PricingBrew

Insights & Tips

Already a subscriber? Login

Become a subscriber and unlock an information arsenal focused on making your pricing efforts more effective.

The Good (Bad) News About Pricing Pressure

We asked the PricingBrew audience to tell us about the pricing pressure they’ve been experiencing in their businesses. Here’s how the results have broken out:

Pricing Pressure Pulse Poll Chart

All things considered—the unstable global economy, the unpredictable political climate, massive fluctuations in energy and input costs, just to name a few—it’s not too surprising that most B2B pricing groups (63%) are reporting that pricing pressure has been on the rise. And while many (31%) are reporting little change, only a very small slice of respondents (6%) are actually reporting a decrease.

Oh, to be in that 6%! Wouldn’t that be fantastic? If we’re in the “More Than Usual” morass, it’s hard not to be envious of those residing in the “Less Than Usual” utopia. Everyone should strive to be a Six Percenter, right?

Well…let’s think about that for a minute…

Let’s say you’re pushing the boundaries of your value proposition in the marketplace. Let’s say you’ve got a tight fist wrapped around your price segments and volume schedules. Let’s say that you expect discounts to be earned through behavior and not words…or even threats. Let’s say you’re doing everything you need to do to protect your margins and maximize your revenues and profits.

Think you might experience some pushback? Some…oh, I don’t know…pricing pressure?

In a sense, increasing pricing pressure might actually be a sign that you’re on the right track and pushing hard to do the right things. Conversely, decreasing pricing pressure might be sign that you’re leaving big money on the table!

Now, I know for a fact that some of the Six Percenters in our poll are indeed doing all of the right things. And as a result, they are finding it easier to win the business they want to win, at the prices they deserve to command. I also know for a fact that many in 63% are doing all of the right things. And as a result, they’re experiencing more pricing pressure.

The point is that reduced pricing pressure isn’t really the goal. After all, you can achieve that by just lowering your prices to the point where no one but your shareholders has a reason to complain.

No, the real goal is to do the right things and do them well. Sometimes, doing all the right things will have the added benefit of reducing the amount of pricing pressure you experience.  But sometimes…precisely because you’re doing all the right things…you will actually experience more pricing pressure.

Get Immediate Access To Everything In The PricingBrew Journal

Related Resources

  • Survival Strategies for Raising Prices

    In this on-demand training seminar, learn why some B2B companies struggle with price increases while others are able to do it with far less pain and angst. What are leading companies doing differently to execute price increases with far less risk, conflict, and uncertainty?

    View This Webinar
  • Finding Margin Leaks in Your Sales Processes

    Every sale is the result of a process. With any process, the quality of the final product is determined by the raw materials. This diagnostic helps improve pricing results by identifying root causes in your sales processes.

    View This Diagnostic
  • The Fundamentals of Price Structure

    In this on-demand webinar, we explore ten different approaches for structuring your prices to align to customer needs and priorities---from bundling, add-ons and multi-part prices to volume schedules, surcharges, and more.

    View This Webinar
  • The Fundamentals of Multinational Pricing

    Multinational expansion often brings a massive increase in pricing complexity. In this session, we discuss how to cut through the complexities, focus on the fundamentals, and drive big performance improvements.

    View This Webinar