Globally pricing strategies have been embraced in a myriad of diverse ways. Price analysts are developing new insights on the influence of price against demand and the customer’s propensity to spend. Our everyday life provides us with different challenges that prompt us to utilize hacks and strategies to overcome them. Relatively, according to Hardisty et al.’s (2020) article “Upgrade your pricing strategy to match consumer behaviour,”  there are three relevant price hacks that are effective in providing significant changes designed to enable any business to achieve financial success and competitive advantage (Hardisty et al. 2020). This paper seeks to evaluate how these price hack strategies work to limit the consumer shock and increase the customer value perception of products and services being rendered.  

MKT00720 – Marketing Assignment 2: Report (on Aldi)

Firstly, Rather than presenting a standard choice offer for “$300” and a better quality option or substitute for “$360”, centre around the distinction and offer the better quality choice for $60 more. This price hack strategy defines the process by which retailers frame higher prices to act as an upgrade of their service or product. Besides, the authors describe the pricing strategy to lack any deception instead as an open and discrete approach that seeks to improve customer value perception of higher-priced products by shifting their focus during their buying dynamics (Hardisty, 2020). By this statement, the authors show us that this hack is successful based on complete information disclosure rather than any variation of incomplete information or falsities. For salespeople to increase the perceived value of their products or services, they should focus on price upgrades rather than alternative provisions.

The second price hack strategy aims at interpreting intangible costs into actual costs (Hardisty et al. 2020). Notably, consumers mostly lack general information regarding the quality and sustainability of products or services they purchase. Adopting the second price hack requires the salespeople to reframe or decipher the total quality and sustainability costs to convince and enable the customers to be assured of their value. By this statement, the authors say that salespeople must understand a few general concepts, the customer themselves, any necessary information (family, kids, job, travel), and the safety features of any items presented for purchase. For instance, selling energy-efficient bulbs has a higher price value than regular bulbs (inefficient energy bulbs). Concomitantly, indicating the duration of energy efficiency like a “7-year energy-saving bulb” increases the customer’s value perception of the product. The approach is advantageous by increasing customer satisfaction, maintaining the integrity of the company, embracing transparency, and ensuring an effective customer price to value ratio. Therefore, companies can translate and interpret intangible costs into actual costs by providing relevant quality and sustainability information that influences customer perception and loyalty from the consumer.

Strategic Management

The authors’ last price hack strategy is defined as stacking discounts in a systematic manner. In the contemporary business world, marketing and promotion through offering discounts are increasingly garnering popularity. For this price hack strategy to be effective, the sales associates must understand how fluctuating the internal and external environment around them is. For example, a discount strategy initially offers a 30% first-time buyer discount on top of a 20% holiday weekend sale (Hardisty, 2020). Stacking diversity in discount limits progressively has significantly influenced customer perception. Importantly, using the low to high progressive staking strategy will be more effective than the reverse approach. This is because of the customer’s perception of the first discounts to be direct costs hence evaluating the second discount offer with regards to the first one.

Research Methodology

  There are two significant concepts that are impacted by the three purchasing factors (motivation, ability, and opportunity), namely the consumer decision-making process and consumer behaviour outcomes. The consumer’s influence process characterizes the first concept before making a purchase decision. The three pricing strategy hacks discussed above significantly target to influence the decision-making process of the customer. Therefore, this concept concurs with the three hacks, as price value perception is determined by the consumer’s motivation, ability, and motivational factors. Conversely, consumers with a lower propensity to spend might view the price upgrade as a challenge of superiority but might be comfortable processing the two other hacks. Therefore the decision-making process is a key concept behind the price hack strategies.

Secondly, consumer behaviour outcome is a concept that evaluates the customer’s perception and behaviour after a purchase action or decision—for example, the adaptation and acceptance behaviours or resilience to innovation. Reflecting on the article in the study, the authors describe price hacks that primarily impact the buyer’s behaviour and outcomes. For instance, choosing the upgrade price option generates resilience in going for the standard options as quality takes of alternatives in the customer’s purchase perception behaviour. Similarly, sustainability and quality information will significantly impact loyalty and satisfaction, especially when they prove to be correct. Therefore, the consumer behaviour outcome also concurs with the price hacking strategies in that price perception is a primary factor in consumer behavioural outcomes.

Sociology – Health and Illness

Relatively to Hardisty et al.’s article is “The Moderating Role of Price Frame and Norm Perceptions” article by Choi, S., & Mattila, A. S. (2009). The article study investigates the impact of differentiating multichannel pricing strategies on customer equity perceptions, with an attention on the primary roles of general positioning of prices within the commercial centre and the customer perception of the diversity of price strategies termed normal given the standard insight (Choi & Mattila, 2009). From the results, multichannel pricing strategies impact, customer perception and they are based on value casing and standard discernments. Therefore, just as the pricing hacks described above, customer perception is basically impacted by the pricing strategies implemented.

According to De Toni et al., in the article “Pricing strategies and levels and their impact on corporate profitability,” to have a higher performance over their rivals, organizations ought to derive and define various predominant assets, for example, capacities, and understanding, since the price-fixing policy is very a crucial aspect of progressive and successful enhancement of the organization’s performance (De Toni et al. 2017). Consequently, this suggests that a more comprehensive strategical approach to pricing policies enables an organization to thrive and develop its unique competitive advantage. It is, therefore, evident that a business’ performance and cost-effectiveness is primarily influenced by the strategic approach implemented in the pricing policies. The pricing hack strategies enable an organization to identify its strengths and weakness over its competitors while putting the customer needs at the top priority. Eventually, this reflects on consumer behaviours and perceptions.

HS2011 Systems Analysis & Design

In conclusion, managing a business requires a stable pricing strategy to get the upper hand on the competition and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. The three price hack strategies discussed in the article in the study describe how to improve customer value perception of products and services been rendered. This is achieved by ensuring the inclusiveness of the aspects that contribute to consumer purchasing decisions. For instance, customers are more inclined to value and quality assurance decisions rather than impulsive. Similarly, the typical perception of price evaluates the best decision based on the information provided significantly to consumers’ buying power. Therefore, the three strategies are efficient to enable an organization to meet its customer needs and impact its price value perception. 

References

Choi, S., & Mattila, A. S. (2009). Perceived fairness of price differences across channels: The moderating role of price frame and norm perceptions. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 17(1), 37-48. https://doi.org/10.2753/mtp1069-6679170103

De Toni, D., Milan, G. S., Saciloto, E. B., & Larentis, F. (2017). Pricing strategies and levels and their impact on corporate profitability. Revista de Administração, 52(2), 120-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rausp.2016.12.004

Hardisty, D. J., Allard, T., & Griffin, D. (2020, May 28). Upgrade your pricing strategy to match consumer behaviour. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/05/upgrade-your-pricing-strategy-to-match-consumer-behavior