Setting Profitable Prices: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pricing Strategy--Without Hiring a Consultant, + Website

Setting Profitable Prices: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pricing Strategy--Without Hiring a Consultant, + Website

Released January 2013
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781118430767

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Book description

Time-tested strategies for making the best possible pricing decisions and gaining an unbeatable competitive advantage

Pricing is one of the most important—and difficult—marketing problems companies face when launching new products. Unfortunately, the research that goes into making optimal pricing decisions is a very time-consuming process—unless, that is, you can afford to pay a consultant or outside agency to do it for you. But if you're like most small- to medium-sized business owners and managers, time and money are two things you absolutely don't have to spare. Problem solved: Written by a nationally recognized pricing expert, this book arms you with proven strategies for guaranteeing that you'll never again leave money on the table when determining prices. And you'll spend the least possible time setting your more profitable prices.

  • Packed with valuable worksheets and other valuable tools to help guide your research and your pricing decision-making

  • A goldmine of expert tips for pricing in any specialty market, it offers a highly effective way to market your company's product more effectively and profitably

  • Shows you how to avoid making your competitors' pricing mistakes and gain a powerful competitive edge in the process

  • The author uses examples drawn from her years of consulting work with companies large and small, including Food Network, American Express Publishing, and Playboy

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Contents
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Part 1: How to Set Prices for Maximum Profits
    1. Chapter 1: Why Pricing Is the Key to Your Success
      1. Raise Prices—or Sell More Products?
      2. Big-Company Case History
      3. Tiny-Company Case History
    2. Chapter 2: Why Most Companies Stink at Pricing (and How You Can Do Better!)
      1. The “Myth” of Creating Demand Curves
      2. How Your Competitors Are Setting Prices
      3. Cost-Plus Pricing
      4. Match-Your-Competitors Pricing
  9. Part 2: How The Market Will Value Your New Product
    1. Chapter 3: Analyzing Your Competitors’ Prices
      1. You Do So Have Competitors!
      2. How to “Pick” Your Competitors
      3. Direct vs. Indirect Competitors
      4. How Consumers Evaluate Prices
      5. How to Get Profitable Ideas from Your Competitors
    2. Chapter 4: Environmental Factors That Can Affect Your Pricing
      1. Environmental Factors Overview
      2. The Economy
      3. Competitors
      4. Government Regulation and Legal
      5. Social Trends
      6. Technological Change
    3. Chapter 5: Pick the Positioning of Your New Product
      1. There Are Only 3 Choices!
      2. The Psychology of Price Positioning
      3. Penetration Price Positioning
      4. Skimming (or Premium) Price Positioning
      5. Competitive Price Positioning
      6. Learning More about Competitive Pricing
    4. Chapter 6: Analyzing Your Buyer Benefits/Drawbacks Relative to Your Competitors
      1. Uncovering What Buyers Really Value/Hate about Products in Your Marketplace
      2. Learn More about Calculating Buyer Valuation of Different Features
    5. Chapter 7: Picking a “Ballpark” for Your Best Price
      1. You Will Not Be “Stuck” with Your Decision!
      2. Can’t Make a Profit at that Price Range?
      3. Not Sure about Your Results?
      4. Learn More about Buyers’ Reactions to Price Ranges
  10. Part 3: Your Cost Analysis
    1. Chapter 8: Evaluating Your Costs
      1. The Ideas Behind “Target Costing” and “Target Engineering”
      2. Types of Costs
      3. The Hardest Part of Calculating Costs
      4. Reasons for Launching a Product that Doesn’t Cover Overhead
  11. Part 4: Fine-Tuning Your Price
    1. Chapter 9: Is Your Profit Potential Acceptable?
      1. If You’re Happy with Your Potential Profits
      2. If You’re Not Happy with Your Potential Profits
      3. Next Step
    2. Chapter 10: Psychological Adjustments to Your Price
      1. Understanding “Barriers” in Prices
      2. Staying below Barriers
      3. Increasing Prices up to Barriers
      4. Numbers that Say “Discount” to Buyers
      5. Test Your Knowledge!
      6. Visually Appealing Prices
      7. Selling to Businesses
      8. Learn More about Thresholds
      9. Learn More about the Effect of Numbers
  12. Part 5: Testing Your Prices
    1. Chapter 11: Testing Prices
      1. The Psychology of You—in Setting Prices
      2. Can You Test?
      3. The Difference between Testing and Research
    2. Chapter 12: Using Google to Test Prices for Free (or Almost Free)
      1. Two Methods for Almost-Free Testing!!
      2. Using Google Optimizer to Test Multiple Things
  13. Part 6: Pricing in Special Situations
    1. Chapter 13: Pricing Services
      1. Imagine No Chapter 13!
      2. The Complications of Setting Prices for Services
      3. The Myth of Pricing Based on “What You Want to Earn”
      4. Pricing by the Hours versus the Job
      5. Finding What Service Competitors Charge
      6. Picking Your Price Positioning
      7. What Your Price Says about Your Firm
      8. How to Charge Higher Prices to Those Willing to Pay More
    2. Chapter 14: Pricing New Products/Services, Part 1: When Your Brand Is Unknown
      1. The Problems in Pricing Something New
      2. Price Equals Quality Buyer Perception
      3. Does Quality Equal Likelihood-to-Buy?
      4. Understanding “Bargain Hunters”
      5. Price Preferences by Product Type
      6. Detailed Research on Buyer Price Position Preferences
      7. Additional Research on Preferred Prices
      8. Learn More about Risk and Pricing
    3. Chapter 15: Pricing New Products/Services, Part 2: Competing with Established Brands
      1. When Your Competitors Are Established Brands
      2. Risk Avoidance
      3. Price Premiums for Known Brands
      4. Discounting Differences
      5. What Causes Customers to Switch to a New Brand?
      6. What Happens after Buyers Switch?
      7. Shocking Findings on Brand Names
      8. So What Does it All Mean for Pricing a New Product/Service?
    4. Chapter 16: Pricing with Discounts
      1. Discounts: A Double-Edged Sword
      2. When Discounts Worry Consumers
      3. Determining Best Discount Levels
      4. Discounts’ Effect on Quality Ratings and Purchase
      5. Concluding Thoughts on Pricing, and Especially on Testing Prices
  14. Appendix of Worksheets
  15. Bibliography
  16. About the Author
  17. About the Companion Web Site
  18. Index

Product information

  • Title: Setting Profitable Prices: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pricing Strategy--Without Hiring a Consultant, + Website
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: January 2013
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781118430767