and effective communication and sales processes. Understanding both perspectives helps VARs bridge the gap and create unique value for manufacturers and end users.
Winback and Acquisition Strategies in Customer Relationship ManagementSanath Dasanayaka
Customer Winback and Acquisition Strategies play a key role in the success of any organization. Basically, winning back lost customers is a hard task in which an organization should be successful. here it is expected to discuss several strategies that can be utilized in customer winning back. Those strategies will be very significant for any business organization in any field.
How to research pricing decisions a presentation from business advantageBusiness Advantage
This document provides an overview of technical techniques to measure price elasticity and make pricing decisions, including simple and multivariate methods. Simple methods like the Gabor Granger and Van Westendorp price sensitivity meters determine the optimum price point through direct customer feedback on willingness to purchase at different prices. More sophisticated multivariate techniques like discrete choice modeling and Monte Carlo simulation account for complex customer decision making by simulating real-world tradeoffs between product attributes, price, and other factors. These techniques allow testing new concepts and pricing strategies to optimize sales and market share under various scenarios.
This document discusses various ways that safety information and health and safety policies will be communicated to employees. It notes that communication will occur through formal training sessions, supervisor and staff meetings, health and safety notice boards, team meetings, displayed health and safety law posters, online web pages, and induction briefings. The health and safety coordinator will be responsible for disseminating information within departments. Maintaining open communication about safety is important.
This document provides an abstract for a thesis written by Emma Aspfors titled "Customer perception of service, store image and product assortment – from an interior store perspective." The abstract summarizes the following key points in 3 sentences:
The purpose of the thesis is to analyze existing customers' perceptions of an interior store called Sisustus CASA, including their store, products, and service, and to investigate how the store can develop based on this knowledge. A quantitative questionnaire was conducted among Sisustus CASA's customers to understand their strengths and weaknesses. The results showed that customers feel the store sells high quality, unique products, but excellent customer service was not seen as the single biggest advantage compared to other stores
A fresh look at clearly defining your marketing strategy by defining the 3 Ps of Price, Product & Promotion.
Learn how to define your strategy by asking yourself the right questions on your Competitive Edge, Value-Added Clients and much more.
The document discusses the marketing mix for sWaP watches, a smartwatch and phone product. It covers the key aspects of the marketing mix - product, price, place, and promotion. For the product element, it emphasizes that developing a high quality, unique product is important to drive customer satisfaction and repeat purchases. It recommends using cost-plus or skimming pricing strategies to set a reasonable price that attracts customers while ensuring profitability. Overall, the document suggests that product should be emphasized the most in the marketing mix since the technology needs to be fully developed for customers to be satisfied.
The document discusses various marketing concepts related to the 4Ps - product, price, place, and promotion. It defines key terms like branding, consumer products, pricing strategies, product life cycle, and promotion methods. It explains that product refers to the end result sold to satisfy customer needs. Branding differentiates products and creates a unique identity. There are various consumer product categories and pricing considerations. The product life cycle shows sales patterns from launch to withdrawal. A company's promotion methods can be above-the-line like advertising or below-the-line incentives.
1. The document discusses the evolution of marketing concepts from production and product-focused to more customer-centric approaches like the marketing concept.
2. It covers key marketing mix elements like product, price, place, and promotion and how firms can create and deliver value to customers through these elements.
3. The marketing mix, brand positioning, pricing strategies, and importance of understanding customer needs and satisfaction are some of the major topics discussed.
The document discusses the new product development process. It begins by listing 5 categories of new products and 10 considerations for evaluating new product ideas. It then discusses that innovation and new products are important for winning in the marketplace. The remainder of the document outlines the 7 stages of new product development: 1) idea generation, 2) screening, 3) concept development and testing, 4) prototype development, 5) market testing, 6) commercialization, and 7) business analysis. Key aspects of each stage are described.
* In an increasingly copy-cat economy, the new basis of competition is business model innovation.
* Unfortunately, the work of business model innovation is too often left undone, at great cost to the organization's longer term growth opportunities and its profitability. This gap is the outcome of marketing's role increasingly being defined around demand generation and brand communications in increasingly fragmented channels, roles that have required many new marketing subspecialties.
