Various factors influence the five pricing strategies: premium pricing, penetration pricing, economy pricing, psychological pricing, and promotional pricing.

Four key factors might influence the selection of the premium strategy. First, if the company wants to insinuate high quality. The resultant consumer perception can help elevate or maintain a premium brand value. Second, if the company intends to market to high-net-worth individuals belonging to an exclusive group or image. Third, if the company seeks to recover investments in the product quickly. Fourth, the company has many versions of the same product. This fourth factor is the reason why the strategy is grouped under product-line pricing strategies (Hughes & Kapoor, 2010, p. 466).

Penetration pricing is utilized for new products. Therefore, the main factor influencing pricing is a new product status. Unlike premium pricing, which is largely influenced by product line and the company sets high prices to suggest high-quality/luxury, penetration pricing involves setting low prices to build market share quickly.

The main factor influencing the selection of economy pricing is an objective to sell at the bare minimum price that returns a profit for the company. The company can sell the product to the masses due to the low prices. The strategy is similar to penetration pricing due to the low prices, but unlike penetration pricing, another factor is given extra consideration, namely, setting the price above the break-even price. Whereas premium pricing is used when the company intends to sell to high-income groups, economy pricing largely targets the masses to obtain greater profits.

Under psychological pricing, the main factors influencing strategy selection include the company’s intention to encourage consumers to purchase based on emotional responses rather than economically rational responses in marketing assignment help; and when the offerings are consumer products (Hughes & Kapoor, 2010, p. 466). Premium pricing is ideal for both business and consumer products, but psychological pricing, such as setting the price at $4.99 instead of $5 might not evoke emotional responses for business products as it does for consumer products.

Whereas a luxury brand might emphasize the product in its 4Ps marketing mix, an ordinary brand that prides in low-cost products might emphasize pricing. The latter company is likely to adopt a promotional pricing strategy to emphasize its price competitiveness. A company might also use promotional pricing to launch a new product, combining both penetration pricing by setting a low price, and promotional pricing by embracing odd pricing and discounts.

Although Disney’s pricing is complex, the company largely employs a premium pricing strategy. According to Baisya (2013), Disney is a premium brand and sets prices that are significantly higher than similar products from competitors. Market sentiments show that the company is nearly pricing out the middle class and recently adopted a dynamic pricing approach to take into account seasonal changes (Cameron, 2019). The company combines its premium marketing strategy with other strategies in some cases where it deems appropriate. For instance, in a bid to even out demand through the year, Disney charges high prices during peak demand and low promotional prices during periods of low demand. In another example of the company’s pricing strategy, the launch of Disney Plus, Disney’s streaming service akin to Netflix, offers important insights. The company adopted a penetration pricing strategy for the launch. Disney set the launch price at $7 as a monthly subscription compared to Netflix’s $13. This penetration pricing surprised many, leading some to wonder whether the price was “too cheap for the premium brand” (Hollis, 2019). The company also uses psychological pricing as it indicates the monthly subscription fee for Disney Plus as $6.99. Despite the complex pricing, Disney’s approach is largely a premium pricing strategy as it commands a premium brand.

Disney, as a premium brand, has positioned itself favorably to charge premium prices for its products. The company occasionally raises its prices. As indicated above, there are concerns over whether the company is setting prices that are beyond the reach of the middle class. Despite such sentiments, the company’s market share is growing and the brand remains successful. Accordingly, the premium pricing is effective because the company has nurtured a premium brand backed by high-quality products and an effective marketing strategy. As noted by Santos (2012), Disney epitomizes the meaning of pricing power. The company, owing to its brand value, is in a favorable position to charge premium prices and still retain customers. In this regard, Disney understands brand value and its implications for pricing. By maintaining a high brand value, the company maintains its strong position to use a premium pricing strategy.

Another factor that helps the premium pricing strategy is the focus on an exclusive market niche. The company is in an unrivaled position to influence its market niche. This factor offers Disney significant leverage to charge premium prices. Disney theme parks, for instance, not only present a world of fantasy and fun that represent a niche market, but also entice customers to return. The nurtured strong relationship with consumers gives Disney additional power to charge high prices.

