Ever wonder how to make more profit without spending thousands of dollars on advertising? Then, take a look at your pricing strategy and some of the pricing mistakes you may unknowingly be making.
Figuring out your pricing model can be a struggle for many companies and businesses. You don’t want to use the same prices as most of your competitors, or you won’t stand out. But you also don’t want to charge so little that you don’t make a profit.
Your pricing strategy needs to be based on extensive market research. However, it also needs to be flexible enough that you can update it according to other factors. The cost structure needs to deliver the optimal price for your product lines without leaving money on the table. The bottom line is directly affected by your pricing strategy.
Here are twelve pricing mistakes examples you should avoid if you want to turn a hefty profit.
1. Pricing Based Solely on Undercutting Your Competition
People love making purchases based on price. It’s one of the biggest reasons certain online retailers have grown in popularity. However, changing your pricing structure based solely on that fact can often prove a mistake for most businesses.
Not only may your product or service come across as substandard, but people may also consider it less dependable than the alternative.
2. Ignoring Customers’ Perception of Value
Even though some customers love buying affordable products, you also have to consider whether or not they consider the item of value. They are looking for a solution to their problems, and they’ll often pay more if something promises a better outcome.
If you charge less for a service than your competitor, it may give a customer the idea that yours isn’t worth as much simply based on the cost.
3. Not Segmenting Customers
Rarely do businesses offer a single product that fits every customer segment equally. Different prospects have varying interests and budgets, and you need to deal with them accordingly.
Segmenting your customers based on common characteristics can improve both your sales and your customer acquisition rate. In addition, by grouping current and potential customers, you can create individualised strategies for different demographics.
4. Not Trying Enough Price Points
One of the biggest product pricing mistakes you can make is deciding on a particular price point and never adding to it. If it’s worked before, it should work again, right?
However, offering multiple price points allows you to scale your product for different households while creating multiple streams of income. Additionally, you can offer a more budget-friendly product to help more people while simultaneously appealing to customers who may return later on.
5. Overcomplicating Pricing Presentation
How producing pricing appears to a customer can influence their purchasing decisions and their willingness to pay. In practice, this means making your prices seem as simple as possible.
For example, both the prices of $1,500.00 and $1500 are exactly the same. However, the first looks and sounds larger than the latter. You should also avoid listing out all your different pricing options in a single presentation.
6. Not Updating Pricing
Price changes are inevitable, even if a certain one has done well for your company. You have to adjust for new trends, consumer tendencies, and any changes your competition makes.
There’s also the chance that inflation makes your materials more expensive, which means you’ll have to update your prices to break even.
7. Not Budging on Profit Margins Across Multiple Products
A good pricing strategy won’t treat all of your products the same. For example, you may want to make a consistent profit margin with all of your products, but they could have different markets with different buyers. As such, your business will need to be priced to reflect those variables.
8. Not Considering Context
Context is key, whether you’re selling a product in the middle of a pandemic or using a retailer in a fancier part of town.
Customers are more willing to pay higher prices for a product sold in an upscale area, as they subconsciously see it as higher quality. On a similar note, advertising your service as the more affordable option may give the impression that it’s also cheaper in quality.
9. Not Considering a Competitor’s Reaction
Shifting any of your prices can affect your competitor, whether intended or not. If they’re paying any attention, they’ll notice how your lowered prices or new packages have caught the attention of their former customers.
It’s only a matter of time after that before they make some changes of their own. Anticipate their reaction and make your own adjustments.
10. Making Pricing Decisions That Don’t Align With Business Objectives
Pricing decisions should always be about assisting your business to grow. Growing your business goes hand in hand with satisfying and retaining your customers and providing good customer service. Their satisfaction leads to more sales.
However, you can’t ignore your salespeople. Your quotas and targets set the work culture. An acceptable sales quota must be fair, transparent, deliverable, and supported.
11. Incentivising Sales on Revenue Alone
Revenue is the total amount of income generated by your operations. Profit is the amount of income that remains after all your expenses.
Bonuses should not be based on revenue alone, as sales will focus more on sales volume rather than the actual profit. So even if they hit these higher sales revenue targets, your company will be losing out on their profit margins.
12. Holding Pricing at the Same Level
Holding pricing at the same level for too long can be detrimental to your business. Deciding when to change your prices can cause a lot of anxiety for companies that have just started to see some real success. However, despite this fear, any pricing strategy needs to incorporate when to raise or lower the prices in reaction to market changes.
There are a few different signs that you may need to change your prices.
If your competitors are charging more for worse products, then that shows people are willing to pay more than you expected. So, price yourself accordingly if you own a superior product.
On the opposite end, your sales staff may rely on sales or price cuts in order to close deals. When that happens, it shows that your customers aren’t willing to pay full price for whatever you’re offering. So, if you intend to continue your business, you’ll have to make some adjustments.
Avoid Unnecessary Common Pricing Mistakes
Your business’s survival depends on your pricing strategy. Make some pricing mistakes, and your competitors will seize the opportunity to win over your customers. On the other hand, get it right, and you can be the one setting the standard in your area.
Experience matters for making those decisions, which is where we come in.
Sales Focus Advisory provides consulting on increasing sales, improving performance, and much more. Connect with us to learn about our services and tell us about your goals for the next twelve months.
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You may also be interested in reading these articles:
- Redefining Your Pricing Strategies to Avoid Customer Loss
- Cost Cutting Without Curbing Your Growth
- Getting Sales Quota Setting Right
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