* The CMO is ideally suited to facilitate business model strategy decisions, decisions that must be made by the leadership team as a whole.
* Deploying the CMO to facilitate business model innovation will align brand and business strategy, benefiting the success of both.
All of these questions are answered I just need you to read the an.docxnettletondevon
All of these questions are answered I just need you to read the answers, understand them and paraphrase them in your own way with keeping the same idea. Just rewrite it with the same idea but in a different phrase than these.
Essay Questions:
1. Identify and discuss reasons why firms become so infatuated with pricing. Why is pricing given a great deal of attention?
Answer/ ANS:
There is no other component of the marketing program that firms become more infatuated with than pricing. There are at least four reasons for the attention given to pricing. First, the revenue equation is pretty simple: Revenue equals the price times quantity sold. There are only two ways for a firm to grow revenue: increase prices or increase the volume of product sold. Rarely can a firm do both simultaneously. Although there are literally hundreds of ways to increase profit by controlling costs and operating expenses, the revenue side has only two variables—one being price and the other being heavily influenced by price.
A second reason that firms become enamored with pricing is that it is the easiest of all marketing variables to change. Although changing the product and its distribution or promotion can take months or even years, changes in pricing can be executed immediately in real time. Likewise, product, distribution, or promotion changes can also be quite expensive, especially if research and development (R&D) or production must be rescheduled. Conversely, changing prices is a very low-cost option.
The third reason for the importance of pricing is that firms take considerable pains to discover and anticipate the pricing strategies and tactics of other firms. Salespeople learn to read a competitor’s price sheet upside down at a buyer’s desk. Retailers send “secret shoppers” into competitors’ stores to learn what they charge for the same merchandise. In this age of e-commerce, tracking what competitors charge for their goods and services has become so daunting that an entire price-tracking industry has emerged.
Finally, pricing is given a great deal of attention because it is considered to be the only real means of differentiation in mature markets plagued by commoditization. When customers see all competing products as offering the same features and benefits, their buying decisions are primarily driven by price.
Having a solid understanding of these issues is important because far too many firms and their managers use a seat-of-the-pants approach to pricing by guessing the best price for their goods and services. Guessing is never a good strategy in marketing; it can be downright deadly when it comes to setting prices.
2. In many (if not most) circumstances, cutting prices to increase sales volume is not a good idea. Explain why this is so. What are some alternatives that are preferable to cutting prices?
Answer/ ANS: All marketers understand the relationship between price and revenue. However, firms cannot charge high prices without goo.
This document discusses flexible market offerings that provide both "naked solutions" and optional services. It begins by noting that business customers increasingly demand customized offerings at low prices and high quality. The document then presents two examples where companies lost customers by not understanding what they truly valued. It introduces the concept of "flexible market offerings" that provide basic "naked solutions" along with optional extra services. Companies that implement this approach can better meet customer needs while controlling costs. The document outlines steps for companies to take in articulating their current offerings, assessing customer value and own costs, and designing new flexible offerings segmented by customer needs.
The document discusses pricing strategies for new products. It argues that companies often underestimate what customers are willing to pay and set prices too low. To avoid this, companies should determine the full range of potential pricing options by establishing a price ceiling based on customer benefits and a price floor based on costs. Market research is needed to understand demand at different price points. The optimal price maximizes long-term profits rather than just market share. Setting the initial reference price too low can undermine the product's perceived value over time.
The document discusses the importance of properly pricing new products. It argues that companies often underestimate what customers are willing to pay by taking an incremental approach and basing prices only on costs. Instead, companies should explore the full range of potential prices by determining both the highest and lowest possible prices. The highest price is based on a thorough understanding of the product's benefits to customers through market research. The lowest price is determined by accurately calculating all development and production costs. Market research is also needed to understand demand at different price points. By fully exploring pricing options, companies can maximize profits from new products.
The document discusses issues in the client-agency relationship from both the agency and client perspectives. It notes that clients often feel frustrated by agencies' lack of integrated solutions, lack of focus on ROI, lack of media transparency, and reliance on saturation tactics over engagement. Meanwhile, agencies acknowledge problems like focusing too much on awards over results and not always prioritizing the client's needs. The document proposes rules for both clients and agencies to improve the relationship, such as clients providing clear briefs and priorities and agencies committing to objective solutions and confronting clients when needed.
