Posted by In my previous post I wrote about the first element of the marketing-mix, the product. That was first, and what’s second? Price. If Nowak thinks about business, he imagines the bills he earns. However, they will not appear out of nowhere. It is the correctly determined price of the products in the store that will cause the business to start paying off after a while.
The calculated price must take into account many, sometimes conflicting, goals of the company:
- achieving the planned number of products sold, which can be difficult if the price is too high compared to the competition,
- getting the monthly income you planned for the business; otherwise, you may find that giving the invested money to the bank and enjoying the interest was a better option,
- gaining a certain number of regular customers, who will provide a livelihood for Nowak’s business at the beginning, as well as in hard times in the future.
Prices for computers can be set in several ways. The most common is to add a certain satisfactory margin to the cost of purchasing from a supplier or manufacturing the products. Such a policy is rarely possible at the beginning of the business, simply that prices have to be adjusted to the prices of products offered by competitors. The rule almost always applies: the higher the quality of the product, the higher the price, and vice versa. If Nowak sometimes manages to reduce costs and sell good quality equipment at a low price – his success! After all, low costs are the most advantageous competitive advantage.
Third – distribution. The place and methods of selling computers are of great importance in achieving success. It’s easy to overlook this element of marketing and settle for an easily accessible premises, hiring a neighbor as a salesman or a cousin with no experience as a sales representative. If Nowak came up with the idea of a training company, he may think distribution won’t be necessary. But regardless of whether the company provides services or sells products, the way to reach the customer is important.
In the case of a computer store, it is worth considering:
- where best to locate the business,
- whether there are significant competitors nearby,
- whether it is worthwhile to sell computers in several places at the same time,
- whether there are people among a select group of key customers who will choose to buy online,
- whether it is worth hiring sales representatives and what would be their role in selling computers.