When Profits Collapse, Don’t Turn to Discounting

I’ve been in the business world for over 40 years and I’ve lost count of the number of times that discounting has exacerbated a sales decline it was intended to avert. Conversely, I’ve seen sale declines turn around with amazing alacrity through more focused, value-oriented marketing messages.
Read More

A Pricing Problem

I recently had a truly unusual, memorable experience facilitating a discussion about pricing. What made it unusual? There wasn’t one question about pricing. Yet every person there described their ‘problem’ as a pricing problem. What were the real issues?
Read More

Flying Blind

Imagine that you’re a seasoned pilot. You’ve filed your flight plan, then a massive snow storm hits. Visibility is zero and the winds are gusting up to 30 knots. Are you going to take off?
Read More

The Wrong Hero

If you want your marketing messages to translate into sales at premium prices, tell stories in which customers and prospects can experience the joy of your offerings—even if they haven’t tried them yet.
Read More

The Allure of Low Prices

I missed the irony on my first read of the email in which a marketing firm talked about pricing. The second reading left me laughing. It never ceases to amaze me how alluring low prices are to sellers.
Read More

Of Price and Profits

How is it that businesses consistently fail to see the relationship between price and profits? What I suspect is that many businesses believe that it’s easier to compete on price than to differentiate.
Read More