Price your product or service

Different pricing tactics can help you attract more customers and maximise profits. The following is a list of types of pricing strategies that your business could use to boost sales.

Discounting

Offering specially-reduced prices can be a powerful tool. This could be a clearance discount to sell old stock, a discount for making multiple purchases of the same or similar products, or you could offer bulk discounts to encourage larger orders. You should be able to make these more profitable through lower costs.

But be careful. If you discount too much, customers may question your full-rate pricing or see you as a cheap option, making it difficult to charge full-rate prices in the future.

Odd value pricing

Using the retailer's tactic of selling products for £9.99 instead of £10 can be useful if price is an essential part of customers' buying decisions. Some customers perceive odd value prices like this as being more attractive.

Loss leader

This involves selling a product at a low or even loss-making price. Although you may not make a profit selling this product, you could attract customers who will also buy other, more profitable products.

Skimming

If you have a unique product or service, you can sell it at a high price. This is known as skimming - but you need to be sure that what you are selling is unique. Otherwise you may just price yourself out of the market if there is credible competition.

Penetration

This is the opposite of skimming - starting at a low price and gaining market share before competitors catch up with you. Once you have a loyal customer base, you should be able to find ways to raise prices later.