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As a pricing professional, attending conferences is a large part of your continuous learning process. It is an opportunity to meet other pricers, learn about the latest trends, best practices, overcoming common challenges, and gain insight from industry experts. We’ve just wrapped up our 34th Annual Spring Pricing and Workshops conference in Dallas, TX and it contained all those opportunities and more. So, whether you regretfully missed out or proudly attended, this blog post is for you. Here is a rundown of the exciting highlights from the conference. Check out the conference PHOTO GALLERY here! Keynote Speakers The conference hosted eight renown keynote speakers who shared their experiences, hurdles, and expertise in selected areas throughout their career. That lineup was led by Laura Preslan , Commercial Partner & Incentives Strategy Team Leader at Microsoft. Her wit, knowledge and humor set the tone for the day and left our pricers in high spirits itching for more knowledge. In addition to Laura was Reed Holden , author, senior executive coach, and founder of Holden Advisors consulting firm in Concord, Massachusetts. Before leading the discussion on “Pricing During Turbulent Times”, Reed found out he was the PPS-selected recipient of the inaugural “Founders Award”, a recognition of achievement, renown accolade, and excellence in the pricing community with multiple years of high-level success in their career. Other astounding keynote speakers that left our audience amazed were: Manoj Chopra - Vice President, Strategic Pricing, Cinemark Richard Braun - Vice President of Strategic Pricing, Parker Hannifin Adam Echter -Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners Grace Shafer - Senior Director of Pricing Strategy, Iron Mountain Sudipto Banerjee, CPP - Partner, KPMG Tim J. Smith, Ph.D., CPP - Founder & CEO, Wiglaf Pricing One notable nugget we all learned from our conference-leading speakers is that being a leader is more than just a title. Effective leadership requires collaboration, guidance, and support to get real results. Workshops and Breakout Sessions With 10+ workshops and 20+ breakout sessions available for the choosing (upon attendee registration), you can only imagine the amount of overall pricing knowledge that was being distributed during this single week. From topics about analytical pricing approaches to “handling” inflation to artificial intelligence, our workshop and breakout session speakers covered a wide range of areas taking the pricing community by storm. The smaller, more intimate, setting of these sessions allowed attendees to easily focus on areas of their interest, share experiences, learn about new technologies and solutions, and network with their peers. Networking Opportunities Networking is an essential part of any conference, and this conference did not disappoint. Chances to connect with other attendees, speakers, and sponsors offered great value to those who took advantage of the opportunities. Some of our headlining networking events included: New Members Coffee Reception Industry Connections Luncheon Infusion Luncheon – Discussing diversity and inclusion in the pricing workforce. The PROS Luncheon- a private, invite-only, event. The CPP Breakfast Thursday Night Reception Our other, less formal, networking opportunities came from: The PPS Scavenger Hunt The Conference Sponsor Hall Our “Dining with PPS” dinner night In addition to daily coffee breaks, off-site meet ups, etc. It was fascinating to hear about what others are doing in their organizations and share our own experiences with professionals, both seasoned and entry-level. Takeaways In conclusion, attending our annual conferences is an opportunity to learn, network and gain more insight into the latest trends and best practices within any industry, but especially pricing. Our attendees learned a lot about effective leadership, navigating economic challenges, and new solutions that can be used to improve organizational success. But perhaps the most significant take away was the chance to connect with peers and build new relationships that can be leverage moving forward. If you missed this conference, don't worry, more events are coming up this year that you can attend. Be sure to take the time to do your research, select an event that matches your interests and join. Who knows, you might meet your next employer, business partner or mentor there! We look forward to seeing you in the future as we continue to grow our knowledge and expand our professional networks!

Hiring the wrong talent comes at a high cost for businesses. A study from McKinsey, for example, shows that top talent is up to eight times more productive than average ones in highly complex occupations. Even if you get the hiring decision right, however, but are unable to retain it, the loss in productivity from high turnover is tremendous. This is particularly true for Pricing function, where talent is in high demand, but talent pool is in short supply. Evolution of the pricing profession The pricing profession is a relatively new field that has evolved over the past decades from being a tactical function to a strategic one that requires ongoing education and professional development. Consider, for example, that for most of the human history, pricing was largely determined through bargaining and negotiation. The first encounter of a price tag – fixed price for a product – is credited to John Wanamaker in 1861, a Philadelphia merchant who believed that everyone should be charged the same price. The practice of haggling, thus, started to dissipate in the 19th century when store owners began applying cost-based pricing. And it is really over the last few decades that sophisticated pricing strategies and tools have evolved, and that pricing as a function has started to attract some C-level attention. Top performing companies over time have understood that pricing is not just a number – it is a powerful tool that can make or break a business. Multiple studies have shown how price improvements have a much bigger impact on profitability than equivalent improvements in volume or costs – even though the latter get disproportionate attention from average companies. Best practices to attract & retain pricing talent 1) Consider the skills that are truly critical for the role you are hiring! Pricing related roles typically require a combination of pricing domain expertise, people/ communications skills, technology skills, and business acumen. Finding the talent that exactly meets your needs is very hard as pricing talent is scarce and unique, and former industry experts or pricing consultants also tend to be pricey. Depending on the role that you are hiring for, consider the skills that are truly necessary for success in that role, do appropriate vetting for those skills, and provide resources to help them build the skills that they lack. Ironically, recruiting a pricing professional sometimes means foregoing previous pricing experience – especially in more junior roles. A survey by Deloitte, for example, shows that only 3% of the pricing professionals have always been in pricing. Top five functions prior to coming into pricing profession include finance, marketing, operations, sales, and consulting. 2) Reduce time to productivity through tailored onboarding and continuous development! Best companies not only do a great job with onboarding their talent, but also in providing ongoing development opportunities. Pricing is by and large not taught as a distinct field in universities. Even an organization such as Pricing Professional Society, which provides a great forum for developing your pricing talent, was founded only recently in 1983. At best, some of us were exposed to basic principles on pricing as part of a business or a marketing course. A survey conducted by Bain & Company found that companies with strong pricing outcomes and increased market share over the past two years emphasize trainings and forums in pricing. In simpler terms, companies that have done well in pricing have focused on training their employees in how to set and get the right price and have created forums to discuss pricing strategies. Other options to consider are sending the pricing talent to conferences, engaging vendors that do pricing specific onboarding/ training, or offering tuition assistance programs for employees. 3) Consider the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) Lastly, attracting the right candidate requires not just looking externally but also looking at yourself in the mirror. When you are evaluating a candidate, a candidate is also evaluating you. Have you considered what you offer in terms of compensation, benefits, culture, development, and recognition? A good way to refine your EVP is to consider what you offer compared to competitors out there.

