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:
Netprofitsaftertaxes
Totalassets
Returnoninvestment=
Assumingthatin2004JohnsonControlshadassetsof$4.5million,netprofitsof$550,000,andtargetROIof10percent.ThiswastheactualROI:
ROI=
=12.2percent
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
Whensett