Pricing College Podcast

In this episode of Pricing College - we take a look at the world of cigarettes and ask what the Marlboro man can tell us about marketing now he is basically banned.   We look at the tax collection role cigarette companies now play.   In today's episode, we're going to salute that time-honoured Aussie tradition of having a cigarette break. I think it's called a "Dury" or "Dora"? or maybe I'm exposi...

In this episode of Pricing College - we discuss the new Aussie Federal Government plan to boost domestic tourism by subsidising flights by 50%.   We discuss is price the major driver of tourism nowadays in a post Covid world - or is it the rationale expectation that your vacation will be ruined by State Governments locking down cities and closing borders willy nilly.   We're recording this podcast...

In this episode of Pricing College - we discuss what impact a cashless society will have on pricing. Will it mean less focus on budgets and costs, will people spend more or less - and what businesses and industries stand to benefit.   In today's episode, we want to discuss the movement to a cashless society. What that will mean for business, for consumers, for value and all things pricing related....

In this episode of Pricing College  - we discuss why so many companies do not practise or invest in value based pricing.   We discuss that value based pricing is difficult but very rewarding - and explain that many companies are not developed enough to truly pursue this systematic approach. In today's episode, we want to ask the question, why do some businesses push back on value-based pricing ? O...

In this episode of Pricing College - we look at the recorded music industry and the pricing model.   We discuss Spotify and what a lack of live concerts is doing to revenues in the Covid restrictions era.   What can bands and artists do?   This episode is about recorded music. The business and pricing model in the recorded music industry. Interestingly, we've actually had a lot of problems with ou...

In the first episode of 2021 - we discuss cruise ship promotions in early 2021.   Clearly given the continuing restrictions on everyday life in 2021 -whether you will ever sail on that cruise is doubtful - and if you do - will it be the way you remember?   Aidan and Joanna discuss promotions, overbooking, revenue management and if people are just buying a bit of sunshine!

In this episode of Pricing College we stray into an area we do not look at - asset pricing.   House prices are one thing most people have a view on.   We discuss how changing interest rates - really reflect lifetime cost of ownership and payment terms - and what value based pricing can tell us about it.     If there's one thing people love discussing in this era, it is house prices, houses, more h...

In this episode of Pricing College - Aidan and Joanna discuss the common psychological scenario - where the seller says thank you - and sometimes in a B2B environment - the procurement team almost seek to grandstand over the seller.    Does the seller view the customer as a boss? Is there a power dynamic at play here? What can we learn from a pricing perspective?   TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES   [00:00...

In this episode of Pricing College we ask has unbundling gone too far.   We discuss the travel and hotel industry - and give the example of Ryanair.   Unbundling can be a great strategy for segmentation - but sometimes we just want the full service!     The more things change the more they stay the same is an old saying. So today we really want to look into it. Whether the recent trends in many ar...

In this episode of Pricing College - we discuss how supermarket promotions work - and what suppliers need to know. Is your brand benefitting or being impacted by a promotion from the supermarket? How do promotions impact volume and sales and of course profit?   In today's episode, we want to talk about supermarkets. They are probably one of the most powerful actors and agents in the commercial env...

In this episode of Pricing College we discuss whether it makes sense to centralise pricing functions for large companies.   In recent years - we have seen multinationals seek to centralise pricing in certain cities - i.e. a centre of excellence - and have even see pricing for entire continents being centralised.   This can have pros - and also lots of cons.   In today's episode, we want to talk ab...

In this episode of Pricing College - we discuss how much pricing professionals from analysts to pricing directors get paid.   Will it make you jealous, proud or whet your appetite for a promotion?   It's a question that I'm often asked you know, How much should we spend on pricing analysts or a pricing manager? Often clients would consider pricing to be a lower salary than it is. So I often have t...