Author: Fabien Cros, Co-founder of PricingForThePlanet.com As we enter a new era of risk management, sustainability has become a critical priority for businesses across the globe. The challenges of global warming and resource scarcity demand our immediate attention, and companies that fail to adapt risk being left behind in a rapidly evolving marketplace. Pricing, in particular, has emerged as a critical key to monetizing sustainability and to helping accelerate sustainability transformations. To this end, pricing practitioners need to arm themselves with a powerful set of tools that can help them navigate the complexities of the modern marketplace and respond to the changing consumer perceptions towards sustainability. From conjoint analysis and willingness to pay studies to usage-based pricing, subscription pricing, consumption-based pricing, and value-based pricing, there are a variety of techniques that can help businesses monetize sustainability and improve their bottom line. Yet, many companies are not discussing sustainability monetization or just relying on outdated pricing strategies. This lack of maturity in pricing not only undermines sustainability efforts but also leaves businesses struggling to compete in an increasingly crowded and competitive market. In this article, we breakdown the toolbox for pricing practitioners who are willing to monetize sustainability. We examine the latest pricing strategies and techniques, exploring how they can be used to help businesses adapt to the changing landscape and capitalize on the growing demand for sustainable products and services. By doing so, we can help companies invest even more in sustainability and make this transformation more impactful. In the context of sustainability, value-based pricing is paramount. In today's business landscape, sustainability has become an increasingly important priority for companies of all sizes and industries. As consumers become more aware of environmental issues and seek out sustainable products and services, businesses must adapt their practices and offerings to meet this growing demand. Value-based pricing is a strategy that seeks to capture the value that a product or service provides to the customer. It takes into account factors such as the customer's willingness to pay, the monetary benefits that the product or service provides, and the competitive landscape at the customer segment level. By doing so, value-based pricing allows businesses to set prices that reflect the true value of their offerings, rather than simply relying on cost-based pricing. In the context of sustainability, value-based pricing is paramount. For the end user, it is difficult to communicate the benefits of sustainable products and services without framing them in terms of economic value. Consumers are usually willing to pay more for sustainable products and services, but they need to understand the value that they are getting in return. Value-based pricing also provides businesses with a powerful tool for promoting sustainability. By setting prices that reflect the value of sustainable products and services, businesses can encourage consumers to choose these offerings over less sustainable alternatives. This, in turn, can help drive demand for sustainable products and services and encourage other businesses to embrace sustainability as well. The first drawer of the toolbox: an understanding of the circular economy The circular economy seeks to minimize waste and maximize the use of resources by keeping materials and products in use for as long as possible. Pricing practitioners must understand the importance of designing products and services with end-of-life in mind. This means considering the entire lifecycle of a product or service, from production to disposal, and finding ways to reduce waste and increase efficiency at every stage. Additionally, they must work closely with other areas of their company, such as supply chain and procurement, to ensure that sustainable practices are being implemented throughout the entire organization. This includes understanding the sustainable engagements and activities being made internally and by suppliers, as well as the perception of customers towards sustainability. By incorporating circular economy principles into pricing strategies, businesses can reduce costs, increase efficiency, and minimize waste, while also promoting sustainability. This can lead to a competitive advantage in the marketplace and a more positive perception among customers who are increasingly concerned with environmental issues. The Second Drawer of the Toolbox: Pricing Research In the pricing practitioner's toolbox, pricing research studies play a critical role in helping businesses monetize sustainability. These studies provide businesses with insights into consumer behavior, preferences, and willingness to pay for sustainable products and services. One common type of pricing study is willingness to pay (WTP) studies. These studies seek to understand how much consumers are willing to pay for a particular product or service. By conducting WTP studies, businesses can gain insights into consumer demand and set prices that are in line with what customers are willing to pay. This, in turn, can help businesses maximize their revenue while also promoting sustainable offerings. For example, you have the Van Westendorp price sensitivity meter. This study helps businesses determine the optimal price range for their offerings by asking consumers simple questions. By analyzing the results of the study, businesses can determine the sweet spot for pricing that balances consumer demand and profit margins. Another example is the Gabor-Granger pricing model. It involves presenting consumers with a range of prices for a particular product or service and asking them to indicate which price they would be willing to pay. This helps businesses identify the optimal price point for their offerings and understand how price affects consumer demand. A third example would be a pricing conjoint analysis. This one is a research method used to determine how consumers value different features of a product and how they trade off one feature for another when making purchase decisions. Overall, pricing studies are a critical tool in the pricing practitioner's toolbox. They provide businesses with real-life data points that help them understand consumer behavior, preferences, and willingness to pay for sustainable options and business models. By leveraging pricing studies, businesses can set prices that are in line with consumer demand, maximize revenue, and promote sustainability. The Third Drawer of the Toolbox: Pricing Analytics Pricing analytics are a third component of the pricing strategist's toolbox, providing businesses with the ability to monitor the impact of pricing on customer behavior and measure the effectiveness of pricing strategies as quickly as possible. Pricing analytics can be used to track changes in demand for sustainable products and services as prices change, allowing businesses to identify the optimal price point that maximizes revenue while also promoting sustainability. This data can be used to adjust pricing strategies in real-time, ensuring that businesses are always providing the best value to customers. Additionally, pricing analytics can be used to monitor competitor pricing and identify opportunities for businesses to differentiate themselves in the market. By comparing pricing strategies and identifying areas where competitors may be underpricing or overpricing their offerings, businesses can adjust their own pricing strategies to gain a competitive advantage. The Fourth Drawer of the Toolbox: The Test and Learn Methodology. Test and learn involves creating experiments or trials to gather data on how customers respond to different pricing strategies or product features. This allows you to make informed decisions based on empirical evidence rather than assumptions or guesswork. By testing different pricing and product options, you can identify the most effective strategies for achieving your goals, such as maximizing revenue or increasing customer satisfaction. This iterative process of testing and refining can help you create sustainable products and services that meet the needs of your customers and drive business growth. By continually testing and learning, you can adapt to changes in the market and stay ahead of the competition. In addition to creating sustainable products and services, test and learn can also provide valuable insights to the R&D and engineering teams. By collecting data on customer behaviors and preferences, the pricing team can provide valuable feedback to other teams about which features or designs are most appealing to customers. This information can inform future product development and help ensure new products meet market needs. By leveraging the insights gained through test and learning, the pricing team can contribute to the overall success of the organization and help create products that truly resonate with customers. The Last and Fifth Drawer of the Toolbox: Innovative Eyes to Challenge and Re invite Business Models. The fifth and final drawer of the pricing strategist's toolbox in a sustainable world is the ability to challenge and re-invite business models around sustainability. To successfully monetize sustainable products and services, pricing strategists must be capable of challenging the status quo and proposing new ways to approach pricing. This means exploring innovative pricing models such as usage-based pricing or subscription-based pricing, which can help promote sustainable behaviors and reduce waste. It also means being open to rethinking existing pricing strategies and business models to ensure they align with sustainable principles. Pricing strategists must be innovative in their thinking and willing to take risks to drive positive change. By challenging existing business models and embracing new approaches to pricing, they can help businesses to create sustainable offerings that meet the evolving needs and expectations of customers. In conclusion, pricing is a critical tool for monetizing sustainability, but it requires a comprehensive and innovative toolbox. Pricing practitioners must be able to incorporate various pricing methodologies and analytics, as well as understand the circular economy and work closely with other areas of their company to ensure sustainable engagement. By having a seat at the sustainability table, pricing professionals can bring the very best monetization practices to make sure sustainability does not just become a compliance play with a strong internal cost focus. Sustainability can be a strong corporate differentiator. When monetized it can bring a real impact to the bottom line. To learn more about how to monetize and price sustainability, join us live for a PPS webinar on April 4th, 2023 at 10am US EST. Register here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/pricing-for-the-planet-w/register No idea where to start? Contact Fabien Cros, Co-founder of PricingForThePlanet.com

