Multiple Unit Pricing

You can increase the size of your individual sales by offering a meaningful discount for larger purchases. A liquor store usually will offer a discount or throw in a free bottle of wine when you buy a case. The same idea applies to the "baker's dozen," a discount on a "set" of tires or selling beer and soft drinks by the pitcher. This is a good technique for building customer goodwill, but you will not see your customers as often. The trade-off, of course, is that you save time and money on containers and packaging, save time by writing up fewer sales and, perhaps, can make your delivery service more efficient by selling by the truckload. Variations are "two-fors," "six-packs," "cheaper by the carton" and "bulk price."

Suggested Retail Pricing

This is the practice of selling at prices set by your suppliers. It is convenient because many product lines are available prepackaged and prepriced. However, you lose flexibility and must live with a set percentage markup. (To combat this disadvantage, some suppliers offer "two-for-three" options using the retail price). Because suggested-retail or retail-price-maintenance plans are illegal in some states, the practice usually is a loser. Using a slightly different strategy, Panasonic published a "minimum retail" price list showing a higher "average retail"; some stores use such gimmicks as "compare at" or "nationally advertised at" to imply that the "official" price is at a certain point.

Discount Pricing

The discount store usually offers lower prices as a trade-off for spartan interiors, lack of sales help and the efficiency of central checkouts. These stores typically work on a 35 to 38 percent markup compared to 42.5 to 45 percent for a department store. Since discount stores depend on the efficiency of greater volume to cover operating costs, they must maintain, or at least promote, good prices.

Full-cost Pricing

This pricing is calculated by adding the costs of the product or service plus a flat fee or percentage as the margin of profit. During inflation, you must keep track of your costs to make sure that you are charging enough. In many business lines, owners have come to realize that when they replace their stock, the wholesale price has often risen above their retail price. If they do not raise prices rapidly enough, they are faced with diminishing inventories at a constant dollar investment or with having to invest more money to restock their shelves at the constant level.

Keystone Pricing

This refers to the practice of setting the retail price at double the cost figure, or a 100 percent markup. It is most common with jewelry items and in specialty shops, high-ticket fashion shops and department stores. Typically, the merchandise is subject to drastic clearance markdowns on items that are slow sellers or held past the season.

Price Lining

This is the technique used by most retail stores of stocking merchandise in several different price ranges. A hardware store, for example, may carry hammers in good, better, and best categories at $6.49, $12.49 and $19.98, respectively, and a professional model at $27.95. The theory is that people buy products with different uses in mind and with different expectations for quality and length of useful life. If you do not carry a range of prices, you may lose the customers who cannot find the product at the right price. Price lining simplifies buying and inventory control because you buy only for the price levels that you know your customers will accept and eliminate those goods that fall outside the levels you want to carry.

Competitive Advantage

Here is where you copy or follow the prices set by your competition. Based on your service image, you can set your prices equal to, above or below those of your competition. This strategy requires constant vigilance by reading the ads and shopping your competition. It is a more passive technique because you're always following your competitors. Chances are your more aggressive competitor can make better purchases than you. A variation of this is the we-won't-be-undersold routine, where you offer to meet or beat the prices of all your competitors.

Pre-season Pricing

Many manufacturers offer price discounts or dated billing as incentives to buy early. This is important to manufacturers because of production planning and the lead time necessary for ordering raw materials. For the retailer, the same principles apply; also, off-season specials may be a way to profit in business on a year-round basis. When you sell at a lower price to get the early sales, you may be borrowing from later full price sales. On the other hand, anyone who has tried to buy snow tires during the year's first snowstorm knows the extent of delivery problems. In this case, early sales at a lower price would have allowed the merchant to serve the customers better and to capture sales that may be lost due to limited service facilities.

Price Is No Object

This refers to certain marketing situations in which the quality of the product or service is far more important than the price. If you need a kidney transplant, for example, you are not going to shop around and haggle over price. And even if you do press the doctor, he probably will quote you a range with a $5,000 spread rather than giving a specific number. The same is often true with high ticket fashions and jewelry. Using the same psychology, expensive automobiles and boats are not sold on price. They may use a starting at or base price to get people interested, but the prices of the options are usually in very small print. The extreme of this attitude is that if you have to ask the price you probably cannot afford the item anyway.

As Soon as You have Determined what Kind of business you want to Begin and The investment requirements, you are ready to select a
location. The number of competitive businesses already in the region should affect your choice of location. Some areas are
overloaded with service channels or certain forms of restaurants. Check on the number of your kind of business from Census
figures, the yellow pages, or by checking out the location.

