Pricing For Profit 



H 



By Tina F. Sawtelle 



as this ever happened 

 to you? 



Customer: "Oh, how 

 darling!" picking up 

 item to note the price. 

 No price is apparent. 

 She quickly sets the item back down 

 and moves on. 



Problem: Merchandise not priced 

 clearly and customer is not motivated 

 enough to ask. 



Result: Failed impulse purchase. 

 Decreased profits for the day. 



Chances are it may happen more 

 than you realize. And it's not always 

 with small priced items! Review your 

 pricing techniques using the following 

 tips: 



Straightforward Pricing 



Make it easy for the customer to 

 buy! Price items leaving no question in 

 the customer's mind. For example, for 

 a 25% off sale, is it clear if the price 

 already reflects the 25% off or is it 25% 

 off the marked price? Be objective and 

 look at pricing from the customer's 

 standpoint. 



Make Sure Everything is Priced 



As a routine management proce- 

 dure you should have your employees 

 checking that all items are priced accu- 

 rately at all times. Pricing can be done 

 individually or as a group on items such 

 as plants. Check for signage that has 

 been moved or removed, tags that have 

 fallen or are hidden. Customers will 



pass by an item they are unsure of 

 pricing on rather than ask. 



Clear Pricing 



Are the tags legible? Are they faded 

 or washed away? Are the tags reachable 

 (on hangers for example). Are the prices 

 in an area that can be easily seen? A tag 

 under foil or buried inside a plant is not 

 accessible. 



Price Does Not Detract 

 From The Product 



Pricing can be clear without detract- 

 ing attention from the product itself. A 

 beautiful white Poinsettia can lose 

 appeal with a bright orange tag hanging 

 off the flower of the plant. A much 

 more subtle but clear and straightfor- 

 ward approach will be effective. 



Use Odd Ending Pricing 



$9.95 or $9.99 always sounds less 

 expensive than $10.00 The increased 

 sales from this method of pricing will 

 pay for the inconvenience of making 

 change in the long run. 



Be Complete 



If you are displaying two items to- 

 gether in a suggestive manner, be sure 

 to be complete in your pricing. Price as 

 a package or clearly price each item 

 separately, to avoid frustrating the cus- 

 tomer. 



Offer Multiple Pricing 



Offer your customers volume dis- 

 counts to encourage larger sales. It 



works! $4.99 each or 4 for $18.99. The 

 discount need not be excessive, but the 

 suggestion of multiple purchases works 

 with customers. If you have shown uses 

 for that multiple amount it works ex- 

 ceptionally well. 



Discount Policies Clearly Stated 



Will you offer Senior Citizen dis- 

 counts to build this growing portion of 

 the market? Is you policy clearly posted 

 and do your employees understand the 

 policy? Are there any other special in- 

 terest groups you will extend discounts 

 to? 



Employees Know Prices 



Your employees should be aware of 

 all prices so if a question arises they can 

 handle it. You can't expect to sell your 

 merchandise if you can't tell the cus- 

 tomer what you want in exchange for it. 

 Have some policies stated so that your 

 employees can make sound decisions 

 when faced with questions. 



Remember in business, "Nothing 

 happens until somebody buys some- 

 thing." Make it easy for your customers 

 to buy! Good luck! 



Tina Sawtelle, principal of Sawtelle 

 Marketing Associates, consults with 

 Agricultural Direct Retail Businesses 

 on marketing and merchandising. In 

 addition, she teaches AgriculturalBusi- 

 ness Management techniques to stu- 

 dents at the Thompson School at UNH. 

 For more information call (603)659- 

 8106. 



J 



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