ATKearney《价值定价法--发现定价问题的新答案》

FindingNewAnswersTothePricingQuestionWhat’sItWorthtotheCustomer?Introduction“Thecynic,”OscarWildewrote,“knowsthepriceofeverythingandthevalueofnothing.”IfWildewasontosomething,thenaveinofcynicismclearlyrunsthroughtoday’smostfavoredpricingstrategies,whichoverwhelminglyfailtoconnectvaluewithprice.Considerthetwopricingapproachesthatcompaniesfavormost.Thefirstiscost-basedpricing,whichcentersonansweringthequestion,“Whatpricecoversourcostswithanacceptablemargin?”Althoughfinanciallyprudent,thisapproachisfundamentallyflawedbecauseallocatingfixedcostsdependsonsalesvolumesthatareintrinsicallylinkedtoprices.Thesecondapproach,competitivepricing,seekstoanswerthequestion,“Whatwillthemarketbear?”Basedonmarketfairness,pricesforproductorservicefeaturesaresetbasedonsimilarofferingsinthemarketplace.Theflawinthisapproachisitspotentialtoencouragethenotionthatproductsarecommoditiesandexposetheentireindustrytothelowest-costsupplierandtopricewars.Whilebothapproacheshavetheirobviousflaws,theirgreatestweaknessisonethatWildewouldspotimmediately:Theyoverlookthevalueofvalue.Neitherapproachtakesintoaccountthevaluethatanewproductorservicebringstothecustomer,nordotheyprovideinsightsintonewwaysofdeliveringaproductorservice.Determiningvalueandcomingupwithnewwaystodeliveritcanbeachievedwithvalue-basedpricing.Throughvalue-basedpricing,companiesbuildadeeperunderstandingoftheircustomers’businessdrivers,aligntheirgoalswiththeircustomers’goals,andshareineachothers’fortunesinawaythatisn’tpossiblewithmoretraditionalpricingschemes.ThispaperdiscussesA.T.Kearney’sapproachtovalue-basedpricing.Webeginbyoutliningthebasicsteps:howtodeterminewhatisvaluable,whatisnot,andtheobstaclesyoumayencounter.Wetalkaboutgainingaclearunderstandingofyourcustomer’seconomicperformance,andhowtoquantifythefullvaluethatanewofferingcancreate.Wediscusswaysto“sell”valuetoyourcustomersand,finally,howtoensurethatthevalueissplitequitablybetweenyouandyourcustomers.Intheend,thedominantsuccessfactorofvalue-basedpricingisitsabilitytoprovidesuperior,differentiatedproductsandservices—offeringsthattrulyoutrankcompetitors’.FindingNewAnswerstothePricingQuestion..Onthesurface,valueisasubjectiveconceptatbestandimpossiblyvagueatworst.Theprocessofdeterminingandarticulatingitisthelargesthurdleincreatingapricingstrategy.Considerthechallenges.Ifthesellercannotfullyidentifythevaluethatitsproductorservicebringstoitscustomers,thesetpricewillinevitablybeoffmark.Ifthecustomerisnotfamiliarwiththeofferingoritsvalue,andisnotgivenaclearandcompellingcaseforitsreturnoninvestment,asaleisunlikely.Therearealsoinherentstructuralobstaclestopricingvalue.Theseobstaclesareoftenillus-tratedintherequestforproposal(RFP)process.AnyonewhohasfilledoutanRFPknowsthatitfavorseasilyquantifiedaspectsofanoffering,andtendstoignorethosethataremoredifficulttomeasure.Itendswithaslightlyblurredimageoftheofferingthatoverlookskeybenefitssimplybecausetheyfailtofitintoacookie-cuttermodel.RFPsareoftennotstructuredtoincludethevalueofanoffering.Thereisawaytoovercomethesepricingobstacles.Itrequiresanunwaveringfocusonthreekeyprinciples,whichtogetherformthebasisforaneffectivevalue-basedpricingstrategy.First,valuemustbedefinedfromthebuyer’spointofview,nottheseller’s.Manycompaniesmakethemistakeofover-emphasizingthefea-turesoftheirproducts,whentheyshouldfocusinsteadonthehardandsoftbenefitsthatthecustomerperceives.Avacuumcleanerwithanextendedhosefeatureisnottheprize,itiswhatthecustomercandowiththefeature—inthiscase,reachintothecornersofaceilingtoclearoutcobwebs.Additionally,ratherthansellingastand-aloneproduct,offerthebuyeraddi-tionalservicesandflexiblefinancialsolutions(seesidebar:Findingthe“Total”ValueinSolutions).Enhancedproductsnotonlycreatemorecus-tomervalue,theycanalsobetailoredtomeettheneedsofspecificcustomersegments.Second,thevalueoftheofferingmustbeclearlysuperiortothatofalternatives.Otherwise,thepricewillendupbeingseteitherbyyourleastsophisticatedoryourmostaggressivecompetitor.Eitherway,thecompetitorwillprobablynotfocusoncustomervalueandthereforewillunder-pricetheoffering,effectivelydestroyingthemarket.Theimplicationisthatifacompanycannotmeaningfullydifferentiateitsproductorservice,itisunlikelytobeabletoputapriceonitsvalue.Finally,allsourcesofvaluemustbeuncoveredandcommunicatedtocustomersontheirterms.Inthebusiness-to-businessmarkets,thisrequiresanexplicitunderstandingofyourcustomers’businessmodelsandstrategicaspirations,aswellastheeconomicsoftheirbusinessprocesses.Onlythencanyoueffectivelyestimate,quantifyandcommunicatehowaproductorserviceisgoingtobenefitaspecificcustomer.Whencombined,thesethreeprinciplesserveasthefoundationforA.T.Kearney’svalue-basedpricingstrategy.-A.T.Kearney’svalue-basedpricingstrategylooksbeyondcostsorcompetitors’pricestofocusonthepotentialvaluetheproductorservicewillhaveforcustomers.Itanswersthefundamentalquestion:“Whatisourproduct’svaluetothecustomer,andhowcanwecommunicatethatvalueaspartoftheprice?”Thisstrategyidentifiesthemaximumthatcustomersarewillingtopayforth