Pricing the Products Multiple internal and external factors can influence the pricing of the product. Sometimes the model or strategy we use to price a product will only apply to one industry sector or customer segment. Look out for constraints that would apply to your specific business. For businesses like children's books, the Pricing strategy of subscription type for digital commerce is relatively standard. However, a traditional retail/ wholesale pricing model would apply to storefront bookstores. Internal factors that can influence pricing include: • Cost of production: The cost of raw materials, labor, and overhead expenses are all taken into account when setting prices. • Perception of value: By understanding how customers perceive value, you can set prices to reflect their perceived value. • Industry competition: Knowing what the competition is charging can help you set prices that are competitive. • Brand image: Prices may be adjusted to project a certain image for the company and its products. • Profit margins: Setting prices to ensure you are making a profit is important for the long-term success of any business. External factors that can influence pricing include: • Market conditions: The state of the economy, consumer spending habits, and the overall market can all affect pricing. • Government regulations: Government regulations and taxes can influence pricing decisions. • Consumer demand: If demand is high, you may be able to charge higher prices. • Distribution channels: How you sell your product may affect how much you can charge for it. • Seasonal factors: Seasonality can have a big impact on pricing decisions. Factors for pricing the product Multiple factors can impact the price of the product. Categorizing factors that can derive the cost into —9 Ps for determining the product's price. Factors for Pricing the Product Multiple factors can impact the price of the product. Categorizing factors that can derive the cost into —9 Ps for determining the product's price. 1. Patrons: These are your customers/ merchants or anyone who loves your product and is willing to pay for the services that you are offering. 2. Price for Operation: These are the costs necessary for the business; they can be the cost of raw materials or external services you are consuming for the company. 3. Prospects: These are other prospects for the users who have the potential to drive the price of the product. Competition is a major driving factor in many businesses to price the product at a relative price. 4. Possibilities: With service: Today, the product's price is a derivative of the value or extra convenience/ possibilities it offers to its patrons. At times market perception also plays into determining the price. 5. Proposition: Important to offer a better value proposition for the service provided relative to the competition. It can be more services under the Freemium model. 5 6. Proceeds: Sometimes, the price can depend on the final target profits. Most of the time, the company's earnings rely on the (revenue earned - all the costs) which gives profits. At times, the price is fixed, based on yield. 7. Potential: At times, price is determined based on the product's potential and how better the outcome is to the competition. Even including the potential to gain or lead the market segment. 8. Promotions: Extra discounts or coupons to attract or influence the signup for the product or service. Many organizations offer it as fixed days money guarantee too. 9. Place: The cost of the fixed asset in the form of location or the case of digital commerce can be based on the association with a specific platform and determine the price and traffic. E.g., Selling on Amazon vs. Shopify vs. Etsy. How Do You Price A Product? A genuine new product can be priced based on the assessment of these four cost structures. For determining the price, paying attention to these four costs is vital. 1. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): This includes the direct costs associated with creating the product, such as raw materials, labor, and overhead costs. 2. Operating Expenses: This includes expenses associated with running the business, such as marketing, advertising, rent, salaries, and other overhead costs. 3. Margin: This is the amount of money that a business keeps after all costs have been taken into account. This is typically determined as a percentage of the total price. 4. Growth Potential: This is the potential for the product to generate additional revenue over time. Factors such as market demand, customer lifetime value, and customer loyalty can all be taken into account when setting the price. By taking into account all of these cost structures, a business can come up with a pricing strategy that is tailored to their goals and objectives. When setting the price, it is important to consider the cost of production, the potential for growth, the customer 6 lifetime value, and the overall market demand. This will help ensure that the product is priced appropriately and that the business is able to maximize its profits. 1. Creation cost: This is the overall unit economics of producing your product. Including the external vendors, cost of raw materials, and inventory costs. 2. Enterprise cost: This is the added cost on top of the creation cost, which includes the price of employees and cost to run the business, and licensing costs. 3. Marketing cost: This gets added, especially when marketing is an additional cost post-product creation. Usually, when the sale is an external part of the original product team. 4. Delivery costs: Costs for mailing, postal, and delivery, including the last mile delivery cost and also adding to it the costs of return, refunds, and refurbishment if it applies. What Structure Works to Determine the Price? Based on your industry, we might see various price determination structures. Price Determination Structures 1. Cost+ markup structure: This is the most commonly deployed method to establish the price point for newer markets and new segments of products. Where cost is the overall cost of producing the product from scratch to the finished product into the hands of consumers, and markup is the additional profit the firm is planning to take per unit. 2. Competitive pricing: This is popular in businesses with stiff competition, and the products offered are similar, resulting in pricing products very closely and relatively at the same price point. Ensuring consumers are kept from the competition. 3. Skimming: is deployed where the premium is charged for limited available products and newer models. E.g., For next year, model cars and tech gadgets are at a premium compared to older generation cars or tech gadgets. This extra premium is for the latest product/product line models. 8 4. Marketing pricing: is the price advertised to get the consumer into the door, a bait-and-hook pricing model. The marketing team gets deployed based on discounts offered, coupons, or even seasonal events based on temporary price adjustments. Is Lower Pricing or Higher Pricing Better? When Businesses Mark Prices Low • Organizations will only assemble sufficient capital to remain in business for a short time. • You attempt to run a thrashing because you don't have adequate finances to spend on marketing. • Not to say the perception you permit your consumers to have around your products and brand: inexpensive, inferior quality, subordinate value, bargain buy, unremarkable. When Businesses Mark Prices in the Middle • Organizations will need additional cash on hand to grow. 9 • You'll eternally be in that process of constructing, marketing, building, and selling, but never smashing out of it to build more and market additionally because you need additional capital for more. • Yes, companies need additional finances to produce more of it. When Businesses Mark Prices High • Organizations gamble estranging consumers. • You might obtain a deal now and then and earn a large sum, but the idea of when you'll get your subsequent deal intimidates you because your product ought to be priced better in your demand. • By pricing high, you frighten your consumer. How to Convince Customers This is the Right Price? Value-based pricing: This is based on the scientific method of understanding the cost of the product/service to build based on cost + markup structure, adding to it markup and genuine value addition or differentiating services being offered. Consumers should be able to realize differentiating value add-ons and willing to pay for them. Loss leader pricing: This applies to some sectors and a few products, where the business is able to sell the original product for loss so that the business can gain profits from subsequent recurring sales. e.g., printers are sold at a lower price, but profits are expected from toner. Alexa is sold at a lower price, expected to gain from overall amazon sales and to gain user data. Bundle pricing: This is where organizations bundle together two or more individual products which are higher priced to a lower price so that customers it can be offered at a lower rate. e.g., a washer can cost $1000, and a dryer unit can cost $1000, but the bundle can cost $1800. This is a way of convincing customers to buy the bundle together as a better deal. Anchor pricing: This is considered a hybrid of bundle pricing & value-based pricing, where consumers are shown an option of "gold, silver & platinum" or "lite, plus and premium," where the price and relative prices are features offered are visible. At times the consumer is offered the original price and discounted price making sure the consumer understands the value he is gaining by this purchase. Types of Pricing Models? A pricing model is a framework or formula used to determine the price of a product or service. Pricing models can be based on a variety of factors, such as cost, value, competition, market dynamics, and customer segmentation. A pricing model should be tailored to the specific needs of a business and should be regularly reviewed and adjusted to ensure that it remains effective. pricing model types: 1. One-Time Fee: This model involves charging customers a flat fee for a one-time purchase or service. 