When You've Lost the Power to Set Prices
Across the Board
June 2004

Abstract:
We're all still watching our wallets. The economy, if no longer in free fall, remains weak, and consumers and corporate buyers alike are closely evaluating every purchase they make. Competition comes from everywhere now, and in the race-to-the-bottom-line era of Wal-Mart, your rivals are more aggressively courting the same business you want (and used to own). Indeed, competitors you never used to see are scrambling for orders - regardless of profitability - to avoid closing plants and laying off employees. With consumers and corporate clients feeling the pinch of a tight economy, you may feel it would be counterproductive to raise prices. But there's no reason to feel powerless. The belief that you've lost pricing power is based on incorrect assumptions about the market, your customers, and your competitors.

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