Factors Aside from the potential market, availability of employees And number of aggressive businesses have to be considered in
choosing a location. For example, how adequate are utilities - sewer, water, power, gas? Parking facilities? Fire and fire
protection? What about home and environmental things such as schools, cultural and community actions for employees? What is the
average cost of the location in taxes and rents? Check on zoning regulations. Assess the business of the local business-people,
the aggressiveness of civic organizations. In summary, what is the city soul? Such factors should provide you an idea into the
city or city's future.

Chambers of Commerce and nearby universities Normally Have made or Are knowledgeable about local polls that can provide answers to
these questions and the many other questions that will occur to you.

Then you have to decide in what part of town to locate. If the city is Very small and you're establishing retail or service
business, there will probably be little option. Just 1 shopping place is present. Cities have outlying shopping centers along with
the central shopping area, and stores spring up along principal thoroughfares and local streets.

Think about the shopping center. It's different from different locations. The shopping centre construction is pre-planned as a
merchandising unit. The site has been intentionally selected by a programmer. On-site parking is a common feature. Clients may
drive , park and do their shopping in relative safety and speed. Some centers provide weather protection. Such amenities make the
shopping centre an advantageous location.

There are also some limitations you ought to know about. As a renter, You become a part of a merchant group and must pay your pro
rata share of their budget. You have to keep shop hours, light your windows, and place your signals according to established
rules. Many communities have restrictions on evidence along with the middle management may have additional limitations. Moreover,
if you're thinking about a shopping center for your first shop you may have an additional issue. Developers and owners of shopping
facilities look for successful retailers.

The kind and variety of merchandise you carry helps determine the Type of purchasing area you choose. By way of example, clothing
shops, jewelry stores and department stores are more likely to be successful in shopping districts. On the other hand, grocery
stores, drug stores, filling stations, and bakeries usually do better on main thoroughfares and local streets beyond the shopping
districts. Some sorts of stores customarily pay a very low rent per square foot, while others pay a high rent. In the"low"
category are furniture, grocery and hardware stores. In the"large" are cigar, drug, women's furnishings, and department stores.
There's no hard and fast rule, however it's helpful to see in which type of area a shop like yours often seems to flourish.

After determining an area best suited to your type of business, Obtain as many facts as you can about it. Examine the competition.
How many similar companies are located nearby? What exactly does their sales volume seem to be? If you are establishing a shop or
service trade, how far is it that people come to exchange in the area? Are the visitors patterns positive? If most of your clients
will be local inhabitants, research the population trends of the region. Is population increasing, stationary or decreasing? Are
the folks native-born, mixed or chiefly foreign? Are fresh ethnic groups coming in? Are they mostly laborers, clerks, executives
or retired persons? Are they all ages or mostly retired, middle aged, or young? Judge purchasing power by checking average house
rental, average property taxes, number of telephones, number of cars and, if the amount can be obtained, per capita income. Larger
shopping facilities have this sort of information available, and will make it accessible to serious prospective tenants.

Zoning ordinances, parking availability, transport facilities And natural obstacles - such as bridges and hills - are all
important factors in locating any kinds of company. Possible sources for this information are Chambers of Commerce, trade
associations, real estate companies, local newspapers, banks, city officials, neighborhood merchants and personal observation. If
the Bureau of the Census has developed census tract information for the particular region where you're interested you will find
this especially helpful. A census tract is a small, permanently established, geographical place within a big city and its
environs. The Census Bureau provides population and housing characteristics for each tract. This information can be valuable in
measuring your marketplace or service potential.

Deciding upon the actual site within an area may well be taking what you May get. Not too many buildings or plants will be
appropriate and at the same time, available. If you do have a choice, make sure you weigh the chances carefully.

For a production plant, think about the condition and suitability Of the construction, transportation, parking facilities, and
also the type of lease. For A store or service establishment, assess on the closest competition, traffic Leak, parking amenities,
road location, physical facets of the construction, Kind of lease and price, and the rate, price and quality of transportation.
Also Investigate the history of the site. Find answers to these questions as: Has the Building remained vacant for any amount of
time? Why? Have various types of Stores occupied it for brief periods? It may have proved unprofitable for them. Sites where many
enterprises have failed ought to be avoided. Vacant buildings Don't attract traffic and are generally considered bad neighbors,
therefore check on nearby unoccupied buildings.

 brick-and-mortar bridal building-material bulk-sms burger bus business-broker business-coaching cabinet-making cake cake-shop campground camps-for-children candy candy-apple car-import car-painting carpet-installation cbd cell-phone-repair charter-fishing chauffeur chicken-shop childrens-party-planning childrenwear chocolate christmas-light-installation cigar-lounge cinema-hall cinematography civil-contractor clothing clothing-line cna cnc-machine coffee-van collection-agency commercial-cleaning computer-shop concrete content-writing cookie cosmetics-retailing cpr-training craft-beer crafts credit-repair crochet crystal csa-farm