The document discusses the marketing mix principles known as the 4 P's - product, price, place, and promotion. It explains that these controllable variables must be carefully managed to meet the needs of the target group. The marketing mix involves analyzing product strategies like design and packaging, price strategies, place strategies for distribution, and promotion strategies. An effective marketing mix offers the right combination of the 4 P's to improve marketing results.
The document discusses how salespeople can escape the trap of constant discount requests from purchasing departments by identifying "hotspots" or value spots within their customers' organizations. It provides an example of a supplier who was able to save a hospital time and optimize operating room usage by creating customized surgical instrument packs for specific procedures. The document advocates that salespeople follow through after delivering products to understand how the customer benefits in order to develop value propositions tailored to different decision makers within the customer.
Why is this book so important? One of the biggest lessons I have learned within the startup landscape is that even though pricing, together with the business model, remains by far the lever that most impacts revenue, the subject is a sensitive one.
Pricing is a strong — but often underused — tool available to capture a share of value created for customers
Pricing is one of the biggest challenges that startup face. The book is a practical toolkit that positively influences the pricing strategies of startups. It reveals insights in the different pricing methods and tactics used by successful companies.
The document discusses several challenges faced by businesses using internet marketing:
1. Converting website visits and leads into actual sales is difficult without attracting and retaining customers.
2. Managing an online marketplace requires regularly updating the website, responding to customer feedback, and providing good customer service. This ongoing maintenance is costly.
3. Prioritizing time, energy, and money effectively is challenging to maximize results without incurring losses.
This short article aimes the entrepreneur and the decision maker in the SME environment in order to help them valued their new product or solution and then fix a selling price consequently
Growing Revenue with Near-Zero Investment - GROWTH INNOVATIONInnomantra
Growing Revenue with Near-Zero Investment - GROWTH INNOVATION
In a tough business environment when demand
in the core market gets challenged, businesses should look at tapping adjacencies that leverage the organizations' foundational assets. Not only are these moves less risky, but they also do not call for many upfront investments.
1. The document discusses strategies for selling to business-to-business customers, focusing on understanding customer needs and involving them in the purchasing process.
2. It outlines the typical 8 phases of an industrial purchasing process and provides tips for addressing each phase, such as making customers aware of potential solutions during demand noticing and specification phases.
3. International B2B strategies are also covered, emphasizing the importance of understanding local markets and cultural differences when expanding business globally.
The document discusses the importance of assessing the viability of a business model before making large investments. It describes the speaker's experience with his previous startup Closely, which was unable to find a viable go-to-market channel despite testing direct sales, agency partners, and large solution providers. The speaker advocates doing a thorough evaluation of the addressable market, competition, and industry structure to understand risks before pursuing investment. The presentation provides tips for optimizing messaging and sales processes through continuous testing and iteration.
This document discusses product marketing strategies. It defines key concepts like markets, customer segments, positioning, and packaging. Positioning is described as where a brand stands in the minds of customers in relation to alternatives. Good positioning attracts the right customer segments and determines pricing leverage and profits. The document advocates identifying an "enemy" to position against and owning the narrative to portray the solution as the future. It provides examples of how companies like Tesla and Indigo have effectively positioned themselves through strong narratives around their value propositions.
This document discusses various objectives and considerations for firms regarding their channels of distribution. At the firm level, objectives include maximizing stockholder value by leveraging unique resources like competencies, financial assets, risk tolerance, brand image, people and facilities. At the brand level, objectives include maximizing profits in the short or long-run through product positioning, distribution strategies and balancing markets. Distribution objectives balance reach, exclusivity, cost and speed. Direct marketing allows precise segmentation but typically has low response rates. Online marketing enables sales, promotion, customer service and research but faces challenges around domains, search engine optimization and compatibility. Selling online is usually more expensive than traditional retail due to higher order processing and shipping costs.
