Pricing Table Topics: 9 of Clubs – Buyers on a Relationship Journey want to Learn from You

Arnab Sinha is a Managing Director and Senior Partner in the Philadelphia office of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the North American Lead for Pricing Topic, as well as Global Lead for Revenue Management.  In this episode, Arnab shares what's behind writing the book 'Game Changer' and discusses how the pricing strategy frameworks discussed inside the book works for the different industries like software, consumer packaged goods, pharmaceuticals, among others.   Why you have to check out today’s podcast: Discover how to create value across diverse industries and implement innovative pricing strategies that can revolutionize your approach Uncover the innovative pricing strategies used by pharmaceutical companies to market their products Find out the crucial role of creating value to effect strategic pricing   "Figure out how much value you want to share, and how you communicate that, because that's what drives long-term value creation." - Arnab Sinha   Topics Covered: 01:14 - How he got into pricing and why he never regretted choosing it over mechanical engineering 03:48 - What's behind writing the book 'Game Changer' 06:21 - Pivotal role of value creation in pricing strategy as gleaned from the book 08:03 - How his pricing strategy framework be used in software companies 11:40 - Significance of understanding customer needs and tailoring offerings accordingly for both acquisition and retention, with competition in mind 14:25 - The strategic pricing approach for consumer packaged goods companies  17:34 - Understanding the 'uniform game' in the consumer packaged goods and how it is influenced by factors such as brand strength and price gap elasticity in relation to competitors 20:08 - From a static view of pricing strategy in the CPG towards a dynamic approach utilizing AI and machine learning to model the best pricing strategy 22:00 - Innovative pricing strategy in pharmaceuticals 26:42 - Pricing based on where value is created 29:22 - Arnab's best pricing advice 30:03 - Discussing on how much value should one keep   Key Takeaways: "I think the competitor's price is a critical input. And this is where we weave it in through something like your brand strength and your brand equity." - Arnab Sinha "And this is where I think our belief is, it is not just about the one-time value of one transaction, but you need to think about the lifetime value of all of the consumers you will be serving." - Arnab Sinha "...at the intersection of the cost and competitive game, you need to understand if you are creating value and make a choice of how much value you want to share regardless of what game you're playing. Because in the absence of value creation, there is no transaction." - Arnab Sinha   People/Resources Mentioned: Jean-Manuel Izaret: https://impactpricing.com/podcast/563-game-changing-pricing-strategies-for-long-term-success-with-jean-manuel-izaret/ Game Changer: How Strategic Pricing Shapes Businesses, Markets, and Society by Jean-Manuel Izaret and Arnab Sinha: https://www.amazon.com/Game-Changer-Strategic-Pricing-Business/dp/1394190581 SAP: https://www.sap.com Oracle: https://www.oracle.com/ph/ Quickbooks: https://quickbooks.intuit.com Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com Coke: https://www.coca-cola.com/ph/en Pepsi: https://www.pepsi.com Walmart: https://www.walmart.com Kroger: https://www.kroger.com/ Publix: https://www.publix.com Target: https://www.target.com Pfizer: https://www.pfizer.com   Connect with Arnab Sinha: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arnab-sinha   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

4 Mars 202432min

Jean-Manuel Izaret leads BCG’s Marketing, Sales & Pricing practice globally. They partner with leading companies across industries to transform their commercial functions leveraging cutting edge digital and analytics capabilities to help them grow.  In this episode, Jean-Manuel reveals the impact of your pricing models on maximizing your pricing strategy.   Why you have to check out today’s podcast: Explore the factors behind the fluctuating gasoline prices, where price rises easily when the market is up, and takes time lowering when the market is down Get an exclusive preview of the subjects discussed in the Game Changer book Discover what a ‘choice game’ is all about   "Think about how to share the value with the market and with others, you'll bring long-term customers and loyalty, and you'll build a fantastic business for yourself." - Jean-Manuel Izaret    Topics Covered: 01:36 - How he got into pricing 02:54 - Why gas price tends to go higher fast than it goes down 05:46 - Are gas price and other commodities coming back down 07:27 - What made him write the book and a sneak peak into the topics 12:29 - Important thoughts on value-based and cost pricing and identifying brands for illustration 20:29 - Relevance of elasticity in pricing 24:23 - His game of choice and why 26:45 - Industries that have huge advantage with value pricing 27:20 - Jean-Manuel's best pricing advice   Key Takeaways: "It is helpful for anybody in any market to think about the value that they create for customers. And never thinking about it is usually a mistake." - Jean-Manuel Izaret "Everywhere you are, think about what people on the other side are doing, and is it relevant for you? How can you learn from that?" - Jean-Manuel Izaret "When people think about pricing, they tend to think about prices. They tend to think about the number. If you want to reframe the conversations about how you can gain more traction in the market, think about your pricing model." - Jean-Manuel Izaret   People/Resources Mentioned: Game Changer: https://www.amazon.com/Game-Changer-Strategic-Pricing-Business/dp/1394190581 Shell: https://www.shell.comNetflix:https://www.netflix.com/ph-en/ Apple: https://www.apple.com Napster: https://www.napster.com/availability Sony: https://www.sony.com/en/   Connect with Jean-Manuel Izaret: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/izaret/ Email: jmi@bcg.com   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

