Pricing and Profitability Management: A Practical Guide for Business Leaders

Emerging Trends in Pricing and Profitability Management

In the years ahead, both large and small customers will continue to push the limits of current business models and expectations to capitalize on the power and complexity of pricing and profitability management. Sellers have found that, to stay competitive, they must learn to operate in many arenas, while staying current with new technologies and meeting increasing customer expectations for products.

Significant trends in the pricing arena—internal and external—are emerging, which are driving companies to further develop their capabilities. Here are some of them.

Multi-Channel Integration

In business-to-consumer businesses, the traditional views on the role of stores, catalogs, websites, and call centers are changing at warp speed. Consumers expect a company to offer them the opportunity to transact business across all channels or their loyalty is quickly lost. For example, most large pizza delivery companies now accept orders from walk-ins, by phone, or over the internet.

Suppliers realize, too, that trade promotion investments aimed at only one channel will likely have limited impact and sustainability. The risks of failing to provide an integrated experience across multiple channels can impact customers, retailers, and suppliers. Consumers will continue to be curious and active only if they can explore all of a retailer's channels. If the products and prices are not consistent across the store, catalog, and website, then ...