1. Pricing Practices That Endanger Profits
Chapter 6
Pricing Practices That Endanger Profits
Surej P John
July 7th, 2011

2. Chapter Objectives
To understand how consumers perceive prices, price changes, and price differences
To develop the concept of reference price and further develop the concept of price thresholds
Key pricing principle
Prices should be set so as to reflect customers’ perceptions of value

3. Reference Price
The price that buyers use to compare the offered price of a product or service.
The reference price may be a price in a buyer's memory, or it may be the price of an alternative product.

4. Order of Presenting Prices
The order in which buyers are exposed to alternative prices affect their perceptions.
Ascending Prices
Descending Prices

5. Ascending Series

6. Descending Series

7. Order of Presenting Prices
Buyers who initially see high prices will perceive subsequent lower prices as less expensive than would if they initially see low prices.
Buyers are more sensitive to price increase rather than price decrease.

8. Introductory Pricing Strategies and Tactics
Sellers introduce new products with short-term “introductory low-price promotions”
Facilitates market penetration
Produces lower long-run sales volume than if the product is introduced at its regular price
The introductory low price serves as a reference price for evaluating a perceived price increase when the price is raised to its normal price
Refer Table 6.1

9. Singapore Sheraton Market situation, Singapore, 1986-1990:
Five-star and four-star hotel construction to double supply of beds
Ministry of tourism predicts the number of visitors to remain steady at two million annually for the next few years.
What do you expect will be the effect on hotel prices by ?

10. Singapore Sheraton Towers
Purchased major credit card mailing list on world-wide basis
Mailed brochure and five one-night free stay coupons
Brochure described the new hotel
Room rates included in the brochure
The results:
Gave away 20,000 room-nights
By 1990, 80% of business was repeat visits
Maintained five-star room rates

11. Absolute Price Thresholds
Acceptable price range
Upper price threshold (price tolerance or reservation price)
Lower price threshold
How wide is the range of acceptable prices and what is the price level around which this range is centered?
Based on alternative offerings, customer satisfaction and loyalty, knowledge about other prices and quality

12. Disneyland Paris ( Box 6.2)
Opened in admission 250 francs
By 1994, losses averaged $1 million per day; hotels half empty
Market research survey
Price of 200 francs was psychological threshold
Set admission price for one adult at 195 francs ($39)
Operated at a profit for first time
million people visited
33% increase over 1994; 9% increase over 1995; 40% of visitors were French

13. Differential Price Threshold
Minimum difference in price for a buyer to perceive a product different from the next best alternative.
Also known as relative price
Two concepts are relevant when considering the issue of price differences.
Price elasticity
Cross price elasticity

14. Price Elasticity of demand
Price elasticity of demand is the percentage change in quantity sold relative to (divided by) the percentage change in price.
If the value of elasticity is < -1, (i.e., -2 or -3), then price elastic.
If the value of elasticity is , 0, but > -1 (e.g., -0.5), then price inelastic.

15. Cross-price Elasticity
Cross-price elasticity refers to the % change in demand for one product relative to (divided by) the % change in price of another product.
If the value is > 0, then the two products are substitutes.
If the value is < 0, then the two products are complements.

16. Cross-price Elasticity
How the price of one product is perceived to differ from the price of another offering that buyers believe is an alternative choice to consider
Differential price thresholds
The degree to which buyers are sensitive to relative price differences

17. Decomposing Price Elasticity
Prices increases vs. price decreases
Difference in relative price elasticity between price increases and price decreases means it is easier to lose sales from current buyers by increasing price than it is to gain sales from new buyers by reducing price

18. Decomposing Price Elasticity
Competitive effects
Price elasticity of demand varies over brands within the same product category.
Price elasticity also varies across market segments.
Extreme prices will become more price elastic as the prices are changed toward the market average or as competitor’s pricing moves the brand’s price toward the market average

19. Decomposing Price Elasticity
Asymmetric competition
Price elasticity of demand affected mostly by the substitution effect.
The degree that demand for a product or brand is price elastic or inelastic depends on its cross-price elasticity relative to competing products.
Price promotions of a higher priced brand affect the market share of a lower priced brand than the reverse.

20. Decomposing Price Elasticity
The effect of price thresholds
Demand is very price elastic at upper and lower absolute price threshold
Buyers have different price thresholds for different products, while different buyers have different price thresholds for a given product

21. Decomposing Price Elasticity
Other influences on price elasticity
Does the product have unique attributes?
What benefit do buyers seek from the product?
Improved perceptions of product and service quality makes the product less price sensitive.
How the product is going to be used or what context the product is used?
The relative dollar magnitude of purchase influence buyers sensitivity.

