浅谈市场营销中的定价策略正文.docx

浅谈市场营销中的定价策略正文.docx

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浅谈市场营销中的定价策略正文

SimpleDiscussiononPricingStrategiesinBusinessMarketing

1Introduction

Withmoreandmorecompaniesenteringintothecompetitionofmarketingandcountriesbecomingmoreopentoeachother,consumersarenowfacingevermorechoiceswhentheyselectingthethingstheywanttobuy.Howcancompaniesstandoutinthiscompetitivemarketworldandwintheheartofitscustomers?

Theonlyanswertothisquestionistocreatemorevalueontheproductsandservicesthatgoingtoselltocustomersandpriceitsproductsorservicesaslowaspossible.Takeaglimpsearoundusyouwillseehowimportantthepriceistoourdailylives.Forinstance,whenpeopleareintendingtobuycertainthings,whethertheyareluxuryitemsordailynecessitiessuchasclothes,furniture,house,cars,books,everything.Normally,theywouldvisitseveralplacesandchecktheprices.Therefore,thereisanoldChinesesaying,“Whenyoubuythings,youwouldnotbecheatedifcomparethepricesfromthreestores”.Sopriceplaysaveryimportantroleinattractingcustomerstobuytheproductsyouofferandthepriceshavetobesetaccordingyourcompany’sMarketingStrategyandProductPositioning.

2BasicconceptsaboutPricingStrategiesinBusinessMarketing

Thepriceisaamountofmoneychargedforaproductorthevalueexchangedforthebenefitsoftheproductorservice.Thepricenormallyreflectstherelativequalityoftheproduct,ofcourse,coversallcostsassociatedwithproduction,marketing,after-saleservice.Arightpricingstrategywillhelpyouacquirethebiggestprofit.Furthermore,Pricingstrategyisoneofthefourmajorelementsofthemarketingmix.Itisrelatedtoproductpositioning,affectsothermarketingmixelementssuchasproductstrategy,channelstrategyandsalespromotionstrategy.

3FactorsthatInfluencethePrices

3.1InnerFactorsthatInfluencethePrices

Therearesomanyfactorsexistinginsideanorganizationthataffectthesettingofpriceandallofthemcanhardlybeovercome,suchaspricingtarget,rawmaterialcost,productioncost,transportationcost,salescost.Thoughthesefactorsareunremovable,wecanmaximizecompany’sprofitsbyreducingthenegativeimpactofthesefactors,optimizingtheuseofresourcesandloweringtherelevantcostsorfindingalternatives.

3.1.1OrganizationPolicy

Everyorganizationhasitsownpolicies,suchasproductpolicy,qualitypolicy,environmentpolicy,enterpriseculture,etc.Thesepolicies,intheendwouldaffectorganization’spricingstrategytosomeextent.Forexample,apumpmanufacturerpromisesitscustomersthatifthecustomerfoundthepumppurchasedfromthecompanyhasanyproblemswithinfiveyearstheywouldreplacethepartsfreeofchargeforitscustomersandsendtherepairmentotheapplicationspotwithin72hoursafterreceivingthecallfromthecustomer.Thisisagoodphenomenonandthecustomerwouldbeverysatisfiedbecauseofgoodafter-saleservices.However,manufacturer,ofcausehadalreadyaddedallthecostsassociatedwithreplacedpartsandquickafter-saleservicestothepriceofproductitselfbeforehepromisedhiscustomersforthesimplereasonthatthecostforreplacingdefectivepartsandcostforsendinghisrepairmentocustomer’sidecouldbemuchmoreexpensivethanthetotalpriceofpumpitself.Inotherwords,Itiscustomerhimselfwhopaidforthereplacedpartsandquickservicesandtheproductpriceofthismanufacturerismuchhigherthanothermanufacturersoragentsduetofreepartsandquickservicesthatmanufacturerprovides.

3.1.2PricingTarget

Tosurviveintoday’shighlycompetitivemarketplace,companiesneedpricingobjectivesthatarespecific,attainable,andmeasurable.Realisticpricinggoalsthenneedperiodicmonitoringtodeterminetheeffectivenessofthecompany’sstrategy.Generallyspeaking,thepricingobjectivescanbedividedintotwocategories:

profit-orientatedobjectives,sales-orientedobjectives.Therefore,profit-orientedpricingobjectivesincludeprofitmaximization,satisfactoryprofits,andtargetreturnoninvestment.

Profitmaximizationmeanssettingpricesothattotalrevenueisaslargeaspossiblerelativetototalcosts,inotherwords,tryingtomakeasmuchmoneyaspossible.Inreality,profitmaximizationdoesnotalwayssignifyunreasonablyhighpricesbecausewhenanorganizationsetsprices,thefirmoftenpricesitsproductsbaseduponthetypeofcompetitiveenvironmentitfaces,suchasbeinginamonopolyposition（beingtheonlyseller）orsellinginaseverelycompetitivemarketplace.

