price discrimination versus price differentiation

Consumers have certain types of perceptions of price in correlation to the product quality and service; therefore, company should base their price on the customer’s perceived value (K&K). Some consumers are price sensitive, while others are quality or both. “The key to perceived-value pricing is to deliver more unique value than competitors and to demonstrate this to prospective buyers” (p.183). For example, Dish Network has introductory price for a year or two, then it bounces back to regular price. Also, the company offers different TV packages, which can be customized according to the station most watched or one can pick one of the package the company provides. I have been with Dish Network for more than 5 years and one thing that kept

Price discrimination is where a firm changes different consumers different prices for the same service.

Product retail pricing strategy is a major part of my role with the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. We operate in a highly competitive beverage industry that is heavily dominated by two players; Coca Cola and Pepsi. Beyond the big three (DPSG, Pepsi, and Coke), there are numerous other competing brands and companies in multiple market segments all vying for the business of retailers and the consumption of consumers. Additionally, each retailer we come to business with implements their own retail strategies. Therefore, settling on a cooperative and mutually beneficial chain specific strategy can be a daunting task. Without really knowing it I have been evaluating the price elasticity of consumers throughout my entire beverage industry career. There

Knowing that consumers will shop for the best deals, differentiation will be introducing new pricing methods that attract the everyday shopper and not only the seasonal shopper.

There are many outside influences that affect a company's profitability and bottom line. It is important for companies to set the right price in achieving that profit. Companies are in business to make a profit, but it can be challenging on how to determine how to price products. The grocery industry is a highly competitive market and today's grocery retailers use all kind of strategies to increase their sales and retain customer loyalty. With the fluctuating commodity prices and how online retailers (Amazon) entering in competition with the grocery retail business is becoming fierce. As competition for the food dollar intensifies, establishing essential marketing strategies is a key tool in sustaining business and building competitive advantages. In this paper, three U.S. supermarkets have been chosen to analyze their pricing strategies; Trader Joes, Harris Teeter, and Aldi.

Price discrimination is a microeconomic pricing strategy where identical or largely similar goods or services are transacted at different prices by the same provider in different markets. In today’s society we see price discrimination in many places and you don’t even realize that it is price discrimination. Price differentiation is distinguished from product differentiation by the more substantial difference in production cost for the differently priced products involved in the latter strategy. It essentially relies on the variation in the customers' willingness to pay and in the elasticity of their demand. There are three different types of price discrimination. First Degree Price Discrimination involves charging consumers the maximum price that they are willing to pay. Second Degree Price Discrimination involves charging different prices depending upon the quantity consumed and lastly Third Degree Price Discrimination which involves charging different prices to different groups of people (EconomicsHelp, 2015).

In differentiation strategies, the emphasis is on creating value through sustainable uniqueness. This can be achieved through product innovations, superior quality, or superior service, which is then sustained and leveraged through creative advertising; brand-building and strong supply chain relationships. Another requirement for a successful differentiation strategy is that customers must be willing to pay more for the uniqueness of a product or service than the firm paid to create it. A differentiation strategy will lead to higher firm performance only if buyers value the attributes that make a product or service unique enough to pay a higher price for it or if they choose to buy from that firm preferentially. If

Price discrimination is part of the commercial and business world. Movie theaters, magazines, computer software companies, and thousands of other businesses have discounted prices for students, children, or the elderly. One important note though, is that price discrimination is only present when the exact same product is sold to different people for different prices. First class vs. coach

Price discrimination can be defined as when the same good or service is sold at different prices to different consumers. If we look at this definition of price discrimination, for an example, we can show that price discrimination can be seen in the entrance tickets of parks such as Universal studios; this is due to the fact that there are discounts for children and senior citizens. (Phlips L. , 1983) However, this can be seen as not being discriminative at all due to the fact that if the price difference full reflects the difference in the cost of carrying the good from the seller’s location to the buyers’ location.

The strategy for setting a product’s price often has to be changed when the product is part of a product mix. In this case, the firm looks for a set of prices that maximizes its profits on the total product mix. Pricing is difficult because the various products have related demand and costs and face different degrees of competition.

Differentiation can be achieved in a variety of ways: unusual features, responsive customer service, rapid product innovations, technological leadership, perceived prestige and status, appeal to different tastes, and engineering design and performance. Methods of controlling costs, however, may be limited. The ability to price differentiated products competitively will be important for reducing upward pressure on customer prices so that they do not exceed the level customers are willing to

Quite often, consumers purchase goods and services based on their perceived need. Upon making the decision that a need is present and a solution is available consumers are more equipped to react to that need. Although previously perceived that consumers will normally accept prices as presented by suppliers that remains to not be the case. Consumers assess and process prices based on past purchases and other psychological process they went through previously such as persuasive marketing strategies, accessibility of the goods or services and possibly information gathered from prior purchasers of a product. There are countless options that are available to consumers. Consumers are then faced with the choice of choosing the product that best fulfills their need at that given point. Consumers who are knowledgeable regarding prices will be aware of the approximated price for products (Zhao, Zhao & Deng, 2015).

Price interacts with all other elements of the marketing mix to determine the effectiveness of each and of the whole. The objectives that guide pricing strategy should be a subset of the objectives that guide overall marketing strategy. Thus, it is probably wrong to view price as an independent element of marketing strategy or to assert that price, by itself, is a central element in the marketing mix.” (Webster, 1979)

Price, which is one of the most important elements of the marketing mix, can be difficult to get right. Pricing too high, or low, can negatively impact on customer satisfaction and revenue. Adopting a pricing strategy is necessary to achieve desired sales objectives (Chan & Wong 2005).

This strategy is usually associated with charging a premium price for the product - often to reflect the higher production costs and extra value-added features provided for the consumer. Differentiation is about charging a premium price that more than covers the additional production costs, and about giving customers clear reasons to prefer the product over other, less differentiated products.