2. Subscription: This model charges customers a recurring fee for access to a service or product. 3. Pay-As-You-Go: This model charges customers for the specific amount of a product or service they use. 4. Freemium: This model offers a basic version of a product or service for free, with the option to upgrade to a premium version for a fee. 5. Tiered Pricing: This model offers various levels of a service or product at different price points. 6. Performance-Based Pricing: This model charges customers based on the performance of the product or service they use. 7. Volume-Based Pricing: This model offers discounts to customers who purchase a certain amount of a product or service. Challenges with Pricing Modelling? 1. Dealing with Seasonality: Seasonality can cause pricing models to become outdated and inaccurate over time. This can be especially challenging when forecasting the demand for seasonal products. 2. Incorporating Multiple Variables: Pricing models often involve multiple variables and pricing levers, such as discounts, promotional offers, and competitor pricing. Accurately incorporating all of these variables into a pricing model can be complicated and time consuming. 3. Accurately Forecasting Demand: Accurately forecasting demand is key to making sure that pricing models are accurate and up to date. This can be difficult, especially when dealing with short-term trends or new products. 4. Avoiding Price Wars: Price wars often occur when companies compete on price. This can be damaging for businesses, as it can lead to unsustainable pricing models. Companies must be mindful of this when setting prices. 5. Determining the price elasticity of demand for a product or service: Price elasticity measures how a change in price affects the demand for a product or service. It can be difficult to accurately measure the price elasticity of a product or service due to the complexity of the market and the number of factors that can influence demand. 6. Forecasting demand for a product or service: Accurately forecasting demand for a product or service is critical in pricing modelling, as it helps to inform pricing decisions. This involves collecting data on the past demand for the product or service, analyzing trends, and considering external factors that may influence future demand. 7. Developing an appropriate pricing strategy: Once the price elasticity and demand for a product or service are established, a pricing strategy must be developed. This strategy should consider factors such as competitor pricing, customer expectations, and the economics of the market. 8. Accounting for external factors that may influence demand: External factors such as economic conditions, seasonality, and competition can significantly influence the demand for a product or service. Accounting for these factors when modelling prices is essential for accurate pricing decisions. 9. Testing and validating pricing models: Testing and validating pricing models is essential to ensure accuracy. This involves running experiments, collecting data, and making adjustments as needed. Pricing and Compliance Relationship? Pricing for software and services depends on the complexity of the project and the level of customization the customer requires. Generally, software and services are priced on a subscription basis or on a per-project basis. Subscription-based pricing typically includes a one-time setup fee, a monthly or yearly maintenance fee, and a discounted rate for any additional features or services. Per-project pricing may include a one-time setup fee and a flat-fee quote for a particular project. Compliance standards must be met in order to ensure that software and services are secure and compliant with regulatory requirements. This is typically done through the use of third-party audits and certifications. Companies must also ensure that their software and services comply with any industry regulations and standards, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Additionally, companies should ensure that their software and services comply with the various privacy and data protection regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Near Term Future of Pricing The future of pricing largely depends on the market conditions. Prices may fluctuate due to changes in supply and demand, economic conditions, and other factors. In general, technology is likely to continue to drive down prices as companies are able to automate processes, reduce labor costs, and create more efficient supply chains. As the global economy continues to become more connected, the prices of certain goods and services may be subject to greater variation due to foreign exchange rates, availability of materials, and other factors Conclusion What works best depends on many factors as the maturity of the market, competitors, and category of the product/service. Also, this whole process is part of art and partly scientific to determine the right optimal price point, and it can take some iterations to finally settle down at the optimal value and at times it’s a continuous process where you need to experiment the price continuously and adjust to the market changes and demands. So don't be afraid to try and 13 experiment a bit by running multiple prices treatments and offerings before settling down on what works for your business.

Author: Ben Daniel. Sr. Mgr. Revenue Data Science, CHEP Rule sets are often convenient ways for dealing with analytic problems. They are quickly formed, and when they come from those with years of industry experience - they often make a lot of business sense. For example, a marketing team for a building supply company might want to create a campaign to target electricians. The team could draw on their previous business experience and (probably) correctly guess what electricians are likely to buy. Wire, conduit, and switches come to mind. The team could query the sales data for customer accounts that over-penetrate into electrical product categories, and out would come a list of accounts that they could enter into a digital marketing campaign for growing the business among likely customers. There are problems with this approach, however. Problems with The Rules Based Approach: 1. Assumptions and Biases: The rule for identifying an electrician as described above are straightforward. Whether the rules are correct is irrelevant, the fact of the matter is the team that created these rules baked in their assumptions and biases about electricians. Certain customers may be missed because they did not fit the rule that the team may have believed to be true about their target customer segment. 2. Exception Management: Every rule has its exception. As more business rules are created, exceptions appear. The job of managing all these exceptions can be daunting even with robust information systems. 3. Exceptions Create More Rules: Like the air bubbles in a block of Swiss cheese, exceptions create gaps in rule sets. So, to manage the exceptions, analyst teams create more rules. This becomes a vicious cycle - where even the rules that were created to handle exceptions indeed have exceptions themselves! Data Driven Approach How do we break out of this cycle? We must have a data driven approach whereby we start with data, run it through the right machine learning algorithms, and allow the model to derive the rules. But these rules are not like the rules that were formed in the first case, where assumptions and biases are inherently included. These rules are similar to a decision tree. For example, the new rule might state, “if a customer buys more than 1.5 standard deviations from the mean in wire coils in a year, they have an 90% chance of being an electrician.” Machine learning techniques such as CRISP-DM can model and evaluate the accuracy of the decision rule. Hence, analyst teams can validate their approach before they deploy their campaign. In pricing, we can break out of the rules-based approach by asking some big questions: 1. What am I trying to predict (or classify)? 2. What am I trying to estimate? 3. What might I learn if I were to group the subjects of my analysis together? 4. Do I know the important features of my data? Asking these types of questions first and choosing the right analytic technique(s) second can lead to robust model development that not only solves business problems but also sheds useful business insight. For instance, pricing managers might ask themselves, ‘Which of my customers are price sensitive’? The next step might be gathering the data about those customers from sales and marketing systems, tagging the customers who reduced their business after a price change, and then creating a predictive model (e.g., logistic regression, random forest, etc.) to predict which customer is likely to reduce their business after a price increase. Not only can the model make predictions about individual customers, but the coefficients from the model itself can indicate what is likely driving the sensitivity and to what degree. In my personal experience, I have seen the data driven approach work time and again - when it is applied correctly. It can liberate pricing managers from being stuck in rule sets that are not only full of exceptions, but also impossible to validate. With the modern data technology stack and training of data scientists coming from academia, there is little holding companies back from using this approach to optimize their pricing analytics.

