General Information
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Target Audience
This course is appropriate for anyone who expects to be involved in the determination, execution and communication of a price. This includes students who plan careers in general management, marketing, sales, strategy, and customer services. The course is not restricted to any particular industry, and is appropriate for both B-2-B and B-2-C, and for both products and services applications.
Course Format
Fall Intensive Term 2025
Course Mission
After taking this course, you will be able to:
- Understand the importance of the demand curve and customer willingness-to-pay in pricing strategy, and learn methods of estimating the demand curve.
- Learn how to calculate profit-maximizing prices.
- Calculate expected value to customers (VTC) and develop the concept of value based pricing.
- Understand relevant costs in determining prices, and develop a cost-based framework for pricing.
- Understand the effect of non-price factors on price image and perceived value.
- Be sensitive to consumer behavior factors that play a large role in pricing effectiveness
- Understand innovative pricing strategies like bundling and price customization.
Course Scope
Price setting is one of the most important marketing mix decisions. It involves an understanding of both supply side factors (e.g. costs) and demand side factors (e.g. consumer willingness to pay). While traditional approaches to pricing theory have revolved around an economic and financial framework, a broader and more pragmatic view entails a comprehensive understanding of the demand side, both at the level of individual customer values, and the more aggregate level of price sensitivities of the market. Using product categories as diverse as hardware/software, healthcare, industrial products and consumer packaged goods, we will study economic and behavioural approaches to pricing, value pricing, price customization, bundling, and retail pricing strategies, amongst other topics.
Evaluation and Grade Breakdown
| Component | Due Date | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Class Participation | Ongoing | 20% |
| Group case write-up | Session 5 | 40% |
| Final Exam | In-class exam, at end of course on September 12, 2025 | 40% |
Required Resources
There is an electronic course packet that includes several cases and a few articles. Additional required readings will be posted to Quercus. (There is no required textbook for the course, but optional textbooks readings will be included in the syllabus.)