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The
price is right ... or is it?
Pricing is
a very tricky thing. Pitch prices too low and you'll happily
attract customers but make no profit. Pitch prices too high and
you will drive customers to your competitors. Getting
your pricing right is essential to your success. Here are a few tips
...
Clear
links to value
Your
competitors may appear to offer similar goods and
services to you but at a lower price. In reality
their offer may not be the same at all. So, it is
important that you communicate the true value (benefits) of your
products or services to the customer so that they can compare prices
on a more knowledgeable basis.
Try and
establish a Superior Selling Proposition for your offer that
demonstrates better value to your competitors. This doesn't
mean that your product or service has to have unique features, but
it does mean that the way that you deliver the entirety of
your offer (i.e. the selling proposition) should be
demonstrably superior. This may well be a unique combination
of benefits.
You also
need to bear in mind that benefits live exclusively in the mind of
the customer. If the customer doesn't recognise an
attribute of your offer as a benefit, then it isn't one ... no
matter how many times you may mention it in your sales
material!
Change
the rules
Just
because your competitors price their products and services in one
way doesn't mean that you need to as well. When all suppliers
use the same pricing metrics then it is extremely easy for the
customer to compare and unless you are always the cheapest this will
work against you.
Changing
the rules is a good way to distinguish your offer from others.
You can do this in two ways. Firstly, you can change the
volume of the unit of purchase by bundling. For example,
at your local produce market you will find the
greengrocer advertising tomatoes at, say, £x for 3lbs (my
greengrocer still uses lbs, I'm afraid). I don't recall 3lbs
being the standard weight unit in which we buy tomatoes!, yet most
customers will choose to buy 3lbs that day. The next
week it could be £x for 4lbs.
The second
way to change the rules is to change the unit of purchasing
completely. For example, your competitors may charge an hourly
rate for a particular service. Rather than follow the herd, you
can think how you can price differently. Maybe you could offer
the service on a monthly subscription basis, or join a few extra
services together into an added-value bundle and price that on
a per usage basis.
Memorable
marketing
Thinking
and working pragmatically like this will help you to make
your marketing work better for you in a more memorable way.
This means that your target customers will be able to differentiate
your products and services from those of your competitors and
clearly see the value in buying from you.
If you would like some advice on memorable
marketing techniques for your own business, or you know someone
at another business who might need help, then please contact us. The sooner you start, the sooner you will
benefit. |
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Developing
a Unique Selling Proposition
Download this handy guide which explains what a
Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is, how to use it and, most
importantly, how to work out what yours is.
Written by
the Chartered Institute of Marketing as part of their ‘10 Minute’
series, this document makes easy reading for business people of all
experience levels.
Marketing
Effectiveness Assessment
A
free service to small businesses in the Buckinghamshire, Berkshire
and Oxfordshire area, the Marketing Effectiveness Assessment
delivers a professional audit of how a business is using the tools
of marketing to communicate to existing and potential customers. It
also includes a series of simple and cost-effective marketing
activities that the business can implement immediately and at low
cost.
Download the factsheet now.
Useful
Links ...
Adduce Marketing
Chartered Institute of Marketing
Marketing UK (information portal)
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