Reduce Price to Improve Revenues and Margins

CHOICE 1 OBJECTIVE: ATTRACT CUSTOMERS

CHOICE 2 ISOLATE SEGMENTS: PRODUCT COST SAVINGS SEGMENT

CHOICE 3 COMPONENT: CHANGE THE BASIS OF CHARGE

No. SIC Year Notes
1 4512 1986 Northwestern Business Travel offering cost-plus arrangements to corporate clients. Offers to rebate commissions, instead billing for actual expenses, plus a markup of between 15% and 20%.
2 4512 1986 Greatways Travel Management, trying to land the state of Michigan as a major customer, is proposing to rebate commissions to the state and instead charging a basic fee of $19.75 per transaction.
3 7372 2005 Wind River is pushing to get more gadget makers to use the company's software development tools and raise the performance bar in the industry. Wind River offers royalty-free deals, in which companies pay a higher upfront fee to use the development software rather than a per-unit royalty when their device ships.
4 7372 2008 Microsoft Corp. will begin selling its Office programs to consumers on a subscription basis starting in mid-July, in a bid to reach thrifty PC buyers who would otherwise pass on productivity software. The software bundle, which includes Microsoft's live OneCare computer security software, will be sold at nearly 700 Circuit City stores for $70 a year. Subscription pricing has become commonplace in business, but is relatively new for consumers. Buying programs the traditional way would cost $200. Under the subscription plan, upgrading is included in the annual cost. The new plan is aimed at those who wouldn't ordinarily buy Office at the same time they purchase a new computer; but they are willing to spend extra on security software, which is why the price falls between the high and low ends of popular security programs from vendors such as McAfee Inc. and Symantec Corp.

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