This article on “the inflation imperative” is an excerpt from the second edition of Pricing with Confidence, due to be published in October 2022. Pricing with Confidence: Ten Rules for Increasing Profits and Staying Ahead of Inflation was written by Reed K. Holden and Jeet Mukherjee of Holden Advisors, with the intent to provide readers with the tools and resources required to build an organization that executes well in the face of volatility.
Inflation is back, cost volatility and supply chain disruptions are continuing, and the availability and supply of raw materials are inconsistent. While these trends show no signs of abating, economic concerns are growing, and companies are wondering how they should adjust their pricing to offset constant inflation without jeopardizing future revenues. Industrial players are paying more attention to their pricing strategies to cope with inflation and ensure sustainable impact, as the authors explain.
Charging different prices is often fairer than charging everyone the same price. While there are no standard answers to the question of what makes a price fair, business leaders can embrace market transparency, understand what drives the perceptions of fairness in their market, and ensure that they offer prices that customers will perceive as fair. With the right understanding and the right approach, companies can vary prices in ways that mutually benefit themselves and customers, and perhaps society as well, as the author explains.
The purpose of this paper is to provide more information about what customer value means, how it is materialized in pricing and selling processes, and how buyers perceive value and manage it versus price. Customer value is now the number one imperative for all organizations as they build the plans for their next five to ten years, as the author explains.
Inflation is headed up over 8% per year and could go over 10% in the United States. Interest rates are rising in response, and the economy could tumble into a recession (two consecutive quarters of contraction). Boards need to help their companies develop the resilience to survive these changes and prepare them to adapt to a changing environment. One step towards doing this is to ask some basic questions about pricing, as the author explains.
Successfully managing cost volatility has a material impact on customer satisfaction, sales team satisfaction, and profitability. That’s why it’s imperative to solve this challenge in a way that effectively serves all constituents, as the author explains.
This essay focuses on eight tips that will set you on a path to building organizational capabilities through an outstanding pricing team, which improves not only the bottom line but the combined abilities and contributions of each of the major functions in the organization.
Few chief executives have faced the challenge of leading a company through an inflationary spike like the one we are currently experiencing. Lessons from strong leaders and bold action can help CEOs make the decisions that only they can make.
After two years of disruption, organizations need to adapt an agile mindset to be flexible and dynamic to grow margin and revenue. What are pricing teams and revenue managers doing to stay ahead? Below are the four key pricing tactics you cannot afford to ignore.
Virtually every type of business is feeling the effect of current inflation levels and are being forced to raise prices in order to continue operating profitably. Although most customers understand the current economic pressures and see that prices are increasing everywhere, where things can get messy is in the “how” and “how much” behind these increases. In this article, the author provides best practices for avoiding the appearance of “greedflation.”