Required Reading: Pricing Science Has Changed a Lot in Nine Years
By Destination CRM
May 07, 2024
Zilliant Global Head of Pricing Advisory Services Jim Vaughn discusses his updated book, Stop Racing in a Blindfold!: Big Data + Pricing Science Drive Bigger Profits, with Destination CRM.
Jim Vaughn, global head of pricing advisory services at Zilliant, has updated his book, Stop Racing in a Blindfold!: Big Data + Pricing Science Drive Bigger Profits, to address the changes in the business landscape and technology in the past nine years. CRM editor Leonard Klie discussed these changes with him.
CRM: What prompted you to update the book now?
Vaughn: While basic pricing ideas have not changed, sellers’ and customers’ mindsets and general market expectations have.
Companies have learned a lot since 2015. Business leaders are more experienced with volatile markets and have accepted that prices can be changed as market conditions change over shorter periods of time.
Beyond that, there has been a strong need to match price to the value customers perceive from the products they buy. Companies are sharpening their understanding of this perceived value, enabling sellers to finely tune the price guidance they give.
A key part of market expectations is pricing transparency. Many corporate buyers regularly push hard for price synchronization across platforms where they interact with sellers. The ability to meet this expectation drives greater sophistication in price management.
You say new technology is completely revamping the pricing process. Can you give examples?...