More and more leaders in the last few years have challenged their own pricing models, invested in price optimization, and confronted disruptive event after disruptive event, from the pandemic to inflation to supply chain constraints. But without an overarching pricing strategy ? and the structured framework to derive and support it ? these leaders have often overlooked opportunities to shape their markets to their advantage. The book is aimed at senior executives and business leaders who understand that pricing is a powerful lever, yet feel it is hard to act on. It offers the pricing strategies and tactics most leaders lack, with a logical, practical framework called The Pricing Triangle that will enable them to provide strategic pricing guidance to their functional teams with greater confidence, speed, and efficiency. The Triangle draws its shape from the need for companies to coordinate pricing decisions across three sets of three drivers: ? Inputs: Costs, competitors prices, and most importantly, the value the company creates for customers ? Customer Behavior: Elasticity, price discrimination, and game theory ? Market forces: Commoditization, innovation, and market consolidation. The Strategic Pricing Triangle elevates the development of pricing strategy to the same level as other key strategies within the company.

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Changing the pricing conversation 4

Part I: Changing the Pricing Conversation              26

Introduction to Part I      27

Chapter 1 Three information sources      33

Chapter 2 Four economic frameworks    50

Chapter 3 Seven games in the Strategic Pricing Hexagon 63

Chapter 4 Six market forces         84

Chapter 5 What the Hex? The political angles of pricing decisions               93

Chapter 6 What’s next? The design of pricing models       107

Part II: Winning the seven pricing games 124

Introduction to Part II     125

Chapter 7 The Value Game: When art trumps science      127

Chapter 8 The Uniform Game: The all-time classic              138

Chapter 9 The Cost Game: Where efficiency reigns           154

Chapter 10 The Power Game: When every move counts 168

Chapter 11 The Custom Game: Making sense of the chaos             184

Chapter 12 The Choice Game: Framing options for customers      201

Chapter 13 The Dynamic Game: When everything matters            220

Part III: Changing your Pricing Game        236

Introduction to Part III   237

Chapter 14 Innovation: Seizing a step-change opportunity            239

Chapter 15 As-a-service: Growing with your customer     248

Chapter 16: AI: Perfecting price differentiation   258

Chapter 17 Channel: Going direct to consumers 268

Chapter 18 Scale: Achieving the ultimate cost advantage 280

Chapter 19 Free: Competing with the most magical price point    292

Part IV: Shaping society through pricing decisions              305

Introduction to Part IV   306

Chapter 20 Fairness: How to differentiate prices across customers             307

Chapter 21 Equitable pricing: How buyers and sellers share value               322

Chapter 22 Access: How pricing can eradicate diseases   336

Chapter 23 Green Premium: How to shape demand for sustainable solutions        352

Chapter 24 CO2: How to encourage lower carbon emissions         368

Chapter 25: Impact: How progressive pricing can scale social ventures     381

Epilogue               397

Appendix: About the Studies     

About the Authors

Index