Chapter 17

Creative Pricing

Avoid bold strokes in foreign policy. Focus on steady progress.

—PRESIDENT DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER,
FAREWELL ADDRESS (1961)

This book began with a perspective of how competition made context the most important element of pricing. Subsequent chapters showed how different competitors had gained advantages through smarter and creative contextual pricing.

How can you leverage the insights contained in this book for your business, beginning today? Given the diverse pricing lessons described throughout, the question may arise: how to convert essential knowledge into enduring understanding?

The answer is practice. Practice understanding how customers think. Practice trying out new structures and strategies. Practice implementing new pricing ideas. Practice is how athletes build up their skills; they try out new techniques and refine them until they become proficient. This is also how musicians develop their songs.