The overall objective of this course is to provide students with the know-how and tools to make pricing decisions that align with the firm’s strategy, drive profitability, and lead to sustainable competitive advantage. This course focuses on thoroughly understanding and articulating the monetary and psychological value drivers of the firm’s value proposition, applying appropriate monetary equivalents, and successfully communicating these to the purchaser. Rather than seeking to “optimize” prices for the short run, this course takes a longer-term view of managing markets strategically.

 The course begins by teaching the  “strategic pricing pyramid” which examines four underlying strategic foundations for price setting. The course then examines the roles of costs, financial analysis, competition, and price sensitivity in pricing. Finally, the course examines pricing implementation and how to align implementation with pricing strategy.

 The course content follows Nagle, et al’s outstanding text, The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing. The content will be applied through cases and a guided simulation. Students will also prepare an independent project on a pricing topic or industry of their specific interest.