26 Feb 202429min

This one is the 9 of Clubs from the Impact Pricing card deck.  We often hear the word 'strategic' as in, "Hey, I'm making a decision today so that it grows my business someday in the future." Well, that's exactly what we want to do when we think about the lifetime value of a customer. I'm not so worried about, "Can I get the three year contract signed today?" Many companies do. But when you try to get the three year contract signed right away, you make it harder to win the customer.  But what if you took a one year contract? Or what if you took a one month contract? Or even had a free trial period. And you let people get into your product, and you deliver so much value that they never leave. What we just did was get them into our ecosystem. And then over time we can get them to buy more from us, to stay with us. And that's because we know we're delivering a ton of value.  This is what it means to focus on lifetime value. I'm okay taking a smaller number today because I know that over time this customer is going to grow with me and give me a whole lot more money that I'm trying to capture today. Whereas if we focus on the value of the three year contract, it's oftentimes hard to win that customer today. We hope you enjoyed this example of Pricing Table Topics. What you just heard was done without a script. If you have any questions or feedback, please email me, mark@impactpricing.com. Now, go make an impact.   Connect with Mark Stiving:  Email: mark@impactpricing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

23 Feb 20242min

This one is the 9 of Diamonds from the Impact Pricing card deck.  When we think about subscriptions, and I've talked to several companies who are trying to move from more of a transactional business to a subscription business, they think it's 'just pricing'. "Oh, we want to set our price this way." But it turns out it changes so much in your business, not just the way you set pricing. One of my favorite things about the subscription business model is that buyers pay us for a continuous stream of benefits, meaning we're delivering benefits month after month after month. The question in your business is, are you truly delivering benefits month after month after month? In which case, maybe you have a good business for starting a subscription business model. Then we want to think about, not only how are we delivering it, but then, how much value do they get each month? How do we start to capture that? And so, we can certainly price it, but we really need to structure our company around winning these customers.  And then we have to figure out, how do we keep them? How do we minimize churn? And over time, we figure out how to grow these customers. How to get them to upgrade or buy more from us? So, subscription isn't as simple as, 'let's change the way we do pricing'. It really is an entire business model. We hope you enjoyed this example of Pricing Table Topics. What you just heard was done without a script. If you have any questions or feedback, please email me, mark@impactpricing.com. Now, go make an impact.   Connect with Mark Stiving:  Email: mark@impactpricing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

21 Feb 20242min

Dan Zatta is a leading management advisor in topline growth. He specialized in profit improvement on the revenue side, with extensive experience in pricing. He is the author of the books ‘The 10 Rules of Highly Effective Pricing’ and ‘The Pricing Model Revolution’, translated into 10+ languages. In this episode, Dan shares how these pricing models he mentions in his book can greatly impact a company's growth and profitability when used in a comprehensive approach.   Why you have to check out today’s podcast: Explore the various pricing models that can significantly influence your bottom line Discover a pricing model that helps you identify an additional unique selling point, ultimately boosting profitability Learn why it's crucial to have a holistic perspective of the company's overall impact before embracing innovative revenue models   "Make sure to be quick in increasing prices, ideally combine this with additional value to meet your profitability targets." - Dan Zatta   Topics Covered: 01:13 - What finally got him into pricing after being a generalist 02:05 - A trick he does to gain sales peoples' support when increasing prices 02:32 - What inspired him to write his book 'The Pricing Model Revolution' 04:16 - Pricing as not an exact science 05:29 - An interesting fact about another reason for writing his book 'Revenue Management in Manufacturing' 07:34 - From an academic writing style to using language understood by non-pricing experts in writing his books 08:48 - What AI-based Pricing can do for your bottom line even when you are already an advanced organization 11:19 - Many more AI-based pricing opportunities available even with companies already using AI 12:34 - Explaining what Neuro Pricing is and the tool used for this 14:34 - Creating another source of competitive advantage in pricing with outcome-based pricing 17:18 - The need for comprehensive view into the company before adopting pricing models 19:31 - Defining Sympathetic Pricing 21:52 - Important thoughts on the idea of price fairness 25:21 - What is Psychological Pricing  27:28 - Dan's best pricing advice   Key Takeaways: "Let's think about value also when we price and looking into outcomes could be one of those." - Dan Zatta "If you are not changing your processes the way you're approaching how salespeople are compensated, then you risk having an issue with the model that maybe is great, but it's not pushed internally. And the same can be the case with incentives for clients." - Dan Zatta "The impact of volatility of raw materials, there is still inflation in a number of countries. So rather than waiting, make sure that you're not losing time because the more time passes when costs are increasing, the more time you will need to recover profitability." - Dan Zatta   People/Resources Mentioned: The Pricing Model Revolution by Danilo Zatta: https://www.amazon.de/dp/1119900573/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk Revenue Management in Manufacturing: State of the Art, Application and Profit Impact in the Process Industry by Danilo Zatta: https://www.amazon.com/Revenue-Management-Manufacturing-Application-Industry/dp/3319302396 Uber: https://www.uber.com Lyft: https://www.lyft.com Peter Drucker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Drucker   Connect with Dan Zatta: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danilo-zatta/   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