1. CHANGING THE RULES OF THE GAME:
DIFFERENTIATING A COMMODITY PRODUCT
ALAN W. HALE PRESIDENT CONSIGHT™ MARKETING GROUP
“Sell harder” is the rallying cryfrom sales
managers of companiesselling commodity
productsinmature markets. When that fails,
then marketing wantsto lower the price.They
think it will buy market share now,and they
believe they will be able to cutcostsin the
organization later. Unfortunately, this tactic of
lowering the price is easily copied by the
competition. This leads to a death spiral where
the companycan nolonger maintain the
margin they need to survive and thrive. Unless
yourcompanyis truly the lowest costprovider
in the industry, it frequently leads to lower and
lower margins until a death spiral occurs.
The way to avoid this and set a winning
strategy is tochange the rules ofthe game to
alter yourcustomer’sbuying habits. Customers
changetheir buyinghabits whenthey perceive
there is a value to doso. Value = Benefits
Derived/Costs Incurred.Wesuggest that it is
more effective to increase the benefits which
add value to the customerwhile keeping the
costsconstant.AccordingtoPhilip Kotler, a
brilliant marketing professorfrom
Northwestern University Kellogg, “Ifyoucan
differentiate a dead chicken,you can
differentiate anything.” ProfessorKotler
advocates usingservice to augment the core
product,anddifferentiate it from the
competition.
A graphic visualization ofKotler’s
differentiation strategy is as follows:
Augmentedproductincludesservice suchas
delivery, service, customerservice, etc.
This white paper outlines several alternatives of
differentiating your commodity product
withoutresorting to slash and burntactics –
slashing the price and burningthe profitsof the
company.
TARGET CUSTOMER SEGMENTS/DEVELOP
BRAND PREFERENCE
Here are some examples of how some clients
and companiesuse segmentation andbrand
preference tomarket their commoditytype
products:
A client whomanufacturedspraypaint
gunswanted todevelop brand
preference fortheir product.They
visited technicalschools andsponsored
training sessions to teach the students
how to spray paint. They gave deep
discountsforthe schoolsto use and
train the technicians ontheir brandof
spray paint guns,getting the
techniciansto feel comfortablein using
2. 2
CHANGING THE RULES OF THE GAME
their brand. Oncethey went outto
practicetheir trade, they wouldmore
likely requestthat brandofspray paint
guns.
A client manufacturedsteam traps
whichwere usedin manufacturing
plants and purchasedbyeither
purchasingorthe facility manager.
These productswere viewed as
commodities by the plant manager and
couldcosttens to hundredsof
thousandsofdollars to purchase.The
client offered free audits to larger
manufacturingplants tomaximize the
efficiencyof the steam system as well
as lower the energy costsso the
customerwouldspecify andpurchase
their brand ofsteam traps.
A manufacturerofsteel fibers used in
strengthening concrete,foundseveral
competitors nippingat their heels.
They increased their technicalstaff,
and developed softwareto help
structuralengineers design the
specificationsfor new jobs.
A supplier of cartonswasconstantly
losing bids as they were priced too
high. They finally determined they
couldnot competeon price alone and
changedthe rules of the game. They
workedwith the R&D departments of
clients at their ownexpense to create
custompackages fornew product
launches.They offered justin time
shipments, and offeredvendor
managed inventory forthose
customerswhowanted it. They
quantified these expenses and
described how these services were free
onbids. The companyhas grown
exponentially.
Anothercompanydecided to launcha
line of“me-too” portable electric
generators in the market targeted to
home owners.Rather than spending
the hundredsof thousandsofdollars to
develop a brand, they decided to
negotiate witha leading industrial
companyto license their brandon
these products,andpaying them a
royalty to legitimize the product.
MAKE IT EASY TO DO BUSINESS
Everything being equal, price, quality, selection
etc, a customerwouldrather buy froma
companythat is hassle free, i.e. does not take a
lot of pain andheartache to resolve issues.
Sears has a line of Craftsmantools
whichwere sold to homeownersas well
as contractors.Theyoffered a lifetime
warrantyof bringingin yourdamaged
tool, and they wouldreplace it, no
questionsasked.