22. Price Elasticity
Price elasticities are not constant and they can be managed over products, brands and time to a greater extent than previously recognized
END OF CHAPTER VI

23. Have a Break…….

24. Customer Value Analysis
Chapter 8
Customer Value Analysis

25. Customer Value Analysis
A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.
-Oscar Wilde
What we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.
-John Jakes, The Rebel
The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.
-James E. Brill, ABA Journal

26. Value Analysis Management
Customer value management is understanding all the experiences that customers have with the products and services the firm provides them
The firm’s pricing is driven by measurable value provided to customers and not by customer’s expressed willingness to pay

27. Perceived Acquisition Value
Perceived acquisition value = perceived benefits or quality
perceived total sacrifice
Perceived total sacrifice to the buyer is equal to purchase price + start-up costs + post-purchase costs
Perceived benefits or quality is equal to some combination of physical attributes, service attributes, and technical support available, as well as the purchase price and other indicators of quality

28. Components of Perceived Acquisition Value
1. Sacrifice
2. Equity
3. Aesthetics
4. Relative use
5. Perceived transaction value

29. The Concept of Benefits
To provide benefits a product or service must be able to:
1. Perform certain tasks or functions
2. Solve identified problems
3. Provide specific pleasures

30. The Concept of Benefits
It is necessary to:
Identify the benefits that customers will perceive the product or service to offer
Determine the relative importance of those benefits that customers place on the product of service

31. The Five Steps Of Value-oriented Pricing
1. Conceptualize customer value
Translate features and attributes into perceived benefits.
Consider relative benefits delivered by the product itself.

32. The Five Steps Of Value-oriented Pricing
2. Understand The Key Value Drivers for Customers
3. Calculate customer value
Determine sources of differentiation value
Determine customer value segments
Perform customer value assessments
Estimate economic value to customer value segments

33. Value-in-use analysis
Value in Use = Total willingness to pay for a product across all consumers
Consumer Surplus = Difference between the maximum amount customers are willing to pay for a product and the amount they actually pay.
Consumer Surplus = Value in Use – Value in Exchange

34. Value-in-use analysis
To use the concept of Value in Use:
Determine the customer's reference product
Customer’s life cycle cost using the reference product
Improvement value of the product relative to the reference product

35. Reference Product:
Customers next best alternative for meeting the same need as current or proposed new product
Existing model about to be replaced
Competing product
Life Cycle Costs:
All costs that a customer will incur over the product’s useful life.
These costs include Actual purchase price, Startup costs, post purchase costs
Improvement value of the product:
The improvement value of the product represents the potential incremental satisfaction or profits the customer can expect from this product over those of the reference product.

36. Value-in-use analysis
P max y = LCCx +Ivy –(PPCY+SUCy)
P max y = maximum acceptable price of Product Y
LCCx = Life cycle costs of the reference product X
Ivy = Improvement value for the new product Y
PPCY = Post purchase cost for the new product Y
SUCy = Start up costs for the New Product Y

37. Example Old reference product, Current Purchase price = $400
Post purchase cost = $300
Start up cost = $300
Hence Life cycle cost for product X,
LCC x = Px + PPCx + SUC x = $1000
Assume “NEW “ product is highly efficient and has an Improvement Value, Ivy = $200
PPC y = $200
SUC y = $200
Therefore Max. Accpetable Price,
P max y = LCCx +Ivy –(PPCY+SUCy)
Pmax y = $800

38. Consumer Surplus Max. Accpetable price ( Value in Use)= $800
If the current Selling price (Value in Exchange) = $500
Consumer surplus = Value in use- value in exchange = $300

39. Limitations of Value in Use
Sometimes the product offering is so new that its difficult to accurately estimate its relative value to customers
Value of the product may depend on the nature of the buyer, how the buyer uses the product, variations in perceived benefits of the product by different buyers.

40. The Five steps of Value-oriented Pricing
3. Value mapping- illustrates the way customers in a value segment trade off perceived benefits against perceived sacrifice

41. The Five steps of Value-oriented Pricing
4. Communicating value.
Keep price structures understandable, flexible, and relatively easy to administer.
Consistently and clearly communicate price structure. Discounts, allowances, rebates, rewards for loyalty should be above-board and clearly defined.
Provide complete and concrete information about the offer.
Provide appropriate reference price and actual selling price.
Value-oriented Pricing

42. The Five steps of Value-oriented Pricing
4. Communicating value.
For temporary price reductions, provide the specific ending date of the offer and the price in effect after the ending date.
For price increases, provide the beginning date of the new higher prices.

43. The Five steps of Value-oriented Pricing
5. Develop Ways to Capture Customer Value
The seller becomes externally-focused when managing prices
Establish pricing rules or structure that force customers to acknowledge value received

44. Contingency Value Pricing
Occurs when the value of the service cannot be calculated before its delivery
Forms of contingency pricing include
Money-back guarantees
Real estate agents’ commissions based on a percentage of the selling price
Lawyers’ or professional sports agents’ fees based on a percentage of the damage award or contract negotiated

45. Class Assignment-5
Question No: 4 on Page 217