Pricing & Monetization Blog: Page 7

I've argued that companies should consider charging more. High prices can be used as a form of signaling to indicate a more desirable product or service. After all, wouldn't the average person assume that a $30,000 car is superior to a $10,000 one? Wouldn't the average person assume that a $1,000,000 house is better than a $250,000 one? ... [read more]

I spent some time talking to a software engineering manager yesterday. His team was facing a conundrum. No one at his company had any idea how his firm's software development productivity should be measured. Managers were trying to figure out what should be done, but he wanted to bring them a solution. Measuring a complex service (such as... [read more]

I attended a lunchtime meeting of entrepreneurs last week. It wasn't long before discussion turned to pricing. One question that generated much heated debate was the following: Should I show my rates on my website? As always, it depends upon the individual case, but, for most folks, I would argue that the answer is... [read more]

Many business owners make the same mistake over and over again. They think that there needs to be a correlation between higher prices and increased costs of production. It makes sense that a hard cover book should cost more than a soft cover one, because it costs more to produce. In many cases, the cost of a product of production is... [read more]

Introduction The new year is almost here, and I'm sneaking in one more pricing teardown before 2015 arrives. This report will continue the tradition of investigating the pricing used by Y Combinator-backed startups. The subject of today's teardown is none other than... [read more]

I came across a famous book by Michael Port: Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling. Instantly I knew that I had to review it. There was just one potential obstacle: I didn't want to read the book. So-called academics... [read more]

I've been hearing more and more talk about how governments should pay ransoms when journalists are kidnapped. After all, journalists do important work for the nation. Doesn't it make sense for the nation to pay relatively small sums of money to ensure their safety? I think that governments should do their best to ensure the safety of all of... [read more]

I'm completely sick of hearing how individuals, teams and companies beat their estimates. It is not something to be celebrated. It is a business anti-pattern that should draw the ire of managers everywhere. Am I a scrooge for saying this? Maybe, but I have folks' best interests at heart. Before I go further, I have to ask. What is an... [read more]

There are two obvious ways to make more money by selling a tangible good: you can sell more of that good, or you can raise the price. Of course, raising the price isn't always easy, for reasons that I've described in my book on software pricing as well as my pricing economics blog. Selling more... [read more]

The word is out. The popular Dr. Dobb's Journal will be sunsetted by the end of this year. The magazine was praised by readers for its 38-year run, but all good things must come to an end. So, how did such a beloved... [read more]