Guac is Extra – Does Chipotle’s Price Point Make Sense?
Why does Chipotle charge a 200% price premium for their guacamole? We discuss pricing opportunities for the beloved burrito chain.
Flaherty’s Pricing Parity Initiative
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty recently announced his desire to commission a Senate Committee into Canadian pricing. There have likely been a number of triggers for his reaction, but J Crew, a specialty apparel retailer, entering Canada at a significant price premium to its US pricing and subsequent reversal I am sure was part of the cause.
Using Pricing Power to Navigate Price Increases
Good pricing means knowing where your power is. If the value is strong, there is an opportunity either to raise prices or grow share. If the value is weak, pricing must be adjusted accordingly to protect your brand. Otherwise, you risk becoming irrelevant.
Goodyear drives profits with mix management
It’s no wonder that Fortune 500 Companies are kicking off pricing initiatives at such a tremendous pace. The fruits of their efforts are continuing to make headlines. In last Friday’s Bloomberg’s Business Week there was a prominent article about the gains Goodyear has made by managing mix.
Groupon: Beware of Furballs
An increasing number of clients have been evaluating the Groupon model and trying to assess whether it is right for their business. This is a difficult question that often leaves high-level executives perplexed. In order to make an informed decision, it is essential that you approach this decision in a process-oriented manner.
Use the Pricing Waterfall to Drive Profits
For the average business, a mere 1% increase in price leads to a whopping 12.5% improvement in profitability. That’s the single most powerful lever a company has for boosting the bottom line. The pricing waterfall, a tool for identifying hidden costs and expenses, is one of the most effective ways of capturing that 1% – or more!
If I Were the CEO of Netflix
Netflix has been getting a lot of attention lately for its new pricing strategy. If you have kept an eye on the matter you will have noticed that there is an interesting paradox. Consumers hate it but analysts love it. They may lose as many as 2.5 million customers but profitability should go up.
Hidden Profit Opportunities for Airlines
Airlines are leaders at sophisticated pricing systems, developing micro segmentation and capturing profits. Despite being leaders airlines still have the opportunity to capture more profit with simple tweaks to their pricing model. Read more on our thoughts...
Real Time, Real Dollars
A consultant at Pricing Solutions recently presented some learnings he took away from an IBM conference on the topic of analytics. An important topic was the emerging frontier of using real time data to make real time decisions. From a pricing perspective, how could this level of data analytics move companies forward in their ability to be good value based pricers?
Segmentation Should be Your Pricing Backbone
If your segmentation isn’t leading you into a discussion about behaviour, price structure, innovation and offer design, you probably have a large untapped opportunity. Read how segmentation can be the backbone of your pricing strategy.
Bon Jovi a Rock Star and Pricing Guru?
Bon Jovi said “The only thing I like more than my wife is my money.” It’s rare that you find a rock star that likes his wife, but even more so to find one that that actually practices what they preach.
Pay for Performance – What Pricers Can Learn From Pro Hockey
I have been watching the Stanley Cup Finals between Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks. One of the keys to Boston’s success has been the steady play of defenseman Tomas Kaberle. Kaberle was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in February of this year.
Avoid Price War by Using Diplomacy
Competitive pricing is one of the most thrilling and terrifying aspects of pricing – thrilling because it is a high-stakes game, and terrifying because you can get locked into a price war and end up swimming in a sea of red ink.
Succeed By Selling Certainty
Kent had been excited about launching his company’s newest engine into the aviation industry. It offered major benefits, such as better mileage, greater durability and reduced maintenance costs. Unfortunately, sales were anemic, and Kent was forced to discount heavily to hit his target numbers.
The Increasing Price of a Free Flight
After a busy month of travel to Europe and throughout the United States, on Saturday I learned of Aeroplan’s upcoming increase to the point requirements for a “free” flight.
Pharmaceutical Market Research Paper 2011
We have created a Canadian Pharmaceutical Market Research Paper. For more information go here.
Look Beyond Price for Cause of Lost Bids
For many lost deals, price was not the factor; perceived quality was the driving force behind the decision. Collect customer feedback and use lessons learned to refocus your service-delivery model and win more deals.
What’s a Fair Price When I Feel Like S**t?
This week I had the opportunity to attend the Pharma-Market Research Conference in Toronto. All the major players in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry were present; Pfizer, Bayer, GSK, Roche etc.
Management Science with Jim Saunders
Why was your airplane overbooked? How come the price for a hotel room changes from day to day and how do car-rental companies know how many cars to have at any given airport? These questions and more can be answered by looking at the management science tools used by some businesses to manage revenue, costs and capacity utilization.
Sales and Marketing: iPad2 – Demonstrating What Good Pricing is all About
With the recent launch of the iPad 2, much has been made about Apple’s decision to launch it at the same list price as the original iPad. Unfortunately most of what I have read has skirted what I see as the key pricing questions at the centre of this debate.