Stop on a Dime
Pick the right price point to pull in profits.
URL:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2006/january/81662.html
Forget about searching for that one perfect price for your
product. Instead, says pricing expert Rafi Mohammed in The Art of Pricing (Crown Business, $25),
aim to find approximately right prices for several of your major
customer groups. Offer discounts to some; charge premiums to
others. Bundle to create high-priced packages for those who value
them; use bare-bones bargains to attract new customers. Urge
employees to sell higher-profit items, and limit their ability to
give price breaks.
If you've been consumed by cost control, consider thinking
about pricing instead. Moham-med cites a cross-industry study where
raising average prices by 1 percent meant 11 percent higher
profits, while a 10 percent average price hike increased profits
100 percent. This conversational, easy and informative read is
worth paying attention to.
Get Out the Magnifying
Glass
When one window in a building gets broken and stays that way, soon
all the windows will be broken. That's the idea behind Broken Windows, Broken Business (Warner
Business Books, $21.95) by PR executive Michael Levine. Levine
warns that every detail is critical. As a warning, he points to
Kmart, which alienated once-loyal shoppers with poor goods and only
moderately low prices. On the other hand, pampering passengers with
leather seats and personal TVs has helped JetBlue soar. Is it the
end of the big idea? Not quite, but the little things count,
too.
Good Reads
Check out these titles on the "Best Bets From
Entrepreneur" shelf at Borders.
Launch It! How to Turn Good Ideas Into Great Products That
Sell
by Molly Miller-Davidson, JoAnne Stone-Geier and Michael B.
Levinson, $21.95
Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching and
Keeping the Best People
by Bradford D. Smart, $29.95
Copy This! Lessons From a Hyperactive Dyslexic Who Turned a
Bright Idea Into One of America's Best Companies
by Paul Orfalea and Ann Marsh, $25.95
Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism
by Patricia Aburdene, $24.95
Mark Henricks is Entrepreneur's
"Staff Smarts" columnist.
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