According to Warren Buffett, "The single most important decision in evaluating a business is pricing power.” At a more tactical level, pricing is the #1 management lever on profitability but can often be an emotionally charged third rail. We will look at a balance of theory and practical application to provide some perspective on the art and science of pricing with useful takeaways, regardless of industry or function. Afterwards, you can decide if you agree with the famed Oracle of Omaha.
5. PRICING IS EMOTIONAL: REFERENCE PRICE
COMPARISON TO PERCEIVED ALTERNATIVES
Different Alternative
14X Price Increase
6. PRICING IS EMOTIONAL: EXPENDITURE EFFECT
SIZE OF PURCHASE IMPACTS PERCEPTION OF PRICE DELTA
Where does $595 Matter More?
7. PRICING IS EMOTIONAL: FAIRNESS EFFECT
GENERAL PERCEPTION TIED TO SELLER’S MOTIVES
$-
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
TicketPrice
26 Different Ticket Prices (Snapshot on 13 December)
United Flight from SFO to JFK (3 January 2013)
Start a riot on your next flight
9. PRICING IS SCIENTIFIC
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS FOR A CORPORATION (APPLE)
APPLE Annual Ending 9/16 %
Revenue $215.6B
COGS $131.4B 61%
OPEX $24.2B 11%
Operating Income $60.0B 28%
1.4%
2.2%
0.4%
3.6%
Rev Incr
COGS Decr
OPEX Decr
Price Incr
Profit Result from 1% Changes
Pricing is the
#1 Profit Lever
10. PRICING IS SCIENTIFIC
TACTICAL ANALYSIS FOR A REGION & PRODUCT SET (SSD)
Regional Data Prior Year
Price
Change
Constant
Volume
Constant
Margin$
Revenue $1,445,786
Unit Cost $410.46
Unit Price $674.03 (20%) $539.22 $539.22
# of Units 2,145 2,145 4,375
Margin % 39%
Margin$ $565,365 $276,198 $563,340
Margin$ cut in ½ [or] Unit Quota Doubled
12. PRICING CAN BE THEORETICAL…
FOUR COMPLEMENTARY PRICING THEORIES
Cost Margin Financial: Return on Fixed & Variable Costs
Price Customers Cust Sat: Willingness To Pay (WTP)
Price Competition Market Share: Price is Tool to increase SOM%
Reference
Value
Differentiated
Value
Maximize Value: Charge what it’s worth
ObjectivesTheory
13. … BUT DON’T BE TOO THEORETICAL
JC PENNY PRICING STRATEGY LAUNCHED IN FEBRUARY 2012
Became unprofitable & share price cut in ½ during
Ron Johnson’s 17-month tenure as CEO of JC Penny
23. PRICING IS SCIENTIFIC (APPENDIX)
MATHEMATICS AROUND 20% TACTICAL PRICE CHANGES
Regional Data Prior Year
Price
Change
Constant
Volume
Constant
Margin$
Revenue $1,445,786 $1,156,629 $2,359,091
Unit Cost $410.46 $410.46 $410.46
Unit Price $674.03 (20%) $539.22 $539.22
# of Units 2,145 2,145 4,375
Margin % 39% 24% 24%
Margin$ $565,365 $276,198 $563,340
Delta P /GM% Margin$ # of Units
20/39 -51% +104%
Notes de l'éditeur
Positioning Statement – I add structure, optimize for efficiency, and drive profit throughout sales & marketing organizations.
Agenda for Pricing – Emotion, then Science, then Theory, and close with Practical Takeaways
Warren Buffett brings the investor perspective
Think about Porter’s Five Forces – Suppliers, Substitutes, Buyers, New Entrants, Competitors
There will be a quiz at the end, too
Explain the picture as Ryan & Grampa, Notice the Leg
½ Price Why? Reference? Expenditure? Fairness
Ex 1 – Lamborghini @ yacht shows
Ex 2 – Promotion in the service = 1 month raise
Ex 3 – House payment – 35%-50% of monthly salary
Ex 4 – Engagement Ring = 1 month salary
Ex 1 – Gas, driving around the block
Ex 2 – Business Outsourcing
Ex 3 – BOM Pareto, Cisco HotLink situation
Ex 4 – Airline Tickets
Explain Graph
Refer back to Grampa
Apple P&L – Just under a quarter of a Trillion, Cost to Make, Cost to Develop & Sell, then what you put in your pocket
4 Ways to Impact the P&L – Price, Cost Reduce, OPEX Reduce, Sell More
Pricing is the most impactful
Cypress experience – detailed reviews of cost in the boardroom, whimsical price drops
European Region for Enterprise Solid State Drives
Punchline
Cost+ Disadvantage – Don’t always know cost, plus customers don’t care
WTP – “Customers don’t think how they feel. They don’t say what they think and they don’t do what they say.” David Ogilvy
Competition – SKP Study in 2014 where 58% in price ware, but 90% didn’t start it
Value – Downside is that it’s hard, resource intensive, training, time, people, tools (EVC at Cypress)
Ron Johnson hired in November of 2011, came from Apple Stores (since 2000)
When he began, ¾ sold @ 50%+ Discount, but did no testing before change
Merchandise Upgrade as well
2011 Profit = $380M, 2012 Profit = -$150M
Drop Price Last (courtesy of Madhavan @ SKP in the “Monetizing Innovation” book
Segment, Give away goods and/or reduce services, LTO
