You are in business, starting a new enterprise. How did you figure out how much to charge for your product or service? It is ultimately a strategic planning question in your business plan. In fact, the pricing of a product or a service is one of the most important aspects of your marketing strategy, which also includes product, promotion, placement (or distribution) and people.
Generally, pricing strategies include the following:
- Cost-plus pricing – simply calculating your costs and adding a mark-up;
- Competitive pricing – setting a price based on what the competition charges;
- Price skimming – setting a high price and lowering it as the market evolves;
- Penetration pricing – setting a price low to enter a competitive market and raising it later;
- Price bundling – combining products and/or services to increase value, and therefore price.
Your pricing strategy should be part of both the “marketing mix” (The 4P strategies: price, product, promotion and placement) and the general business strategy.
If yours is a new company, you must establish yourself in the marketplace. Your pricing strategy will have a huge influence on your customer acquisition skills.
Choose wisely!
Benoit Brunette, Project Officer
613-675-4661, ext. 8106 or 613-306-2614
[email protected]