Pricing Process and Pricing Psychology

The starting point of the three-dimensional optimization approach “digital pricing” is the customer benefit (“value to customer”) defined within the framework of the business model. The immediate consequence of this is that professional pricing must incorporate the latest findings in behavioral psychology. Since customer behavior is the most important factor influencing profits the perception of benefits and prices is of paramount importance. Controlling perception is critical to success. To put it another way: A provider’s perceived benefits and price image are more significant than its actual positioning. I present the latest findings from brain research as the final chapter of the book. Against the background of the challenges of the pricing process, it is shown how the perception of customers can be controlled with the help of price-psychological levers. Eleven principles of pricing psychology are assigned to the point in the pricing process where they can be applied in terms of process sequence and content. The focus is on the key decision fields in price management that relate to interactions with customers—the process challenges “structure” and “implementation” and their detailed steps.