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How does the Price of a Product Affect the Marketing Plan for the Product?

Considerations must include the competitive landscape.

This series revisits the basics of branding and marketing by answering questions marketers, entrepreneurs and small business owners face when growing their business. I hope this series provides you with knowledge to think smarter and a nudge to make stuff happen.


How does the Price of a Product Affect the Marketing Plan for the Product?

The price of a product doesn’t necessarily affect its marketing plan. Objectives still need to be set. Strategies must be identified. Tactics need to be developed. Constraints (budget & timing) must be listed. None of that changes with low-priced or high-priced products.

What does change are the strategies and tactics needed, relative to how a product is priced given its competitive landscape.

As mentioned earlier, high-priced products need a rich story behind it in order to justify its premium price. That story needs to come through in the strategies and tactics used to gain customer attention in hopes of earning a purchase.

How a product is priced relative to its competition will significantly affect its marketing plan.

The more competitors a product has, the more difficult it will be to gain customer attention.

The more similarly priced competitors a product has, the more difficult it will be to earn a purchase.

The onus is on the marketer to create imaginative strategies and tactics that breakthrough the cluttered competitive landscape.

Fast food retail marketers face this conundrum every day. Prices are similar across the board for fast food retailers. Every fast food retailer competes on price from Taco Bell to Burger King to Subway.

To standout from all their competitors, Taco Bell, Burger King, and Subway need to be more imaginative in what they say, when they say it, how they say it, and whom they say it to.

Taco Bell continuously shows creativity with its “Think Outside the Bun” marketing.

Burger King continuously tries to be more uniquely creative than McDonald’s in its marketing efforts. (Doesn’t always work for Burger King.)

Subway continuously, and with sharp focus, shows its creativity in marketing its affordable foot long sandwiches and in telling its eat healthy story.

The simple fact remains, a brand, no matter if its priced high or low, must be interesting to get customers interested. A marketing plan needs to follow through on the “be interesting” positioning.


REVISITING THE BASICS | archive

#01 | How Should a Brand be Defined?
#02 | What’s the Difference between Branding and Marketing?
#03 | Is there a Difference between a Company Name and a Brand Name?
#04 | Does every Brand need a Unique Selling Position?
#05 | Do Consumers Really Feel Emotional about Brands?
#06 | How should “Brand Personality” be Described?
#07 | Are Taglines Important? Why or Why Not?
#08 | Are Logos Important? Why or Why Not?
#09 | Can a Brand be Built without a Large Budget?
#10 | Why is a Brand Style Guide important?
#11 | What are Key Components to Include in a Brand Style Guide?
#12 | How Rigid Should a Brand Style Guide Be?
#13 | The Brand Style Guide is Built. Now What?
#14 | What Matters Most to Consumers: Brand, Price, or Convenience?
#15 | Does a Company’s Mission Statement Play a Role in Marketing the Brand?
#16 | How can Business Operations Support the Brand Promise?
#17 | How do you get Employees to “Live the Brand”?
#18 | Do all Marketing Activities need a Strong Call to Action?
#19 | Do Brands need to be Marketed Differently Depending on their Stage of Life?
#20 | What Role does Promotion Play in Effective Marketing?
#21 | How Connected should PR efforts be to Marketing efforts?
#22 | At the Retail Level, What do Effective In-Store Campaigns Look Like?
#23 | How Valuable are Loyalty Programs?
#24 | Is Sampling the Best Way to Drive Trial of a New Product?
#25 | What Role can Marketers Play in Pricing Strategy?
#26 | How does the Price of a Product Affect the Marketing Plan for the Product?