Protect Your Brand with these Pricing Policy Guidelines
Pricing is one of the cornerstones of your marketing strategy and is key to your success. Your prices and pricing strategy say a lot to your customers about who you are. Protect your company and your brand by considering these recommendations.
- Create a pricing policy that is unique to your company
Spend some time creating a Pricing Policy that is easy to understand. Simplify the legal jargon by introducing checklists and briefs. Share the policy with your team and your customers, then maintain accurate prices by keeping your customers updated in a timely manner when price changes are implemented.
Keep in mind that you can choose to implement MAP pricing only for your high-value products if you want to give your customers flexibility with their in-store pricing and incentives with the remainder of your products.
You can also consider seasonal exemptions which can create excitement and boost sales in a limited window.
Work with us to communicate, update, and distribute your price changes quickly.
- Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) can be one of the most important components of your pricing policy
A MAP policy can help to create an even playing field amongst retailers selling your products, driving value to sales margins, and ensuring your brand isn’t devalued by price wars. Creating this even playing field can help expand your brand growth as even smaller retailers will be able to sell your products without being undersold by the larger retailers.
MAP pricing on your product lines, when consistently monitored and enforced, can protect your brand and the profit margins of both your company and your customers’ companies.
- Monitor and enforce your pricing
When you choose to implement MAP pricing, you must commit to monitoring, following up, and creating consequences for non-compliance — or reward the compliant retailers. (This could be important if your policy applies to some retailers and exempts others.)
Prices need to be systematically monitored across retailer websites, social media, marketplaces, and price comparison sites. When a violation is cited, a process needs to be in place to address the violation.
Price monitoring service providers can help you maintain compliance of your policy and protect your brand.
However you choose to implement and monitor your pricing policy, consistent enforcement is critical to bolster your MAP policy and encourage retailers to adhere to it.
As always, we're here to help if you have questions. Contact us at info@semadata.org.
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