What is price /importance of price in marketing strategy.
Price
A price is a value will purchase a finite quantity, weight, or other measure of a good or service.
As the consideration given in exchange for transfer of ownership, price forms the essential basis of commercial transactions. It may be fixed by a contract, left to be determined by an agreed upon formula at a future date, or discovered or negotiated during the course of dealings between the parties involved.
In commerce, price is determined by what (1) a buyer is willing to pay. (2) a seller is willing to accept, and (3) the competition is allowing to be charged. With product, promotion, and place of marketing mix, it is one of the business variables over which organizations can exercise some degree of control.
It is a criminal offense to manipulate prices (see price fixing) in collusion with other suppliers, and to give a misleading indication of price such as charging for items that are reasonably expected to be included in the advertised, list, or quoted price.
Also called sale price and selling price.
Importance of Pricing in Marketing Strategy
1. Price is the Pivot of an Economy: In the economic system, price is the mechanism for allocating resources and reflecting the degrees of both risk and competition. In an economy particularly free market economy and to a less extent in controlled economy, the resources can be allocated and reallocated by the process of price reduction and price increase.
Price policy is a weapon to realize the goals of planned economy where resources can be allocated as per planned priorities. Price is the prime mover of the wheels of the economy namely, production, consumption, distribution and exchange. As price is a sacrifice of purchasing power, it affects the living standards of the society; it regulates business profits and, hence, allocates the resources for the optimum output and distribution. Thus, it acts as powerful agent of sustained economic development.
2. Price regulates demand: The power of price to produce results in the market place is not equalled by any other component in the product-mix.
It is the greatest and the strongest ‘P’ of the four ‘Ps’ of the mix. Marketing manager can regulate the product demand through this powerful instrument.
Price increases or decreases the demand for the products. To increase the demand, reduce the price and increase the price to reduce the demand.
Price has a special role to play in developing countries where the marginal value of money is high than those of advanced nations. De-marketing strategy can be easily implemented to meet the rising demand for goods and services. As an instrument, it is a big gun and it should be triggered exclusively by those who are familiar with its possibilities and the dangers involved.
It is so because; the damage done by improper pricing may completely sap the effectiveness of the well-conceived marketing programme. It may defame even a good product and fame well a bad product too.
3. Price is competitive weapon : Price as a competitive weapon is of paramount importance. Any company whether it is selling high or medium or low priced merchandise will have to decide as to whether its prices will be above or equal to or below its competitors. This is a basic policy issue that affects the entire marketing planning process. Secondly, price does not stand alone as a device for achieving a competitive advantage.
In fact, indirect and non-price competitive techniques often are more desirable because, they are more difficult for the competitors to copy. Better results are the outcome of a fine blend of price and non-price strategies. Thirdly, there is close relationship between the product life-cycle and such pricing for competition.
There are notable differences in the kinds of pricing strategies that should be used in different stages. Since the product life span is directly related to the product’s competitiveness, pricing at any point in the life-cycle should reflect prevailing competitive conditions.
4. Price is the determinant of profitability: Price of a product or products determines the profitability of a firm, in the final analysis by influencing the sales revenue. In the firm, price is the basis for generating profits. Price reflects corporate objectives and policies and it is an important ingredient of marketing mix. Price is often used to off-set the weaknesses in other elements of the marketing-mix.
Price changes can be made more quickly than any other changes in the product, channel, and personal selling and sales-promotion includes advertising. It is because; price change is easily understood and communicating to the buyer in a precise way. That is why, price changes are used frequently for defensive and offensive strategies. The impact of price rise or fall is reflected instantly in the rise or fall of the product profitability, thinking that other variables are unaffected.
5. Price is a decision input: In the areas of marketing management, countless and crucial decisions are to be made. Comparatively marketing decisions are more crucial because, they have bearing on the other branches of business and more difficult as the decision-maker is to shoot the flying game in the changing marketing environment.
Normally, profit or contribution is taken as a base for pay-off conditions. Price can be a better criterion for arriving at cut-off point because; price is the determinant of profit or contribution.
As pointed earlier, price as an indicator has a special role in the decision making process in developing countries because, consumer response to price changes will be more quick and tangible as people have higher marginal value of money at their disposal. For instance, if it is a decision regarding selecting product improvement possibilities, select that possibility which gives the highest price as compared to the cost.
These five points make product pricing an important and major function of marketing manager. However, until recently, it has been one of the most neglected areas of marketing management.
In fact, we must have a specialist in pricing as we do have in other functions of marketing. This negligence is quite evident from the fact that even the well-known companies in the world price their products on simple concepts of costs market position competition and desired profit. Scientific pricing is much more than this easy exercise.
