آیا قیمت مناسب است؟ راهنمای قیمت گذاری برای افزایش سود آوری

Pricing is a key element of the marketing strategy. It does not require significant investments or resources, and is perhaps the most accessible lever to manage profitability. Even minor fluctuations in pricing can have a significant impact on both revenues and profitability. As such, lack of careful planning in pricing is a wasted opportunity. With this as a backdrop, we make a case for precision in pricing to enhance profitability. Since consumers vary in their preferences, motivations, and propensity to spend, they assign varying degrees of emphasis regarding price upon their purchase decisions. We argue that pricing is a creative exercise in math and behavioral economics, and companies should stay focused on profits. We also provide a series of guidelines for creating effective base prices, and then modifying them to enhance profitability. Finally, monitoring prices at the transaction level will reduce leakage in profits and further add to the bottom line.

Of all the tools available to marketing managers, pricing has the most immediate impact on both the top and bottom lines. The advantages offered by pricing are extremely powerful. When pursued carefully, businesses can make significant gains via pricing, and the impacts are easily seen. According to a McKinsey & Company study based on Global 1200 companies, average operating profit accounts for 9.1%, with 66.4% accounted by variable costs and 24.5% accounted by fixed costs. Therefore, on average, a 1% increase in price would lead to an 11% increase in operating profit; a 1% increase in sales volume would increase profits by 3.7%; a 1% decrease in variable cost would increase the operating profit by 7.2%; and for a 1% drop in fixed cost, profits would increase by 2.7% (Baker, Marn, & Zawada, 2010). Looking at it another way, to double the profits, price just needs to be increased by about 9%; so a 10% increase in price can more than double the profits. In short, modifying price has the highest leverage (see Table 1). Arguably, it's also the most accessible lever to pull. Companies work consistently to cut costs, but since price is relatively difficult to assess, approximations come into play. Fine tuning (i.e., increasing) the price—even by 1%—can have a significant and immediate impact on profitability.This is, of course, based on the assumption that an increase in price will not lower the sales volume. While a drop in sales is certainly possible, it's worthwhile to note that a 1% increase in price rarely reduces sales by 2%—still resulting in a net increase in operating profit of 3.08%, even at a 2% loss in sales volume. Of course, the reverse is true, too. As a result, for most products, minor fluctuations in price can have a significant impact on profitability. This need for precision makes pricing a fascinating and critical decision. And, what resources does it entail? Pricing does not require any significant investments; neither new products need be introduced, nor large financial commitments made (as opposed to advertising, for example). In fact, managers must approach pricing as a creative exercise in math and behavioral psychology. If done correctly, profitability can be greatly enhanced via pricing.

In conclusion, all levels of the organization should be involved in pricing—from marketing and finance, to the CEO. Similarly, everyone should be involved—from frontline employees to operations and the sales force. It is important to educate all concerned about pricing, and integrating it in the company culture. Pricing has too much of an impact to be ignored, and promises high returns to warrant this