Author: Johnny R. Haskins, Jr. MBA, MCTS, MCITP Anyone who took Shakespeare knows that the title of this piece is a play on the words of the character: Hamlet, in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Scene 3, Act 1. But as a pricing leader for your organization, the concept is not foreign and is one that has to be effectively managed daily to achieve and beat revenue goals for your organization. The answer to the pricing question almost certainly is, “Yes”, you have to price and price effectively. You have to surf the waves of the enthusiasm within your organization and body-board the rip-tides of global market constrictions and deliver the best pricing solutions for your organization. Whether your company succeeds or fails is directly tied to your ability to manage pricing, searching ever for the sweet-spot that delivers against the demand from your customers and the competitive-price-daggers of the competition that result in some saying, “Et tu Brute?” Even though the brutal truth is that the elasticity of demand remains a key element in setting price, many leaders find it increasingly difficult to forecast by simply raising or lowering prices that result in little effect on unit sales. Some price leaders wobble into solutions that are as transitory as the markets the leaders seek to profit in. Other leaders bogg themselves down with superfluous iterations of economic calculations that have little or no effect on increased volume of units sold. And still further, some leaders search for the profit-maximizing price by marking up variable costs that tend to be only on upward trends. Though the latter methodology has saved some price leaders from the doom and gloom of missed opportunities, it also has contributed to missed revenue opportunities due to the reliance on simplistic assumptions. Even new managers in the pricing-world know that fixed-costs play no role in setting the optimal price and are only relevant when they help leaders decide whether to offer a product into the market. Fixed costs relevance only helps when deciding how much to charge for the product. And so, now you are in the position of making the pricing decisions for your organization or at least are a part of a team of pricing managers. To avoid pitfalls of other pricing leaders from the past, you should ensure that you expand your knowledge base and stay agile in your pricing-decision-making process. Some pricing managers take one additional step and leverage the absorption costing approach, where the cost-base is the absorption costing unit product cost rather than the variable cost. This methodology makes pricing decisions look too easy because it assumes that the customer needs the forecasted unit sales and will pay whatever grandiose price the company chooses to charge. The tragedy of this approach opens many price leaders up to competitive market pressure and the potential loss of market share. Other price leaders choose to employ target-costing, where the target costs is set first and the company’s product is designed so that the target cost is attained. Whichever methodology you choose to employ in your organization, Pricing, Pricing, Pricing will echo in your head (or at least it should) and scream at you in your dreams—or pricing nightmares.

Author: Frank Frohmann Price optimization for business services (e.g., products such as game consoles, services such as air travel, digital services such as video streaming) must include 11 essential information. These can be symbolized by the "11C" of pricing. In essence, the following questions are involved (cf. Digital Pricing, Springer Gabler 2018): 1. Customer : What are customers willing to pay? What are the price elasticities of customers for our offerings (products, services, software, etc.)? 2. Competition: What are the prices of our competitors? How will competitors react to our measures? 3. Costs: What is the composition of our costs? What is the ratio of variable to fixed costs? 4. Capacity : What is the capacity situation in the industry? How high is the utilization of our production and service capacities? 5. Cycle stage: What stage of life cycle is our offer in? 6. Company targets: What is the strategy? And what are our goals? 7. Compliance: What is the legal framework for pricing in our industry? 8. Channel: Which sales channels do we use? What is their strategic relevance? 9. Country: In which countries are we actively selling? What pricing-relevant interdependencies exist between the individual countries? 10. Currency: How should exchange rate changes be represented in pricing? 11. Context: How does our price presentation affect customer perception? How can we change the context in which a price is presented? How can we consider findings on "nudging", "framing", etc. when optimizing prices? About the Determinants in Detail Customer Price acceptance from the customer's point of view is a key factor influencing sales and profits. Competition Customer preference for a manufacturer or retailer depends on the prices offered by the competition. The tendency here: the lower the competitor prices, the lower our own pricing potential. However, there are numerous examples of companies in various industries that largely avoid price competition based on a differentiation strategy. Costs The level and structure of costs determine the company's pricing leeway. Capacity: The utilization of production facilities or service readiness has a direct impact on pricing. The intensity of price competition results from the relationship between supply capacity and demand. In the case of overcapacity, price is increasingly used to control capacity utilization. The strong correlation between capacity utilization and price levels is particularly true in commodity industries. In the case of homogeneous mass products, the market price is primarily determined by the relationship between supply and demand. Raw materials (crude oil, cement, steel, iron ore), electricity, certain basic chemicals and many other product categories are among these commodities. Cycle stage The variation of prices over the product life cycle is one of the decisive levers for corporate success. Pricing strategies and levels differ fundamentally for the four phases: introduction, growth, maturity, and degeneration. Market penetration can be controlled by the company. For example, a low launch price can accelerate the diffusion process. Digitization fuels the speed of market developments. One example illustrates the dynamics: the classic telephone took a total of 75 years to reach a penetration of 100 million users. In the case of Facebook and WhatsApp, the time required to conquer the same number of users was reduced to four and two years respectively. The changing pricing potential over the lifecycle can be described by the concept of "pricing power." Pricing power describes the potential of a company to enforce price increases (Simon and Fassnacht 2016, p. 26). A company's pricing power is one of the key leading indicators of long-term success ( (Ramanujam & Tacke, 2016). The ability to enforce prices varies over the lifecycle of offerings. High pricing power - and the resulting profit potential from price changes - tends to arise in the following situations: – Innovative offers – High market share (dominating market position) – High customer benefit – Complex offer with low pricing transparency – Scarce capacities – Superior brand image The pricing power of offerings tends to increase from launch through the growth phase and reaches its peak in the maturity lifecycle phase. Thereafter, the price penetration potential generally declines again. Market share is of prominent importance within the criteria. In connection with the lifecycle phases, investment in market share is critical to success, especially for digital offerings. In many digital sectors, quickly achieving critical mass is a prerequisite for reaping the value created through higher prices in later lifecycle phases. Company targets The basic equation Profit = Quantity × Price - Cost illustrates the direct relationship between price and profit. All consequences resulting from a price action are condensed in profit as the ultimate target. Compliance The opportunities and risks of price management are determined by legal details, especially in digitalized industries. Some examples: Technology companies such as Amazon migrating to the financial sector must observe the regulatory requirements of the banking sector. Legal restrictions are also relevant in the highly profitable cloud computing business. For example, Amazon is not authorized to directly analyses the content