The impact of raising your prices
If you can successfully raise your prices, it will put more cash in your pocket than anything else you can do -- including selling more products. Why? Because every cent of a price increase is pure profit.
For example: a 1% price increase would results in a 12% profit increase for most large corporations, given their profit margins. That's because you dont' have any additional costs associated with a price increase. A 5% price increase? That's a 60% increase in profits.
Assuming, of course, that you don't lose a large number of your customers
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Your customers aren't as cheap as you may think!
You may think your customers all want to buy the offering with the lowest price, but I can tell you from personal research that this is not true for most of your customers - be they consumers or businesses.
I just conducted a very large study of 12 different consumer products and on only one of them did most consumers prefer the cheapest offering -- a shirt. On all the other 11 products, ranging from eggs, HDTVs, MP3 players, tires, vitamins, watches, and more -- most people preferred either the 2nd from the cheapest offering or the middle-priced offering (out of 5 different prices).
Exception -- "Bargain Hunters"
Of course, there is a small group of "bargain-hunters" out there. People who enjoy the thrill of finding the cheapest deal. You can win these customers if you're cheaper than all alternatives, but they will never become loyal to you. The first alternative that undercuts your price will get them. If you're Wal-Mart, you have to care about these customers - they're your targets. But many, possibly even most, companies will have fatter profit profits if they leave this group to others.
Of course, there is a small group of "bargain-hunters" out there. People who enjoy the thrill of finding the cheapest deal. You can win these customers if you're cheaper than all alternatives, but they will never become loyal to you. The first alternative that undercuts your price will get them. If you're Wal-Mart, you have to care about these customers - they're your targets. But many, possibly even most, companies will have fatter profit profits if they leave this group to others.
Exception -- selling products with model numbers
If you sell Sony digital cameras, model XYZ, then you're between a rock and a hard place trying to compete against another retailer selling Sony digital camera, model XYZ. That's because a quick look at Froogle.com will get any customer a look at your price compared to everyone else selling the same model.
If you sell Sony digital cameras, model XYZ, then you're between a rock and a hard place trying to compete against another retailer selling Sony digital camera, model XYZ. That's because a quick look at Froogle.com will get any customer a look at your price compared to everyone else selling the same model.
But... even then a retailer charging a little more may win the sale over the cheapest offering -- if that retailer has a better reputation or better-known brand name than the cheaper alternative. But the price difference can't be much. For example, I've bought a number of items beyond books from Amazon.com even when they were a little bit more expensive -- because I trust with Amazon.com that I won't have a hassle if there is a problem with the product
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