19 Feb 202428min

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on January 11, 2024, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go. Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/brilliant-price-move-by-amazon-prime/ If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at mark@impactpricing.com.  Now, go make an impact.   Connect with Mark Stiving: Email: mark@impactpricing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

16 Feb 20243min

This one is the 9 of Hearts from the Impact Pricing card deck. I found it fascinating when I studied subscriptions coming from a more traditional or transactional type of business where people would buy something from you, and then you have to get them to buy again. In a subscription, people buy something from you and then they pay you month after month, or year after year. And in that business model, there are several things that are unique. But one of them is that you suddenly have to focus on how do we keep a customer? We always have to win customers, but how do we keep that customer? And we've heard the word churn, and we know the churn is bad, and companies focus on how do I minimize churn. And there's also a third revenue bucket and that's called grow. Once I have a customer who's paying me and getting value for my product, how do I get them to pay me more money next year than they paid me this year? And we can typically do that with things like raising prices, or getting them to upgrade, or using more of our product. There are several of these techniques.  What's interesting though is that the tactics that we use inside our company to win customers is different than what we need to keep customers. And different again than what we need to grow customers. We suddenly have complicated our business model because we really and truly do need to manage all three of those revenue buckets separately. We hope you enjoyed this example of Pricing Table Topics. What you just heard was done without a script. If you have any questions or feedback, please email me, mark@impactpricing.com. Now, go make an impact.   Connect with Mark Stiving:  Email: mark@impactpricing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

14 Feb 20242min

Jon Jennings is the founder and managing partner of Jennings Executive Search. Established in 2014. His vision was to shape a firm anchored in transparency and value creation.  In this episode, Jon discusses the strategies for hiring pricing professionals and building a dedicated pricing team that significantly contributes to a company's strategic success.   Why you have to check out today’s podcast: Discover how to effectively structure your pricing team and determine the optimal number of pricing professionals to hire based on your company's size Explore crucial steps to assess pricing role offers, ensuring a thorough understanding and avoiding impulsive decisions Learn important factors to consider when hiring pricing professionals for high, mid, and entry-level pricing positions   "Once you can build those relationships with sales and the customers and understand what really makes them tick, it's a lot easier to price to it, to add value." - Jon Jennings   Topics Covered: 01:38 - How he paved a path into pricing 04:04 - What great impact a little tweak in pricing can do 05:12 - At what point are they able to start helping clients fix their pricing 06:18 - When do private equity firms decide to hire pricing consultants and pricing professionals 09:21 - Designing a pricing structure for a $50M manufacturing company 12:49 - How many pricing professionals you should hire given the size of your company 15:41 - Opportunities for pricing roles these days 17:39 - The best thing to do when looking for pricing jobs 19:06 - Insights on writing your resume and putting it on LinkedIn 21:23 - Vetting pricing jobs before jumping in 24:22 - A chance to talk and vet for a thousand individuals for pricing roles 25:14 - What does Jon look for when vetting people for pricing roles 27:54 - The need to think outside of the box when you're a pricing professional 28:40 - Jon's best pricing advice   Key Takeaways: When looking for job opportunities: "Look through your network. Just like anything, take your time, take a breath, it's going to be alright." - Jon Jennings “You don't need to jump at the first thing; evaluate it based on the merit of the opportunity." - Jon Jennings When vetting a job offer or a candidate for a job: "When it feels like they're covering something up or not, just not telling me the whole truth, that's when I get a little nervous." - Jon Jennings "They understand things connect, so that skillset tend, if they have some business acumen and a little bit of personality to go with it, they translate well to pricing." - Jon Jennings "I want to find people that like to break the wheel or build it, that's our approach to the more mid level. And the lower level is people that are just high achievers and with a quantitative math brain." - Jon Jennings   People/Resources Mentioned: Portco: https://www.portco.com GitHub: https://github.com   Connect with Jon Jennings: Website:  https://jenningsexec.com/pricing-strategy/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonjennings/   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com

12 Feb 202430min