A few years ago a guest house owner was asked how much his room cost for one night. A shout from the other side of the hedge- ‘Whatever he said, mine are 50p less!’

And so a price is fixed and many businesses seem to charge according to the ‘market’, irrespective of their own costs or other considerations.

There are several ways to set prices:

Cost plus pricing, the old food and drink favourite, relies on the application of a margin set at a percentage above product cost on the assumption that it will cover operating expenses and profit.

Rate of return pricing, or deciding what percentage rate of return you want on your investment, then estimating the number of units likely to be sold, the associated costs and an amount to cover the return on investment is another option.

Competitive pricing has already been mentioned and then there is demand pricing where price levels are varied to reflect the strength of demand. Value pricing reflects the value of the product from the customer’s perspective.

Maximising your revenue and profit levels requires that you take all of the above into account. For example you must ensure your prices cover all costs and generate a return on your investment. Without that, your business has no future. So there must be an internal as well as an external focus within your pricing levels too. Your business cannot be priced to meet the cost requirements of your neighbour but you will probably need to reflect weaker levels of demand on occasions too.

Finally you need to focus on value too, for without sufficient value your customer will not buy. And if your value is too low? Try raising value before reducing prices, because pricing has a significant impact on market positioning and perceptions too.

Print Items
1.    Sales brochure
2.    Postcards,
3.    Newsletter
4.    Business cards – use the reverse too
5.    A5 handout cards illustrating main services
6.    Promote on own letterheads & compliment slips
7.    Advertising card packs

E-marketing
1.    Web site creation
2.    Offer feeds from web site
3.    Search Engine optimisation
4.    Article promotion
5.    Social networking
6.    Banner ads
7.    Email marketing
8.    Pay per click advertising
9.    On-line directories
10.    Membership of on-line sales organisations
11.    Teleseminars
12.    Podcasts – selling your destination or service
13.    Videos on line
14.    Viral marketing campaigns
15.    Site, link or page sponsorship

Direct Marketing
1.    Direct mail letter
2.    Postcards,
3.    Leaflet/flyer for door drops, hand-outs
4.    SMS messages
5.    Telesales
6.    Fax messages
7.    Mail diaries
8.    Mail Christmas/ birthday cards/ New Year cards/ anniversary cards

PR (the only free item on the list)
1.    Write articles for trade/ public publications
2.    Issue press releases re your business news, new appointments, new products etc.

Advertising
1.    Press/magazine advert
2.    Advertising on car park, theatre tickets etc.
3.    Match boxes
4.    Freebies – pens, drink stirrers, tee shirts, umbrellas etc.
5.    Radio advertising
6.    TV advertising (Expensive? Think PR)
7.    Banners on hoardings, inside own buildings
8.    Flags
9.    Hot air balloons/ mobiles
10.    Taxi advertising,
11.    Airport/ train station advertising
12.    Yellow pages
13.    Yell.com
14.    Adverts on company vehicles
15.    Advertising on materials used by others – i.e. the back of envelopes used for mailing out local theatre tickets
16.    Beer-mats, bar towels
17.    In shops/ message boards

Networking
1.    Sponsorship – local events, horse races, charity nights, pub teams, local adventurers, sports teams, school teams etc.
2.    Partnership marketing with other businesses serving the same markets
3.    Membership of business/ public organisations
4.    Membership of marketing consortia
5.    Promotions with local charities – raffle prizes etc.
6.    After dinner speaking

Other
1.    External signage
2.    Aeroplanes – banners and skywriting!
3.    Wine and cheese or cocktail evenings
4.    Organise own seminars
5.    Organise competitions
6.    Exhibit at local shows
7.    Own tee shirts/ ties/ uniforms
8.    Sell badged leisurewear
9.    Use external ‘A’ boards, sandwich boards
10.    Window signs
11.    External banners
12.    Carrier bags advertising
13.    Give aways – copy menus, replica items, pencils, pens, writing pads,
14.    Fortune cookies
15.    Produce CD’s
16.    Write a book, special report
Thats it.