Pricing in Marketing
When a product is bought, some money is paid for it. This money represents the sum of values that consumers exchange for the benefit of having or using the product and is referred to as the price of the product. Similarly, money paid for the services such as fare for the transport service, premium for an insurance policy, and fee to a doctor for his medical advise represent the price of these services. Price may therefore be defined as the amount of money paid by a buyer (or received by a seller) in consideration of the purchase of a product or a service. Different pricing methods place varying degree of emphasis on selection, estimation, and evaluation of costs, comparative analysis, and market situation.
Pricing occupies an important place in the marketing of goods and services by a firm. No product can be launched without a price tag or at least some guidelines for pricing. Pricing is often used as a regulator of the demand of a product. Generally, if the price of a product is increased, its demand comes down, and vice-versa. Choosing the price of a product or service should not be done in a haphazard way. Research should be conducted in a number of areas including the customer market, competition and the life cycle of the product.
Pricing is considered to be an effective competitive weapon. In the conditions of perfect competition, most of the firms compete with each other on the basis of this factor. It is also the single most important factor affecting the revenue and profits of a firm. Thus, most marketing firms give high importance to the fixation of price for their products and services.