In this Episode of Pricing College - we talk about talking! What should you say and how should you describe pricing when talking to various stakeholders like sales, marketing, finance etc - or even the CEO.   The reality is that not everyone gets pricing the way you do - so you need to have a strategy to gain buy in.   In today's episode, we want to talk about discussing pricing with various stake...

In this episode of pricing college - we discuss what pricing optimisation is and where to start.   This is different to pricing strategy - and is a more numeric, data driven topic requiring specialist skill sets.   We run through the basics   In today's episode, we want to give a brief introduction to one of the more technical but useful pricing techniques which are pricing optimisation. So Joanna...

In this episode we discuss the forex market and how that really highlights common issues with cost plus pricing.   The foreign exchange market - forex - changes millions of times a day, every day - and is a major cost input to lots of businesses.   If a cost reduces - should you reduce the sell price? Go on guess!   In today's episode, we want to give an example of why cost-plus pricing can create...

Many CFOs love the numbers - and that often includes pricing. We have seen CFOs sign off on all pricing decisions in a business - but is that sustainable. Would a smart CFO run sales or marketing - usually not! We ask should a smart CFO run pricing?   In the previous episode, we have spoken about what a CEO should know about pricing . In this episode, we're going to discuss, what a CFO, the Chief...

We have seen it - and I am sure you have seen it. Businesses run on bizarre structures - based on States, regions or anything else. What could possibly go wrong - well to be honest, lots! When sales work regionally - and marketing and pricing work nationally - we predict lots of problems.   In today's episode, we want to dig a bit deeper into what we discussed in the last episode about companies d...

If you have ever seen Field Of Dreams with Kevin Costner - you will know the saying - build it and they will come. This often seems to be the approach of many companies - where they build a product and then simply expect sales and marketing to sell it as is. What could possibly go wrong? Lots.     In today's episode, we want to discuss that very common type of business where how the businesses run...

Apple is one of the biggest companies in the world. In this episode of Pricing college - we discuss what we really like about their pricing model. We cover value based pricing, the ecosystem and customer loyalty and also barriers to competition.     In today's episode, we want to talk about aspects of the pricing strategy utilised by Apple that we like or think are noteworthy.     Apple's a great...

In this episode of Pricing College - we discuss whether there are any good courses at schools, college or universities that really cover pricing strategy in a useful way. Many courses are as subsectors of marketing - but are there any courses we would recommend?     In today's episode, we want to discuss, Is there are Pricing courses at a university that we would recommend? Okay, I suppose to make...

In this episode of Pricing College - Aidan and Joanna discuss what a lightbulb or eureka moment is in pricing. This is when you actually realise what pricing is and can be - and that it is so much more than cost plus in a spreadsheet.   In today's podcast, we want to talk about the lightbulb moment. The light bulb moment is the minute when people realise all of a sudden seemingly, what pricing is...

In this episode Aidan and Joanna discuss why business intelligence and good data management systems are vital for pricing. If you can not measure, analyse and slice and dice numbers - it will almost be impossible to perform worthwhile pricing work and optimisations.     In today's episode, we want to talk about something that is often, I supposed overlooked and certainly at the beginning of a pric...

In this episode of Pricing College we ask why charging customers more or less based on their location - i.e. postcode or zip code may seem like a good idea - but may create many more issues than benefits. In pricing - it is vital to not annoy or alienate customers or potential customers - and of course - no one wants to feel discriminated against.     In today's episode, we want to talk about a pr...

More and more services for business and consumers are delivered as SAAS - Software As A Service. What common tricks and approaches in pricing can we see from these companies?   In today's episode, we want to cover one of the new more modern approaches to pricing that you'll see more and more. And that is the pricing approach used by SAAS companies or software as a service. You will commonly use th...

As they say - a fish rots from the head down - and if a CEO is not on board with a pricing project it is doomed to failure.   What should a CEO know about pricing - and we do not suggest they should get into the detail with pricing sheets!   In today's episode we want to ask the question, What should a CEO know about pricing ? I'll preface this by saying, obviously in a big company CEOs have one o...