of companies' stored data. In other sectors, legal requirements apply to digitized price publication (e.g., gas stations) as well as restrictions on the potential of bundling (e.g., software). The following also play a significant role: the fundamental price regulation (e.g., retail, gastronomy) for maintaining price truth and price clarity in the interests of the consumer, and gender equality in the context of gender pricing (e.g., in the cosmetics industry). Channel Digitization has led to a significant expansion of sales channels: including web stores, online marketplaces, platforms. In addition to online sales channels, there are indirect sales (via a distributor or dealer) and direct sales, - this makes price management across all channels much more challenging. For certain customer groups & products, online stores have proven their worth (e.g., spare parts, simple products, customers with low service needs, additional products). Even with a rough division of channels into "online" and "offline", there are different options in pricing: no price differences, "best buy" model, price differentiation "offline" vs. "online". Depending on the industry and strategy, online channels can also be positioned higher in terms of price than stationary stores. The latter strategy was driven by Wal-Mart in 2018. This was due to 3 of the influencing factors already outlined above: Costs (higher logistic costs), Customers (convenience) and Company targets (traffic shift to the stationary channel). Country Price variations depending on countries, regions or sales territories can be explained by a variety of parameters (including differences in competition, costs, or willingness to pay, tax influences). A particular challenge are flows of goods between countries that are not intended by the companies (reimports, grey imports). Parallel imports lead to profit losses through cannibalization, which can be actively countered by a price framework. A price corridor is a compromise solution between unit prices and independent country prices. Currency Exchange rate changes play a prominent role in the price management of global companies. Looking at the price potential between the upper and lower limits (figure 1), it can be stated: The greater the variable unit costs in relation to the maximum price, the greater the influence of exchange rate changes on the optimum price. Context The benefit and price perception of end users, customers and sales partners depends on the context (situation, location, price presentation, etc.). The price presentation is more important for the perception than the objective price level. Consequently, pricing must necessarily incorporate the latest findings in behavioural economics. The latest findings from brain research must be integrated both in price optimization and in the other challenges of the pricing process. Figure 1 illustrates that the various criteria act on two levels. The first tier outlines those criteria which directly influence the level of a price. The second tier comprises factors that have a moderating influence on the price level. Conclusion Professional price management requires the integration of all influencing factors outlined. Business mistakes are inevitable if individual factors are ignored. The most common mistakes include: • Considering costs, customers and/or competition in isolation • Neglecting the legal framework • Not setting clear target priorities • Inconsistent pricing across sales regions and channels The complexity shown in the diagram is further increased in the context of Dynamic Pricing. Dynamic pricing is a time-based approach to price optimization that incorporates a variety of additional criteria beyond the factors outlined: Temporal factors such as season, day of the week or time of day; contextual criteria such as location and weather; customer-related factors such as end device or "search agent" up to offer criteria such as perishability. Particularly important: 1. Price optimization for business services (e.g., products such as game consoles, services such as air travel, digital services such as video streaming) outlined based on the 11 influencing factors is only one facet of price management! 2. Pricing processes consist of numerous challenges that have different significance depending on the sector (B2C, B2B, C2M, C2C), industry and company. Monetization ("value extraction") and value creation ("value generation") can be achieved equally with this management process. 3. Important entrepreneurial decisions are upstream of price determination: ✓ the definition of revenue sources (the revenue model). ✓ the definition of customer value (value-to-customer) as a central pillar of the business model. 4. In digital business models (platforms, marketplaces, ecosystems, etc.), price is no longer a reliable metric for competition. Two major reasons may be mentioned here: a) Many companies (like Google, Amazon, Alibaba or Tencent) cross-subsidize parts of their business. Not all business units have to contribute to the profit. Services are therefore often offered for free (Google) or below production costs (Amazon). b) In digital business models, customers can pay with an equivalent value other than money. For example, with awareness in the context of freemium models. Here, they accept advertising to be able to use the "free" component free of charge. But they can also pay with their data (as in the case of Facebook and Google). 5. This means that professional price management must go beyond the pure optimization of the pricing process and reflect the higher-level decisions on the business model and the revenue model (Frohmann, 2018). 6. Only a holistic view of all levels, including their sub-elements, enables companies to exploit revenue, profit, and value enhancement potential.

What a time! The Professional Pricing Society hosted the return to in-person events during the Spring Pricing Workshops and Conference event held April 26-29th in Chicago, Illinois. Over 350 attendees from more than 90 companies joined us for last month’s 33rd Annual Professional Pricing Society (PPS) Spring Pricing Workshops Conference in Chicago. After two-and-a-half years of Virtual Conferences, the PPS Team was thrilled to return, face-to-face, with our members, speakers, experts, and sponsors. We had a wonderful week reconnecting with old colleagues and meeting new friends at 9 full-day workshops, 8 keynotes, 16 breakout sessions, and 6 speaker town halls. Sincerest thanks to the PPS Team, the hotel staff, and our contract team members for their very hard work for our event – also, a very special thank you goes out to our speakers and sponsors for their partnership as well . View the official #PPSCHI22 Photo Gallery below: Watch the recap video from PPS President Kevin Mitchell below: The extended link to view more photos : https://photos.app.goo.gl/ENpAtzbSKoDNU1xU8 Look out for more updates from our attendees, staff and Sponsors as we continue to share event highlights from #PPSCHI22. Join us in San Francisco this Fall! https://www.pricingsociety.com/fall-conference-22

In this guest post by #PPSCHI22 Pricing Breakout Speaker Fred Puech, Founder of Keenalytix, we learn three ways pricing does help with your business and three ways it does not. Pricing is probably the area where the disconnect between what business stakeholders expect and what analytics can deliver is the widest. Very often, this disconnect comes from a deep misunderstanding of what analytics really is and what it can deliver, fueled by the hype about data being the new oil and “quants” having superpowers. The reality is a bit different. Pricing analytics can indeed be a very powerful tool for any given business, but a good starting point is to level-set the expectations about what it can actually deliver. Analytics, really. The literal meaning of “analytics” is “the resolution of anything complex into smaller elements”. In other words, one analyzes a problem by decomposing it into smaller elements to understand how they are connected to each other. For a modern analyst, these elements are called variables and the connection between them is called a model. In the specific case of pricing, one can classify the variables into three separate groups: (1) pricing metrics (e.g., discount rates, net customer prices, gross margin rates), (2) business KPIs (volume, revenue, margin) and (3) other relevant customer and product characteristics (e.g., customer channel, industry, location, product category, brand, etc.). A pricing analyst’s main job is then to take these variables, try and understand how they interact with each other (the