Introduction to Relationship Marketing – Meaning and Important Concepts
Ask any frequent flyer and a globe trotter, who enjoys flying with and always chooses his favorite airline as to why he/she insists on using the same airline every time. The answer will be that he/she is happy with the Customer Service. The airline spares no efforts to ensure that he/she is comfortable and enjoys […]
Response in Consumer Sector
In consumer sector, suppliers most probably come in contact with distributors or middle-men rather than directly to customers. For them, distributors are the actual customers and had to be in contact with them at all the business stages. The direct contact with customer happens very rarely and only in extraordinary situations like extreme complaint or […]
What is Brand Image? – Meaning and its Concept
Brand image is the current view of the customers about a brand. It can be defined as a unique bundle of associations within the minds of target customers. It signifies what the brand presently stands for. It is a set of beliefs held about a specific brand. In short, it is nothing but the consumers’ […]
Relationship Marketing Using the Internet
Introduction With the advent of the internet and big data analysis, organizations have been able to use relationship marketing and database mining as a powerful marketing tool. This combination of the internet, technology and relationship marketing is referred to as customer relationship management. Customer relationship marketing uses direct marketing, relationship marketing and database mining to […]
Relevance of Mass Media to Society
The Fourth Estate Mass media perform a vital and a crucial role in society. They are called the Fourth Estate, as they are one of the pillars of democracy along with the executive, legislature, and the other socioeconomic forces that bind a society together. In this context, it is important to note that they are […]
Pricing is an important parameter; organizations need to take care of while launching a new product or service in the market. Before deciding the price of a new product, it is essential for organizations to understand and also calculate total costs involved in the entire process of the product development be it designing, manufacturing or delivering the same. No organization works for charity and thus the price of a new product or service ought to be decided keeping in mind all such factors.
Penetration and skimming are two strategies which play a crucial role in deciding the price of a new product. When a new product is launched in the market, first and foremost it needs to meet and exceed the expectations of customers and then compete with other brands available in the market.
Competition does not really matter in the initial stages of product launch. What is more important at this stage is the survival of the product. Remember, price of a new product does affect the buying behaviour of end-users.
As an end-user if you come across a new product which is comparatively cheaper than the one you are already using, definitely you would not think twice before purchasing the same. The same happens in cases of new services as well. Why would you invest in an expensive holiday package when there is a new offer in the market at a comparatively low price?
Penetration refers to keeping the price of a new product relatively low such that it covers just the manufacturing costs while earning minimum profits for the organization. Keeping the price of a new product relatively low in the initial stages helps it penetrate the market easily and also get accepted among target audience.
Keeping the price a little low not only reduces the competition from other brands but also increases the sales and makes the product popular in the market. No one would even bother to look at your product if it is priced too high at the introductory stage, unless and until it has some exclusive features.
Organizations which depend on skimming strategy for pricing a new product often keep it at high prices and target only those who are actually interested in buying the new product. As against penetration strategy where the focus is to ensure the product is accepted by a wide range of audience, pricing as per skimming strategy ensures respective organizations earn huge profits. Organizations, in this case keeps a relatively high price for their products as they believe there is no harm in charging more from the end-users in exchange of a premium product.
A BMW or a Mercedes is never introduced at low prices as people do not mind paying for the comforts and luxuries, such brands offer. Can the price of a Maruti Suzuki car ever match with a BMW? Never. One dollar shops are very popular in US where products are priced at just one dollar. Such shops manage to earn huge margins as customers prefer buying more from these shops rather than burning a hole in their pockets.
Organizations dealing in premium products often depend on skimming technique to price their product. Trust me, keeping the price high, sometimes, ensures the product is not only exclusive but also offers additional features and benefits. Have you ever come across a low priced Hidesign Bag? Very rare. That’s the speciality and uniqueness of the brand.
A five star category hotel, if, introduces new deals and schemes for their regular customers, can never price it the way budget hotels do. Pricing also decides the premiumness of a certain brand.
A new product is also priced keeping in mind the paying capacity of target audience, prices offered by competitors and brand value.
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