Disney largely aligns its pricing strategy with the messaging in promotions. While launching the new streaming service, Disney Plus, the company emphasized the low price in its “massive marketing campaign” (Sutton, 2019). This penetration pricing strategy has helped the service to gain a large number of subscriptions in a relatively short period. In line with the premium pricing strategy, the company emphasizes its brand value and quality of products in the messaging in promotions. An example is the messaging in promotions for the company’s theme parks. One promotion had the message “That’s the power of magic – you can fly”. Another example is visible in Disney’s slogans that feature prominently in marketing campaigns. One such slogan is “The happiest place on earth”. This slogan alludes to the value that the Disney brand gives consumers. 

A notable element of Disney’s messaging in its promotions is the tendency to insinuate the high brand value of the Disney brand. This is perhaps a cautionary measure the company uses to nurture and maintain its brand value even when adopting pricing strategies that set low prices. The widely promoted Disney Plus, despite emphasizing the low price, set based on a penetration pricing strategy, equally emphasized the value of the product. Figure 1 below is an example of a campaign promoting Disney Plus at the time of its launch and features the tag “Plus up your day”. This tag emphasizes the value the product offers to consumers.

Figure 1: Source Sutton, 2019

In line with the promotional pricing strategy, Disney uses messaging in promotions using terms such as “discounts for the family” and “offer valid for a limited time”. These instances show the connection between Disney’s pricing strategy and messaging in promotions.

References

Baisya, R. K. (2013). Branding in a competitive marketplace. SAGE Publications.

Hughes, R. J., & Kapoor, J. R. (2010). William M. Pride. https://onlinecustomessaywriting.com/business-homework-help-60/ 

Santos, P. (2012, June 4). Disney And The Power Of Pricing Power. Retrieved from https://seekingalpha.com/article/636651-disney-and-the-power-of-pricing-power

Cameron, S., (2019, January 5). Disney World is getting so expensive it’s pricing out the middle class. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.nl/disney-world-expensive-middle-class-2018-12/

Hollis, N. (2019, April 15). Is Disney Plus too cheap for the premium brand? Retrieved from http://www.millwardbrown.com/global-navigation/blogs/post/mb-blog/2019/04/15/is-disney-plus-too-cheap-for-the-premium-brand

Sutton, K. (2019, November 14). Disney+’s Massive Marketing Campaign Is Just Getting Started. Retrieved from https://www.adweek.com/digital/disney-plus-massive-marketing-campaign-just-getting-started/

Societal Marketing Concept

A societal marketing concept is a form of marketing that encourages organizations to consider their societies’ long-term benefits in addition to the consumer needs and company’s requirements as they make marketing plans. A concept is a form of social responsibility that calls for a business organization to consider the needs of society, especially in the long term. According to Deepak & Jeyakumar, (2019), the societal marketing concept calls for business organizations or custom writing service to be socially responsible and operate beyond the major aim of making profits. Among the major benefits of societal marketing, the concept includes increasing a firm’s competitiveness against its competitors. Generally, a company that applies the concept has high chances of having a positive reputation in a society which makes it attract more customers, increasing its sales, and thus having great profits.

Small businesses can enjoy the benefits of the societal marketing concept and use them to its advantages. According to Manrai & Manrai, (2007), the concept helps businesses maximize their profits while creating long-term profitable relationships with their customers. Generally, the concept helps small businesses in engaging in the production of products that have long-term benefits for society and satisfies their customers’ needs. Additionally, with the societal marketing concept, small businesses can enjoy increased sales that originate from their positive brand image and public reputation. Although a business has to spend a lot in implementing the societal marketing concept, its benefits are long-term and encourage the organization’s growth. Therefore, small businesses should incorporate the concept and maximize its advantages by incorporating behaviors that support it. Small businesses should not only think about their profit requirements and customers’ needs but also the long-term societal needs and then work towards meeting all of the needs. 

References

Deepak, R. K. A., &Jeyakumar, S. (2019). Marketing management. Educreation Publishing. https://onlyessayhelp.com/analysis-of-the-mummy-within-the-context-of-shaheens-documentary-reel-bad-arabs/ 

Manrai, L. A., &Manrai, A. K. (2007, July). Business-Society relationship: A new framework for Societal Marketing Concept. In Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society (Vol. 18, pp. 218-221).