In last Lesson we discussed the different price adjustment strategies. Today we will have discussion
on different price changes that can take place and customers and companies responses towards
these changes. We will have review of concepts discussed in Lessons regarding Price as well

PRICE THE 2ND P OF MARKETING MIX.

B. Price Changes

After developing their pricing structures and strategies, companies often face situations in which
they must initiate price changes or respond to price changes by competitors.

a. Initiating Price Changes

In some cases, the company may find it desirable to initiate either a price cut or a price increase. In
both cases, it must anticipate possible buyer and competitor reactions.

i. Initiating Price Cuts

Several situations may lead a firm to consider cutting its price. One of the such circumstance is
excess capacity. In this case, the firm needs more business and cannot get it through increased
sales effort, product improvement, or other measures. It may drop its "follow-the-leader
pricing"—charging about the same price as its leading competitor—and aggressively cut prices to
boost sales. But as the airline, construction equipment, fast-food, and other industries have learned
in recent years, cutting prices in an industry loaded with excess capacity may lead to price wars as
competitors try to hold on to market share.

Another situation leading to price changes is falling market share in the face of strong price
competition. Either the company starts with lower costs than its competitors or it cuts prices in the
hope of gaining market share that will further cut costs through larger volume.

ii. Initiating Price Increases

A successful price increase can greatly increase profits. For example, if the company's profit margin
is 3 percent of sales, a 1 percent price increase will increase profits by 33 percent if sales volume is
unaffected. A major factor in price increases is cost inflation. Rising costs squeeze profit margins
and lead companies to pass cost increases on to the customers. Another factor leading to price
increases is excess demand: When a company cannot supply all its customers' needs, it can raise its
prices, ration products to customers, or both.
Companies can increase their prices in a number of ways to keep up with rising costs. Prices can be
raised almost invisibly by dropping discounts and adding higher-priced units to the line. Or prices
can be pushed up openly. In passing price increases on to customers, the company must avoid
being perceived as a price gouger. Companies also need to think of who will bear the brunt of
increased prices
There are some techniques for avoiding this problem. One is to maintain a sense of fairness
surrounding any price increase. Price increases should be supported with a company
communication program telling customers why prices are being increased and customers should be
given advance notice so they can do forward buying or shop around. Making low-visibility price
moves first is also a good technique: Eliminating discounts, increasing minimum order sizes,
curtailing production of low-margin products are some examples. Contracts or bids for long-term
projects should contain escalator clauses based on such factors as increases in recognized national
price indexes. The company sales force should help business customers find ways to economize.
Wherever possible, the company should consider ways to meet higher costs or demand without
raising prices. For example, it can consider more cost-effective ways to produce or distribute its
products. It can shrink the product instead of raising the price, as candy bar manufacturers often
do. It can substitute less expensive ingredients or remove certain product features, packaging, or
services. Or it can "unbundle" its products and services, removing and separately pricing elements
that were formerly part of the offer.

b. Buyer Reactions to Price Changes

Whether the price is raised or lowered, the action will affect buyers, competitors, distributors, and
suppliers and may interest government as well. Customers do not always interpret prices in a
straightforward way. They may view a price cut in several ways. For example, what would you
think if any company suddenly cuts its VCR prices in half? You might think that these VCRs are
about to be replaced by newer models or that they have some fault and are not selling well. You
might think that company is abandoning the VCR business and may not stay in this business long
enough to supply future parts. You might believe that quality has been reduced. Or you might
think that the price will come down even further and that it will pay to wait and see.
Similarly, a price increase, which would normally lower sales, may have some positive meanings for
buyers. What would you think if company mentioned above raised the price of its latest VCR
model? On the one hand, you might think that the item is very "hot" and may be unobtainable
unless you buy it soon. Or you might think that the VCR is an unusually good value.

c. Competitor Reactions to Price Changes

A firm considering a price change has to worry about the reactions of its competitors as well as its
customers. Competitors are most likely to react when the number of firms involved is small, when
the product is uniform, and when the buyers are well informed.
How can the firm anticipate the likely reactions of its competitors? If the firm faces one large
competitor, and if the competitor tends to react in a set way to price changes, that reaction can be
easily anticipated. But if the competitor treats each price change as a fresh challenge and reacts
according to its self-interest, the company will have to figure out just what makes up the
competitor's self-interest at the time.
The problem is complex because, like the customer, the competitor can interpret a company price
cut in many ways. It might think the company is trying to grab a larger market share, that the
company is doing poorly and trying to boost its sales, or that the company wants the whole
industry to cut prices to increase total demand.
When there are several competitors, the company must guess each competitor's likely reaction. If
all competitors behave alike, this amounts to analyzing only a typical competitor. In contrast, if the
competitors do not behave alike—perhaps because of differences in size, market shares, or
policies—then separate analyses are necessary. However, if some competitors will match the price
change, there is good reason to expect that the rest will also match it.

d. Responding to Price Changes

Here we reverse the question and ask how a firm should respond to a price change by a
competitor. The firm needs to consider several issues: Why did the competitor change the price?
Was it to take more market share, to use excess capacity, to meet changing cost conditions, or to
lead an industry wide price change? Is the price change temporary or permanent? What will happen
to the company's market share and profits, if it does not respond? Are other companies going to
respond? What are the competitor's and other firms' responses to each possible reaction likely to
be?
Besides these issues, the company must make a broader analysis. It has to consider its own
product's stage in the life cycle, the product's importance in the company's product mix, the
intentions and resources of the competitor, and the possible consumer reactions to price changes.
The company cannot always make an extended analysis of its alternatives at the time of a price
change, however. The competitor may have spent much time preparing this decision, but the
company may have to react within hours or days. About the only way to cut down reaction time is
to plan ahead for both possible competitor's price changes and possible responses.
There are several ways a company might assess and respond to a competitor's price cut. Once the
company has determined that the competitor has cut its price and that this price reduction is likely
to harm company sales and profits, it might simply decide to hold its current price and profit
margin. The company might believe that it will not lose too much market share, or that it would
lose too much profit if it reduced its own price. It might decide that it should wait and respond
when it has more information on the effects of the competitor's price change. For now, it might be
willing to hold on to good customers, while giving up the poorer ones to the competitor. The
argument against this holding strategy, however, is that the competitor may get stronger and more
confident as its sales increase and that the company might wait too long to act.
If the company decides that effective action can and should be taken, it might make any of four
responses. First, it could reduce its price to match the competitor's price. It may decide that the
market is price sensitive and that it would lose too much market share to the lower-priced
competitor. Or it might worry that recapturing lost market share later would be too hard. Cutting
the price will reduce the company's profits in the short run. Some companies might also reduce
their product quality, services, and marketing communications to retain profit margins, but this
will ultimately hurt long-run market share. The company should try to maintain its quality as it cuts
prices.
Alternatively, the company might maintain its price but raise the perceived quality of its offer. It
could improve its communications, stressing the relative quality of its product over that of the
lower-price competitor. The firm may find it cheaper to maintain price and spend money to
improve its perceived value than to cut price and operate at a lower margin.
Or, the company might improve quality and increase price, moving its brand into a higher-price
position. The higher quality justifies the higher price, which in turn preserves the company's higher
margins. Or the company can hold price on the current product and introduce a new brand at a
higher-price position.
Finally, the company might launch a low-price "fighting brand." Often, one of the best
responses is to add lower-price items to the line or to create a separate lower-price brand. This is
necessary if the particular market segment being lost is price sensitive and will not respond to
arguments of higher quality.