model), and derive insights that will eventually lead to pricing decisions. The modeling part is obviously the most difficult task, especially if one wants to move beyond simple correlations and build predictive pricing models. Ask anyone who has ever tried to come up with an accurate quantification of price elasticity. What Pricing Analytics Can Do At a high level, pricing analytics answers one question, and one question only: should we take price up, down or stay put? Of course, the answer does not depend only on pricing analytics (business objectives come first), but it is here to support the decision-making process. Diving a little deeper, we can then define pricing analytics in terms of the three types of questions it can address: Learn - what is currently happening? This is usually the starting point for any good analytical process. It helps build the analyst’s intuition before moving on to the more advanced modeling. It is the question that traditional business intelligence and reporting dashboards are meant to answer. Understand - why is it happening? This is where we start building more advanced pricing models using data mining and statistical modeling techniques. However, we are still very much looking at the past (and present). Decide - what should we do? Decision-making is best supported by advanced modeling techniques, such as predictive and prescriptive models and other machine learning approaches. All these approaches have in common the fact that they try and predict future outcomes instead of merely understand past ones. What Pricing Analytics Cannot Do Everything beyond and beside these three broad questions is in essence “out of scope” for a pricing department. Specifically, pricing analytics cannot: Be accurate without limits. Pricing analytics, if done well, can give you excellent predictions of the impact of your foreseen 3% price increase. 5%? No problem. 10%? Still okay, but we’re starting to get less accurate and more directionally right. For anything above 50%, you might as well use a Magic 8-ball (you shouldn’t; use pricing research instead). Predict the unpredictable, or its consequences. Case in point: pricing professionals the world over struggled mightily to do their job and navigate the consequences of the pandemic over the last two years. Who can blame them? We went from a highly deflationary environment during the global lockdowns of 2020 to inflation rates not seen since the 1970s in 2021-22. Replace Humans Yes, pricing can be automated by using a pricing software…up to a certain point. Pricing analytics and software cannot fully replace human judgement or fully predict human behavior. This is equally true in B2B, where relationships and negotiations are still an integral part of conducting business, and in B2C, where companies can face significant consumer backlash when leaving their pricing algorithms unchecked (remember when Uber started charging hundreds of dollars for a ride on New Year’s Eve?) Analytics is the process of defining variables and the connections between them. In the case of pricing, it can help a business learn about its current pricing situation, understand it and eventually make future pricing decisions. It can be a powerful tool, when used properly and with the right set of expectations. To learn more about ways to implement pricing analytics within your organization, join Fred Puech in Chicago at the PPS Spring Pricing Conference and Workshops event on April 27. Fred will be holding a full-day workshop on “Practical Pricing Analytics”, in which he will present a framework that makes pricing analytics easier to implement in order to drive results.

Demand for pricing software has continued to grow as companies strive for a more data-driven pricing approach. Over the past year, the market has increased by $345M, with 981 new entrants vying for market share. According to PriceFX, the total cost of implementing pricing software can run from $100,000 to $1.5M. With such a high upfront investment, one would think the returns would justify the cost. Unfortunately, 92% of pricing software fail to meet targeted KPIs within three years. What are the reasons behind this? To better understand the challenges pricing solutions face, we can look at Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, which has had similar struggles over the years. CRM software has existed in one form or another since the 1980s and experienced many consolidations over the years (like pricing software is experiencing now). What was once a group of 30 to 40 public CRM companies has now slimmed down to only 5 to 7 meaningful vendors. How did these companies succeed where others failed? What lessons can pricing software companies learn from the shortcomings of CRM software? #1: Disconnect Between Features And Process Many substandard CRM systems use flashy features to attract customers toward purchasing their product. There is no logical reasoning behind the CRM’s conception and feature offerings – but they look good and sound great. For example, many CRM systems have integrated call-script functionality for sales reps, restricting how they respond to customers and making the sales process more robotic than relationship based. The same issue exists with pricing software, where the average solution has 20+ features. While loads of features attract customers initially, it is only the useful ones that will retain them. Every additional feature that does not bring value to users will complicate your solution. To understand which pricing software is right for you, it is important to understand your business process. That way, you know what you need to drive ROI and won’t be tempted by the feature-loaded options. #2: No Collaboration One of the biggest reasons why CRM implementation fails is the inability of departments to collaborate with each other. A CRM system is most effective when all teams use it together with a structured plan behind it. Pricing software faces similar challenges. Specifically, it is the lack of collaboration between Sales, Marketing and Finance that undermines success. Sales want lower prices to close more deals and hit revenue targets while Marketing and Finance want higher prices to increase brand equity and profit. This lack of alignment creates an organizational disconnect that leads to missed opportunities, underperformance, and additional costs. Pricing software should be used to align the three departments in a structured way (uniform process, one source of truth, etc.) to prevent siloed thinking. #3: Poor Ongoing Training & Support When you have been doing back of the envelop work for your entire career, the idea of learning a complicated software platform like CRM is daunting. For a CRM to be successfully adopted, there must be hyper support present. Proper training / support is also the secret sauce to pricing success. Unfortunately, this rarely happens. Companies tend to hand off the solution outputs to their team and hope they will magically come to life in the market. In reality, pricing solutions often output recommendations that the team does not understand / like or thinks are not feasible with customers. There needs to be cross-functional support available to help the organization gauge whether these concerns are tangible or just emotional. If tangible, then the team can assess ways to modify the system or the internal process to create new guidelines for pricing. If emotional, then a coaching / culture shift is required. #4: Terrible Data What happens when CRM systems use inaccurate or incomplete data? As the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out.” In fact, having bad data might be just as problematic, or more, as having no data at all. For example, your CRM system is intended to give you a better, more complete picture of who your customers are and what their pain points are. If your CRM is riddled with inaccuracies, you will probably focus on the wrong person and dedicate precious time and effort to someone who is not interested in making a purchase while ignoring a would-be customer. Pricing requires leveraging data from various sources - sales data, delivery data, product cost information, reimbursements & discounts, etc. to get optimal insights. Unfortunately, accurately integrating these diverse data sources takes substantial time and oversight. Companies often underestimate the importance of this and do not take the proper steps to ensure it is done right. As a result, what would have been a high-value pricing solution ends up being a black box with misleading outputs. Pricing Software Will Continue To Evolve Having pricing software does not guarantee success. Organizations need to evaluate pricing solutions based on current gaps and opportunities and pick the one that meets their exact needs. If you want to learn more about how to ensure pricing software success, Join Avy Punwasee in Chicago at the PPS Spring Pricing Conference on April 29. His session, “Successfully Implement Pricing Software” will dive deeper into what companies can do to ensure their pricing software is a support system rather than another tool to master. *Click the video below to watch his message* Contact Avy: apunwasee@revenueml.com

