Mastering the Nine Boxes: A Strategic Approach to Pricing with David Brown

David Brown is the author of "Banned Business Books, Volume 1, Pricing," a fictional account that narrates how a marketer and a pricing guru stand up and optimize the pricing function in a company.

In this episode, David shares what his book 'Banned Business Books' is all about highlighting the "Nine Boxes" framework for organizing and executing pricing strategies effectively. He emphasizes the critical role of a Pricing Council in bringing order and clarity to pricing decisions within a company. Additionally, he highlights the value of understanding customers deeply and segmenting them to optimize pricing and business outcomes.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Deep dive into the nine boxes framework, a comprehensive tool for organizing and executing pricing strategies.
• Learn the critical importance of understanding your customers as the foundation for effective pricing.
• Discover how to set up a pricing council and navigate the challenges of pricing in different organizations.

"Don't start thinking that you're going to figure out pricing by looking at margins; start with the customers."

- David Brown

Topics Covered:

01:34 - Sharing his pricing journey

03:31 - Discussing the role of finance professionals in relation to pricing and how their focus is on defending and improving margins

06:22 - What made him title his book as Banned Business Books

08:51 - Addressing a critique from Mark about the applicability of his book's content

10:26 - Elaborating on the origin and development of his "nine boxes" framework for pricing

14:09 - Discussing how different aspects of pricing, such as packaging and portfolio optimization fit within his "nine boxes" framework

16:02 - How he continues to use the "nine boxes" as a way to organize and prioritize pricing projects, especially when collaborating with a pricing council

18:07 - Sharing his insights on establishing and maintaining an effective pricing council

20:08 - Agreeing that pricing is a critical function and is often a new and somewhat undefined role

21:04 - Proposing the idea of a pricing council to a CEO

23:08 - David's best pricing advice

25:29 - What the Volume 2 of his book series will focus on

Key Takeaways:

"Price setting is critical; that's where you have the opportunity to start claiming the value that you deserve for your innovations." - David Brown

"The main thing that the Pricing Council has to have is energy and a purpose; the ones that do the best have a clear mandate, meaning that the decisions that the council takes on price are carried out and are effective across the company." - David Brown

"You want to speak with the leaders and the potential figures that are going to be in the pricing council first and understand what makes the company tick and what needs to be fixed before you start fixing things." - David Brown

People/Resources Mentioned:

• Unilever: https://www.unilever.com.ph
• Mosaic: https://www.mosaic.com/sustainability
• American Express: https://www.americanexpress.com
• Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/ph-en/
• Blackberry: https://www.blackberry.com/us/en

Connect with David Brown:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dbrown14/
• Website: www.bannedbusinessbooks.com

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: mark@impactpricing.com