"If we overcome the mental barrier of commoditization, identifying and communicating those added values going beyond our basic proposal, we will have the opportunity to take our profitability to another level."
Ariel Banos, founder of Fijaciondeprecios.com explains that when a proposal is a commodity, in other words, it lacks differentiation with respect to others offered in the market, the only alternative is to align itself with the prices charged by competitors. There are no magic solutions.
Segmenting customers by prices they are willing to pay, showing the value of the product or service to charge higher prices and being careful when applying discounts are some of the recommendations from experts to avoid losing money.
Ariel Banos, founder of Fijaciondeprecios.com explains some of the myths that exist among business leaders when building a pricing strategy, and what could be the alternatives to not lose money.
Explained by the uncertainty reported in the markets due to covid-19 disease, in June 2020 the global food price index registered a 2% variation from the previous month.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported that due to market uncertainty caused by covid-19 disease, prices of vegetable oils, sugar and dairy products rebounded to their highest level in several months after sharp declines in May, while in the cereals and meat markets most prices came under downward pressure.
In order to reach customers who, have great uncertainty at the time of purchase and to improve the unit margin of the products sold, flexibility must be offered in the cancellation conditions to increase the probability of successful sales, even at higher prices.
In difficult times, such as the current scenario generated by covid-19, the companies that win will be those that provide greater peace of mind to their customers, even if they sell their products at higher prices.
Arguing that the unusual growth in sugar imports is harming local production, the Alvarado administration decided to raise the tariff on products entering Costa Rica from 45% to 79% for a three-year period.
The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) concluded the investigation requested by the Agricultural Industrial League of Sugar Cane (LAICA) and 4 mills, on the safeguard measure against imports of solid state, granulated sugar, known as white sugar, used for domestic and industrial consumption, justifying a deterioration in the main economic indicators of the National Production Branch (RPN), details an official statement dated June 15.
Discounts and offers, increase in the price level generally and the rise in operating costs due to new health and safety protocols are the main threats to the profitability of companies in this new commercial reality.
Given this context of economic and health crisis, which derives from the outbreak of covid-19 at the global level, Ariel Baños, a specialist in price management and founder of Fijaciondeprecios.com, explains what are the main threats that could affect the profitability levels of companies, and details some strategies that could be applied to mitigate the adverse effects.
It is estimated that the increase in online sales and the greater trend towards telecommuting will result in a lower demand for commercial premises and offices, exerting downward pressure on the price level of rents in the long term.
The quarantines decreed in the Central American countries because of the covid-19 outbreak, have caused a transformation in the operations of the companies, in the ways of working and in the models of business and sales.
In the current complicated context, companies must reconsider their strategies so as not to fall into the error of making aggressive discounts, since they could affect the positioning of their products in the medium and long term.
Ariel Baños, a specialist in pricemanagement and founder of Fijaciondeprecios.com, explains some of the important conditions that must be considered when deciding to make discounts in an environment of high uncertainty such as that which has generated the current crisis of covid-19.
Price per gallon of regular gasoline: Costa Rica $3.87, Nicaragua $3.28, Honduras $3.27, Guatemala $2.93, El Salvador $2.54 and Panama, $2.81
From the Ministry of Economy report of El Salvador:
The current reference prices present significant declines for gasoline and diesel, these declines respond directly to the events of the break of the pact between OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, and the countries that had made an alliance with the organization, represented by Russia.
Price per gallon of regular gasoline: Costa Rica $3.82, Nicaragua $3.61, Honduras $3.39, Guatemala $2.99, El Salvador $2.98 and Panama $2.81.
From the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador report:
The current reference prices for gasoline and diesel maintain a mixed trend (ups and downs), these variations are because of the continuous fall in the reserves of these products.
In the second month of this year, the FAO food price index rose by 8 percent compared to the same month in 2019, explained by rising prices of meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar.
From FAO's monthly report:
-The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) averaged 180.5 points in February 2020, down 1.9 points (1.0 percent) from January but still 13.5 points (8.1 percent) higher than in February 2019. The decline marked the first month-on-month drop in the value of the FFPI following four months of successive increases. It was driven by a sharp fall in the export prices of vegetable oils and, to a lesser extent, meat and grains, more than offsetting a continued rise in dairy and sugar prices.
Price per gallon of regular gasoline: Costa Rica $4.10, Nicaragua $3.51, Honduras $3.39, El Salvador $2.95, Guatemala $2.92 and Panama $2.81.
From the report of the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador:
The current reference prices for gasoline and diesel show a mixed trend (ups and downs), these variations are due to the continuous fall in the reserves of these products, according to reports provided by the IEA in February 2020.
Price per gallon of regular gasoline: Costa Rica $4.08, Nicaragua $3.52, Honduras $3.51, El Salvador $2.96, Guatemala $2.96 and Panama $2.81.
From a statement by the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador:
The current reference prices for gasoline and diesel show a marked decline at the national level, which reflects the emergency experienced by China because of the coronavirus.
Up to January this year, the FAO food price index rose by 11% compared to the same month in 2019, explained by the increase in the prices of meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar.
From FAO's monthly report:
» The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) averaged 182.5 points in January 2020, up 1.3 points (0.7 percent) from December 2019 and 11.3 percent higher than the same month last year.
Price per gallon of regular gasoline: Costa Rica $4.07, Nicaragua $3.52, Honduras $3.45, El Salvador $3.04, Guatemala $3.02 and Panama, $2.83
From a statement by the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador:
The current reference prices for gasoline and diesel, show low prices at national level, due to the outcome of the conflict between the United States and Iran, where the Arab country attacked two military bases located in Iraqi territory.
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