Beyond Cost Plus helps consumers understand the complex pricing strategies that surround us and smaller vendors profit from the same advanced techniques.

We're all consumers, usually making purchasing decisions every day. Some of us, those that sell, also have to make pricing decisions.

Many consumers believe retails prices reflect the cost of manufacturing the product or providing the service plus a small profit. And, in fact, many small retailers do price their offerings using that traditional "cost plus" formula. But how does that explain thinks like...

 

  • the exact same DVD selling for two wildly different prices ($4.99 and $14.99) just a few feet away in the same store on the same day
  • the small bag of movie popcorn (seven cups) costs almost $1 per cup, while the additional fourteen cups in the large size cost less then a dime each
  • retailers discount on Black Friday, and theaters discount on same day performances, even though their costs remain the same
  • it seems like every person on the flight or in the hotel paid a different price

 

These aren't mistakes. They aren't random. They are sophisticated strategies for maximizing sales and profits.

They are also hard for consumers to understand and even harder for small vendors to implement. The biggest and most successful companies have the advantage because they have access to behavioural economists, psychologists and marketing experts when they create their pricing strategies. A typical small business owner does not have access to that kind of expertise.

This is part of what Beyond Cost Plus is about – deconstructing the sophisticated pricing strategies used by companies so that smaller local businesses (especially florists) can choose what works for them. The other part of Beyond Cost Plus is helping consumers understand the pricing they see and make more informed purchasing decisions.

Beyond Cost Plus grew out of Mark's fascination with pricing, research and first hand experience with FloristWare and working with flower shops. The BCP website provides resources to help both consumers and vendors understand, and benefit from, sophisticated pricing strategies.

Mark also speaks at floral industry events, helping retail florists find greater sales and profits by taking advantage of new approaches to pricing.