A Quick Look at Pricing Strategies (Strategy)

Hello, I’m Marianne Tenenbaum, Branding Strategist, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are discussing pricing and how it is evolving in the marketplace.

Two recent stories in the New York Times and on CNBC covered a lively mix of pricing strategies being used by major businesses.

The NY Times article shared details of Joe’s Crab Shack testing a no-tipping pricing model which will include an increase in menu prices to enable the restaurant to pay its servers more money per hour.  Overall, Joe’s Crab Shack believes this will be benefit employees through increased financial security and improved team atmosphere while reducing turnover for the company.  Customer will no longer have to do the math, however, it is yet to be seen how they will respond to increased menu prices and no longer being able to express their opinion of the service via the tipping process.

 CNBC focused on users of dynamic pricing models such as Uber and AirBNB who raise prices in response to high demand.  Disney is considering a pricing scheme where they would increase costs on high-demand days and lower it on slower days hoping to move traffic to days that currently have more capacity.

Ski resorts are applying dynamic pricing with a different twist.  They offer discounts for lift tickets purchased in advance with that discount declining as the opening of the ski season draws near.  Golf courses are using a similar approach to fill tee times and level demand.  These are good examples of where consumers can benefit from a dynamic pricing strategy.

As technology advances, parking meters, professional football and video games are all using some form of dynamic pricing.  Take a look at your own business.  Determine how you can leverage a pricing strategy to achieve a result such as leveling demand, driving traffic or increasing employee/customer satisfaction.

Once a Day Marketing™ positions brands to become #1 in the minds of target customers.  Visit our website at www.onceadaymarketing.com.  Contact Marianne Tenenbaum at (505) 699-7849 or email mten@onceadaymarketing.com.  Listen to Ask Those Branding Guys™ every Monday at 11:00am (MDT) streaming live on SantaFe.com KVSF 101.5 FM.

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