Selling goods and services is not a simple task. You should invest much effort in each step of the process. Something as seemingly basic as pricing your goods is actually an important mission that will influence the success of your business. When deciding on the prices of your goods or services, it is necessary to pick a suitable strategy that will benefit you. Market pricing is one of the popular strategies that help define your prices based on a number of factors, such as prices of similar or identical goods and services within your specific market. It requires competitor price data to be collected. Read along to learn more about market pricing strategy, its components, advantages, and disadvantages.
About the Marketing Pricing Strategy
Marketing pricing means setting the prices for your goods and services based on the research of your competitors in the market. It is necessary to evaluate their prices and set your figures based on this information. For example, having a bakery will mean you need to evaluate the prices of all other bakeries in your area. After that, you will be able to decide on setting prices following one of three routes. Here is how you can set your market prices:
- Above market. This approach requires setting your prices higher than those found in your market on average. Businesses that offer more services or higher quality goods can set their prices higher. It is also common for well-known brands to have higher prices for their prestige.
- At market. Set the prices for your goods and services similarly to competitors. This is a viable strategy if you have common goods that do not differentiate from the average products on the market.
- Below market. These prices are lower than those of your competitors. It is important to ensure that you still earn enough profit this way. However, below-market prices might be popular among customers with low income, allowing you to surpass the competition.
Each of these approaches has advantages and disadvantages, and it is essential to pick one strategy that will suit your company best.
Factors to Consider When Setting Market Prices
Evaluating your competitors is only one component of market pricing strategy. You will also need to consider other factors when deciding on your prices. Here are the most essential ones:
- Cost of production. Whether you are selling goods or services, much money goes into production. This includes physical equipment, materials, production and office space, etc., as well as your employees’ work and more.
- Operating costs. Apart from the literal manufacturing of your products, there are other expenses, such as building or office expenses, administration costs, etc.
- Customer demand and supply. You should consider how saturated your market is with similar products and services, as well as how your potential customers are interested in these products. If there is high demand for your goods while not many businesses offer them in your specific area, you can adjust your prices to be higher. On the other hand, big competition and lower demand will mean that you need to keep your prices low as well.
- Lifecycle of your product. Each product on the market has its lifecycle. Some products have a rather long lifecycle, which means their prices will reduce over time. This can be easily tracked by looking at tech products, such as smartphones or computers.
- Price sensitivity. This factor is essential to consider as the type of your product or service will also influence the price sensitivity of your customer base. Clients tend to agree to pay more for certain types of products, whereas they might want to pick a cheaper option in some other cases. It is important to research your target audience to set your prices correctly as customers will pick your competitors with lower prices otherwise.
As you can see, it is highly important to consider many factors when deciding on your prices. They can be adjusted as you go based on the new information gathered from your competitors.
Key Benefits and Disadvantages of Market Pricing Strategy
Choosing market pricing has a few advantages for businesses. Here are the main benefits of this solution:
- Lower risks. This is especially true for popular markets with many competitors. In this case, it is a safe route to adopt market prices and continue with low-risk competition.
- Simple solution. Less research is needed to compete successfully if you choose market pricing for your company. In reality, you will only need to research one competitor to set your prices in accordance with them. However, it is still better to do more extensive research, which is quite accessible and low-effort.
- Higher profits. Even with a marker pricing strategy, you can improve your profits by catering to different target audiences. It is possible to attract customers who want to save money by purchasing cheaper goods and those who consider such prices rather high yet acceptable for good quality products.
It is also important to consider the potential cons of this marketing strategy:
- Focusing more on competition than on your clients. When focusing on setting appropriate prices and earning profits while surpassing your competition, it is simple to neglect your customers’ satisfaction.
- Losing profits. If you decide to set your prices below market, especially when you are only starting your business, it is simple to undersell this way. It is important to correct your prices to increase profits later on, even if you decide to attract more customers by having lower prices in the beginning.
- Depending on your competitors. Market pricing strategy involves following your competitors closely. This means that if one of your competitors fails with their pricing strategy, you might follow their lead too.
Market pricing is a simple strategy that has pros and cons for businesses. If you are starting your company, you might want to try out this low-effort strategy with smaller risks to begin your journey in the market.
nandbox App Builder
Market pricing for enterprises is a strategic strategy to deciding product or service prices based on market demand, competition, and consumer perceived value. It enables firms to remain competitive while increasing profits. Companies can use the nandbox App Builder to create custom mobile apps that help them streamline their pricing strategy. Real-time analytics, client feedback gathering, and promotional tools allow firms to dynamically modify rates and offer targeted promotions. Businesses may use nandbox to stay adaptable in a competitive market, optimize pricing strategies, and improve customer happiness, all while driving revenue growth.