A Guest Blog post written by Avy Punwasee, Partner at Revenue Management Labs and Speaker during #PPSEuro21 B2B companies are experiencing 360-degree inflationary cost realities spanning raw materials, labor, energy and more. It’s a challenging situation making global headlines: “Inflation Notches A Fresh 30-Year High” - CNBC 10/29/2021 “Freight Rates Up More Than 90% In One Year” – Hortidaily 10/11/2021 “Raw Material Inflation To Continue, Despite ‘Some Stabilisation” – ICIS 10/26/2021 Even worse, the high-risk, time-sensitive decisions are put on the shoulders of business leaders with no playbook on inflation. The truth is most B2B companies are ill-equipped to simply absorb these rising costs. Some companies passed the burden to customers through increased prices but most companies granted their customers additional pandemic pricing relief. This move dug, and continues to dig a slippery, deep, unsustainable pricing hole. If you submit to discounting and payment reductions to benefit customers, be careful; it threatens your current bottom line and long-term viability. It’s important to note companies increasing prices are still barely outstripping rising raw material & labor costs. For example, a new client recently onboarded is growing revenue consistently but their margins are down 5%....it’s tough out there. Inflation is a new challenge for many younger companies and hasn’t been a crisis de jour in their lifecycle. The worst aspect…many underestimate both length & severity of the corresponding financial impact compounded by fear of action. Paralyzed by analysis becomes commonplace as the playbook on inflation is thin and authored during the 1980’s recession. Combine these variables, longer sales cycles, cheap debt and long-term contracts and you have today’s situation. Often it takes at minimum a quarter for raising prices to realign and recover. You need to act now. The current market favors nimble pricing moves. Here’s what you need to do: 1. Refine Value Quantification Versus Market When setting a price for offerings, B2B companies rarely focus on value, leaving money on the table. To close the gap between price and value, companies must first understand how their offerings are differentiated compared to competitors. Doing this will give companies a better understanding of what customers value. Key Takeaway: COMP INTEL (use a site like spyfu.com for a mile-high check). 2. Protect Price Integrity Share the cost burden with the Customer; don’t own it all. Use your intel and insight to protect your price integrity and create deals benefitting you and your customer. 3. Address Price Leakages Take time to examine and forecast how customer investments impact final pricing. Many companies have missed opportunities during the pandemic and erroneously focus on the list price and invoice price. How does an offering listed at $100 end up only netting $50? To fix the discrepancy, evaluate your concessions to plug price leaks and maximize profits. 4. Enable Front Line Sales Execution 63% of salespeople are uncomfortable negotiating with Customers on price-related terms: avoiding the discussions by giving concessions. If your sales reps become Price Champions you can dramatically decrease discounting and turn higher profits. Final Thoughts Although the impetus of inflation is a painful call-to-arms, we’ll help you in combat while maintaining sustainable profit levels. In the long term, let’s improve your quality of organizational planning while empowering sales reps to become better negotiators. If you want to learn more about B2B pricing, Join Avy Punwasee this December during the PPS European and Global Pricing Conference Event #PPSEuro21 Join us for the session “B2B Pricing In Inflationary Periods” to dive deeper into each of the above 4 steps. Send an email to Avy: apunwasee@revenueml.com

Below are the survey results from our #PPSFVC21 attendees and notes from PPS President Kevin Mitchell. Well over 300 attendees from more than 100 companies joined us for the Professional Pricing Society’s 2021 Fall Virtual Conference from October 12-15. This was our third Virtual Conference and our first with a new visual platform. Sincerest thanks to our partners from across the globe: our member companies, our attendees, our speakers, our sponsors, and the PPS Team for all that you did to make our event such a great experience. We miss connecting with everyone in person, but our Fall conference did offer four great days of educational workshops, informative breakout sessions, inspiring keynotes, and interesting networking discussions. Please search #PPSFVC21 on LinkedIn and other social media for pictures, blog posts, reactions, and other information. As a reminder to our attendees, we recorded all of the keynotes and breakouts – you have until January 12, 2022 to view the recordings from your PPS Member portal. Many conference attendees took advantage of our post-conference surveys to give us their feedback and recommendations regarding our event. PPS relies on your feedback for future event planning, so please feel free to reach out to me directly with your thoughts. The 2021 Fall Virtual Conference received very positive reactions overall and here are some of the highlights: • Overall, the 2021 Fall Virtual Conference received very good ratings with a 4.01 average rating on a 1-to-5 point scale. o 81.3% of respondents rated the Virtual Conference either “Very Good” or “Excellent.” ▪ No one rated the 2021 Spring Virtual Conference as “Poor,” but one respondent rated the event as “Fair.” All of the Certified Pricing Professional full-day Workshops received very high ratings of at least 4.00. Our most highly rated workshops were: o Ofer Levi and Ian Tidswell’s “Powerful Commercial Price Policy” Lydia Di Liello’s “The Art of the Win: How to Negotiate with Anyone and Get Your Way” All 6 Keynote Addresses were also very well-received with scores of at least 4.00 on a 1-to-5 point scale. The highest rated keynotes were o Stephan Liozu’s “Pricing: The New CEO Imperative” (4.52) o Holly Krafft’s “Analytics for Business Success: Are You and Your Leaders Asking the Right Questions?” (4.43) • Breakout Presentations were exceptionally well-received, with average ratings of 4.38 on a 1-to-5 point scale and no ratings below 4. The following breakout presentations received scores of at least 4.65: o Scott Miller’s “From Steel to Silicon: Pricing in the B2B Digital Era” Benjamin Garden’s “Leveraging Analytics to Identify Pricing Opportunities in B2B” o Avy Punwasee’s “Pricing in Inflationary Periods” and o The Infusion Panel’s discussion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion featuring Hillary Gretton, Katie Wei, Susana Lopez, Kalpana Sundar, and D. Keith Pigues moderated Dr. Michael Tatonetti. Additional Conference events received more mixed ratings in the “Good” to “Very Good” range, again on a 1-to-5 scale: The Overall Conference Agenda was rated 4.03 o PPS Customer Service received a 4.47 rating Attendees felt that our event offered a Very Good (3.88) Value for the Price Paid Networking only received a 2.91 Rating with several attendees noting that it was more difficult to network in a Virtual format. We received lots of positive and constructive qualitative feedback as well: o Our attendees appreciated the ease of use and connectivity of our new virtual event software Several attendees demonstrated a strong liking for the diversity of participants and speakers, with an influence on practitioner experiences. Attendees appreciated that all keynotes and breakouts are recorded for OnDemand viewing, and several attendees expressed strong desires to return to in-person meetings and fatigue with Virtual formats. Thanks to everyone that joined us and supported the 2021 Fall Virtual Conference. We value your feedback and suggestions, and we will continue to work hard to ensure that our events are a great investment for you and your team. Please join us this December for our 2021 European & Global Conference scheduled for December 1-3, 2021 . Stay tuned for more information about 2022!