In an article at Forbes titled "The Price is Wrong" Tom Taulli covers four important and often overlooked pricing issues including:

• Price On Value, Not Cost


• Look At The Competition


• Everyone Has a Price


• The Lifetime Value of a Customer

Tom writes about except he has consulted with a pricing expert, has some interesting examples, and talks about how even public companies use these strategies to make sure they do not leave money on the table.

Personally, I love what he has to say about 'Everyone Has a Price' and 'Price on Value, Not Cost'. It takes vision, courage, and commitment to make a decision to price on value because you will most likely be at a price higher than your competitors. Why? Because many of your competitors are simply copy cats and do not have an original thought in their pea-sized brains.

A lazy competitor will use discounts to 'buy business' and when you price above them and your customer still buys from you really they appreciate and buy the 'value' they get when doing business with you - the competition will be isolated and confused when their discount strategies no longer work.

What has been your experience with pricing your products and services? What challenges do face in your market? How have you dealt with the pricing issues in your business?