Satisfactoryprofitsareareasonablelevelofprofits.Ratherthanmaximizingprofits,manyorganizationsstriveforprofitsthataresatisfactorytothestockholdersandmanagement,inotherwords,alevelofprofitsconsistentwiththelevelofriskanorganizationfaces.TypicalexampleofSatisfactoryprofitsis:

InsomecountriesincludingChina,inordertomaximizeprofitstheshopownerwouldkeephisstoreopenfor24hoursadayand7daysaweek,however,insomeothercountries,theshopownermaynotwanttoworkthathardandmightbesatisfiedwithlessprofit.

Themostcommonprofitobjectiveisatargetreturnoninvestment（ROI）,sometimescalledthefirm’sreturnontotalassets.ROImeasurestheoveralleffectivenessofmanagementingeneratingprofitswithitsavailableassets.Thehigherthefirm’sreturnoninvestment,thebetteroffthefirmis.Manycompanies-includingGENERALMOTERS,VOLVE,BOCSH--usetargetreturnoninvestmentastheirmainpricinggoal.

Returnoninvestmentiscalculatedasfollows:

Returnoninvestment=

Assumingthatin2004JohnsonControlshadassetsof＄4.5million,netprofitsof＄550,000,andtargetROIof10percent.ThiswastheactualROI:

550,000

4,500,000

Asyoucanseefromtheabove,theROIforJohnsonControlsexceedsitstarget,whichindicatesthatthecompanyprosperedin2004.Inpractice,acompanywithtargetROIcanpredetermineitsdesiredlevelofprofitability.Themarketingmanagercanusethestandardsuchas10percentor20percenttodeterminewhetheraparticularPricingandMarketingStrategyisfeasible.Inaddition,however,themanagermustweightheriskofagivenstrategyevenifthereturnisintheacceptablerange.

Sales-orientedpricingobjectivewasbasedeitheronmarketshareorondollarorunitsales.Manycompaniesbelievethatmaintainingorincreasingmarketshareisanindicatoroftheeffectivenessoftheirmarketingmix.Largemarketshareindeedoftenmeanthigherprofits,somanycompanieswouldliketodotheirbesttoincreasetheirmarketsharebyreducingproductpriceandofferingbetterproductsandservices.Althoughcompanieswhoapplysales-orientedpricingobjectivemayearnlessprofitsforeachproduct,theycanmakeupthelossofreducedpricesbysellingmoreproductsandservicestocustomers,Themoreproducts,servicesyouselltoyourcustomers,themoreprofitsyouearnandthebiggermarketshareyouoccupy.

3.1.3ResearchandDevelopmentCost

R&Dcostisabigfactorthatinfluencesthepricingsetting,inmodernsociety,innovationanduniquenessplaysabigpartinattractingcustomerstobuythecommoditiesyousellandpricesetting.Thequickeryoucaninnovateanewproductandlaunchtheproductontomarket,themoremoneyyoucanearnandquickerreturnyoucanget.Ofcause,themorecomplicatedtheproductis,thequickeryouwanttogetyourproductsontothemarket,themorecostyouwillhavetospendontheresearchanddevelopmentofnewproducts,intheend,allofthesecostshavetobeaddedintothefinalpricesofnewproductandthecostshavetobebornbyendcustomers.

3.1.4ProductionCost

Productioncostisdirectcostthatthemanufacturersandserviceprovidershavetopay,includingthecostofrawmaterial,machines,equipments,resources,labor,management,building,etc.Theproductioncostisthedirectcostandbiggestcostthatproductorserviceprovidershavetobear.Sotheproductioncostisthebiggestfactorthataffectsthesettingofprice.

3.1.5SalesCost

Salescostsincludemakingsalesplanning,hiringsalesstaffandselectingsaleschannel,hiringdistributorsorevensettingasalesofficeabroad,etc.Thesalesprocessescanbeverycomplicatedandexpensive.Inordertolowerthecostasmuchaspossibleandwinbiggerprofits,toselectrightsaleschannelandsalesstaffareveryimportant.

3.2ExternalFactorsthatInfluencethePrices

3.2.1GovernmentPolicy

Governmentpolicyhasbigimpactonpricesetting,evenaffectthesalesoftheproducts.Forinstance,ifgovernmentincreasestaxesorcustomstariffsoncertaincommodities,orputaconstraintoncertainproducts,thesalesandpricesofthecommoditieswouldbegreatlyaffected.Althoughinmodernworld,thecountriesarebecomingmoreopentoeachother,theratediscriminationsandunfairnessarestillexisting,governmentpolicychangesfrequentlyinsomecountries.Sowhenanorganizationisplanningtoexporttheircommoditiestoothercountry,orimporttheproductsfromoverseas,itisveryimportanttomakesurethesituationofthecountrythatthefirmisgoingtodealwithisstable,suchasthepoliticalstability,governmentpolicyandeconomicstatus.Forexample,afirmsignedasalescontractwithasmallcountryanddeliveredallthecommoditiesthatcontractrequirestothecooperatedcountry,duringthetransportationperiod,thereisawarbrokeoutinthatcooperatedcountry,soitisalmostimpossibleforthefirmtogetthemoneybackorithastospendmuchmoreeffortsandcoststogetthemoneyback.

3.2.2MarketConditions

Whensettingpriceitisextremelyimportanttoinvestigatemarketcondit