This is a follow up to classes I taught that included a short section on pricing research methodologies. I promised some more details on the Van Westendorp approach, in part because information available online may be confusing, or worse. This article is intended to be a practitioner’s guide for those conducting their own research. [Read More]
Pricing Gurus and 5 Circles Research Blog Posts
Dutch ovens: paying a lot more means better value
An article on Dutch ovens in the September/October 2018 of Cook’s Illustrated gives food for thought (pun intended) about the relationship of between price and value. Sometimes higher value for a buyer means paying a lot more money – good news for the seller too. Dutch ovens (also known as casseroles or cocottes) are multipurpose, [Read More]
Methow Valley Ski Trails gets pricing right
The Methow Valley is a remote area in Eastern Washington State. It’s a destination recreation area year-round, and even more so in the winter when the North Cascades Highway is closed making a circular drive impossible. I’ve enjoyed skiing the trails in the Methow Valley on a number of occasions, and on a recent visit [Read More]
This survey Hertz: lack of thought
I recently took a survey sponsored by the Hertz Corporation, intended to assess the appeal of several new approaches to services. This post discusses some of the problems I found, and why you should avoid creating your surveys like this one. [Read More]
Valentine’s Day: think about seasonality and annual trends
Whether or not you have a retail product or service, there are lessons to be learned from Valentine’s Day. What are the annual seasonal variations in your business and what are the trends over longer periods? How do trends affect your research? [Read More]
When More is More: taking advantage of purchaser (mis)understanding of discounts.
Should you offer a discount to kick start sales of a new product? Or to revive sales of a forgotten product or service? Pricing Gurus recommends you hold the line and treat discounts as temporary, lest you simply lower the prices. [Read More]
Pricing Innovations – A Tale of Two Companies
Being innovative in pricing takes some good old-fashioned marketing work. You not only have to understand the value that you are delivering, but you also have to understand the personas that make up your customer base. Pricing Gurus has been tracking two companies that made significant innovative changes in their pricing structure: J.C. Penney and [Read More]