A wholesaler ofelectronics wantedto
understandhow they were perceived
by their larger accounts.Whenwedid
the research, a commoncomplaint was
whentheir call was transferredto the
next available service representative,
where they had to explain again their
situation. We worked withthem to
assign a primary and secondary
customerservice representative to the
largest ofthe accounts.Thatway, they
wouldnot have to repeat the story, and
wouldbe able to develop some rapport
over time.
A supplier of lighting used in
commercial buildings woulddeliver all
ofthe productsjustintime to the floor
the contractorswereworking onthat
day at 6:30 a.m. This also prevented
productsfromwalking away fromthe
jobsite.
Some companies offerVMI (Vendor
Managed Inventory) wherethe vendor
3. 3
CHANGING THE RULES OF THE GAME
keeps track of whento orderadditional
products.
BE IN THE APPROPRIATE CHANNEL
We have had clients whowanted to sell their
productsdirectto the market and avoid the
additional costforthe margin forthe
wholesaler/distributor. In addition to the
perception ofreducingtheir cost,the client did
not wantto sell their productsto channelswho
sold competitive productsas well.
Unfortunatelyfor the client, research showed
that many customerswanted to reducethe
number ofvendorsthey had on the books,and
they preferred to do one-stopshoppingrather
than purchaseproductsfrommany sources.
The client wasactually losing market share by
refusingto sell their productstothese
channels.
There are certain exceptionsto the one stop
shoppingphenomena. Oneexample is power
tools. Contractorsare very loyal tothe brandof
powertools, and will go to another channel
that offershis or her preferred brand.
WORK ONPERCEIVEDBENEFITSNOT
COSTS
Companies whoare able to changethe rules of
the game in commoditymarkets fare better in
terms of sales and margins than those
companies whotry to rely on reducingprice
either by loweringthe price or offeringspecial
promotions.
A SUGGESTEDFRAMEWORK
We proposethat companiestake a muchmore
rigorousprocessto determine what customers
really value, a structuredvoice ofthe customer
process.
StepOne:Discovery Research
Use a variety ofmethods to determine
whatis ofvalue. This includes focus
groups,personal interviews, in-depth
phoneinterviews andethnography
where a team followsa groupof
customersusing this type ofproduct.
Conductingcustomersatisfaction
surveysseldom gets to the heart of the
issue. Youmust define unmet needs.
Steptwo: InternalBrainstorming
Take the initial voice of the customer
findingsand generate potential ideas
fordifferentiation in a brainstorming
meeting. This meeting shouldlast two
to three hours.It is critical not to
criticize initial suggestions, nortake the
first few mentioned. Thenassign some
type of value scale foreach idea which
wouldinclude being able to
differentiate the product, ability to
provide this, costof implementing etc.
StepThree:Validate Findings
Go backout andtest these ideas to
determine whichones resonate with
yourcustomer base. This wouldinclude
both qualitative andquantitative
measurements.
Ifthis soundslike a lot ofwork,it is. But
unlike reducingpricing,these tactics
are muchharder to replicate by the
competition.
The key is to make investments in areas
that are valuable to the customer,and
reduce/eliminate investments in areas
that are not valued by yourcustomers.
Let yourcompetition waste their time
and resourcesonchasing the
unimportant.
4. 4
CHANGING THE RULES OF THE GAME
ReduceInvestment Maintain/Increase
Investment
Maintain/Decrease
Investment
Increase
Investment
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About Consight™MarketingGroup,LLC
6104W.Wawrick
Chicago,IL60634
847.800.1685
Consight™Marketing Groupcombines
consultingand insight frommarket research to
provide actionable strategies forcompanies in
business tobusiness markets. Voiceof the
customerservices include:
Customersatisfaction and loyalty
Market assessment
Developing go-tomarket strategies
New product/new servicevalidation
Designing effective channelstrategies
Lostaccountanalysis
AboutAlanW. Hale
Alan Hale is President of Consight™Marketing
Groupand has35 years experience in working
with clients serving businessto business
markets. He hasserved as PastPresident ofthe
ChicagoChapter ofSales & Marketing
Executives International as well as served on
the board ofSales & Marketing Executives
International.
FOR ADDITONAL INFORMATION
To discussa marketing issue in more detail, call
Alan at 847.800.1685orvisit
www.consightmarketinggroup.com
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