The goal of almost every business owner is to generate a profit either for themselves or their shareholders. This can be challenging at best. So much thought and effort go into running a business, accounts payable, accounts receivable, dealing with vendors, customers, etc. Because of this people sometimes do not focus on one of the most important factors- pricing. Knowing how much you can charge for your product or service is invaluable information. Businesses typically want to increase volume and prices at the same time. In a perfect world that would be easy to accomplish, yet we do not live in a perfect world. So just how do businesses go about deciding how much to charge for a product or service?
One way that businesses do this is through trial and error, by seeing how much they can charge before volume starts to drop off. This is a very ineffective method, but is practiced by more businesses than you may realize. Another method is determining what percentage of profit over cost that you want. Perhaps you sell automobiles and decide that you require a profit of 5% on every car that is sold, and then you price accordingly. While this method is good for determining if you are going to cover overhead and other expenses, it may not be the best way to increase sales. A person can spend weeks trying to determine the correct price for their products and services. Economists have many formulas to determine price elasticity, market demand, and cost shifting. All of these economic formulas can be helpful, but are very time consuming and sometimes require hiring a consultant.
There are some easier ways to go about setting prices. Once you have determined a 'ballpark' price that covers your costs, you can begin adjusting it up or down to maximize profits. A relatively new concept that is garnering a great deal of attention from businesses big and small is the concept of price popularity. Price popularity is just what the name implies, looking at how popular, or how frequently a price is used. For example, surely you have noticed how many commercials on television sell items for $19.95. This is a very popular price when compared to $19.77. Do you see many products priced at $19.77? The frequency in which consumers see a price has a strong effect on their purchasing decisions.
Knowing about price popularity, and how to apply it, can help turn a slow selling item or service into a highly demanded item or service. Should a business set a price at $19.99 or $19.95? Does a price read differently to a consumer if it appears as $72.00 or $72? Research shows that it does in fact affect a consumer's decision making. Gaining access to the research that shows the most popular prices, the ones that consumers feel most comfortable with, is a precious resource to a business. This is much easier than spending the numerous hours of financial analysis to make an educated guess at what volume business will drop off if you raise or lower the price by a mere few cents.
The more a business owner knows about pricing strategies the more successful they will be in generating profits. Incorrect pricing can have devastating effects on a business. While many spend time trying to determine a break-even analysis and price elasticity, how many have really considered the psychological appearance of a price and the popularity of that price.
In today's extremely competitive business world a business owner needs every advantage they can get to outwit their competition. Researching the information available on price popularity simply puts a business one step ahead of their competitors.
About The Author
Konstantin Goudkov studies the psychology of pricing, ways to manipulate prices for maximum profit, and tactics to control consumer price perception.
You can find his latest report at: http://www.pricepointreport.com
move in cleaning service Glencoe ..Entrepreneurs often give little if any consideration to their computer... Read More
How are you feeling today? Good, not so good, great?... Read More
We all agree Strategic Planning is a critical part of... Read More
( * - the word 'product' can be substituted to... Read More
If you are a manufacturer wanting to use your business... Read More
You have invested a lot of time and energy on... Read More
Writing a business plan is not an easy endeavor, nor... Read More
Want to become more strategic? Add these traits to your... Read More
If ever there were an industry where we want zero... Read More
Some analysts credit [Larry] Ellison with anticipating the consolidation in... Read More
Canada's lean leaders need to look beyond the horizon and... Read More
Where would your business be without a proper plan? A... Read More
How often does your company make a quantum leap forward?... Read More
Does your overall business strategy include the recruitment of college... Read More
Before becoming a netpreneaur, I was an entrepreneur. First, I... Read More
Every business experiences slower periods. For some, they sell more... Read More
When someone mentions business planning we have been conditioned to... Read More
Franchised companies often require what some believe to be excessive... Read More
Too much goal setting and strategic planning can leave you... Read More
We all know that nothing runs without a plan, and... Read More
The decision to sell, or not to sell your business... Read More
Remember reading "Alice in Wonderland?"She asks the Cheshire Cat, "which... Read More
I recently took an organizational behavior class where my professor... Read More
If you've ever listened to Warren Buffett talk about investing,... Read More
When in doubt, cut that out! Yeah, yea, doubting Thomas... Read More
disinfecting cleaning services Winnetka ..Every decade we seem to come up with a buzz-word... Read More
Do you work in or own a business that's affected... Read More
To stop a computer virus you must understand how it... Read More
The boom of the dot-com era in 1999 brought the... Read More
Business plan financial projections seem daunting because they are so... Read More
If you are looking for a partner, funding, angle investor... Read More
Part 1A few weeks ago I attended a seminar sponsored... Read More
Succession planning requires the owner of a small or medium-sized... Read More
If you own the mid-size business and actively work in... Read More
Entrepreneurs often give little if any consideration to their computer... Read More
So what makes a vision successful? Everyday companies try to... Read More
In 1989, Sony founded its Institute of Wisdom at the... Read More
Business owners and entrepreneurs are, by nature, risk takers and... Read More
Many movies have been made about the tragic story of... Read More
Possibly THE most frequently asked question of me is "What... Read More
So you've decided to write your own business plan because... Read More
One of the most powerful driving forces in human nature... Read More
There's nothing automatic about corporate growth, particularly in the information... Read More
There are no "rules of thumb" in the pursuit of... Read More
Last week we talked about a few of the ways... Read More
A menu is the foundation of any restaurant; Guests will... Read More
When looking at Akron carefully one cannot help but notice... Read More
I've either been involved with or held a process-related role... Read More
"Begin with the end in mind," says Stephen Covey in... Read More
Succession planning, like any business acumen, is both an art... Read More
Strategic Planning |