PPS Orlando Pricing Seminar Testimonials
Ms Mary Ann Bui Director-Market Research (Society for Human Resource Management)
Unfortunately, I don't have time to provide such detailed feedback at this time, but overall, I did learn a great deal from the conference. I did not attend your workshop per se but you did share with me some of the highlights in a side conversation which was very helpful. I would say that your workshop was one of two that provided a solid framework and business rules from which to operate. That was something I remembered that I wanted to share with you.
Mr John Preen National Contracts & Pricing Manager Australia (MSA (Aust.)Pty. Limited)
Thank you for your follow up email and for your questions in relation to the PPS workshop "Value Creation and Enhanced Pricing: Increase Profits Through Right Customer Value Pricing". I have been back in Australia for 3 months and although our Christmas and New Year holiday season has seen a slowdown in business activity we are now starting to see a full return to normal business operations. My journey on the Strategic Pricing path within MSA is slowly developing and the more exposure I have to this very interesting business direction the more comfortable I am in my actions. Obviously the advice and guidance from the other MSA Pricing Managers around the world is assisting me in my steep learning curve.
I have provided some feedback to your questions below and trust they indicate that I was listening and paying attention during your informative and enjoyable workshop.
Take care and hopefully our paths will cross again at future PPS conferences and workshops.
1. Did you learn something new at the workshop?
Everything I learnt at the workshop was new as I was only in this new position of Australian Pricing Manager for a period of 3 months. What? The most interesting aspect of the workshop was the discussion around Customer Satisfaction surveys and Customer Value Management. Our business conducts 6 monthly customer satisfaction surveys and the Net Promoter scores. It was very interesting to talk about and listen to the different perspectives on these initiatives and how there is a big difference between the two.
2. Did the workshop help you think through optional methods of pricing and creating value?
The workshop gave me a good understanding of the different pricing methods and value creation How? One key take away I took from the workshop was in relation to the way we perceive customers and the need to have the customer at the forefront of our thinking. Currently we are focused on our internal requirements or processes without real understanding of the customer's perception of the value we provide. As we sell via distribution our prime focus is on these customers however our value proposition should be extended to include their customers e.g. the business user and the individual using our product and even as far as their family and friends. We are providing safety products which protect these people and enable them to return safely home to their families. This is now part of our value proposition.
3. Have you been able to use the techniques learnt at the workshop? How?
I have been trying to use the knowledge from the workshop to influence the decisions we are making in relation to product launches and evaluation of pricing in respect to the value proposition we provide. My concept for product releases in Australia now incorporates a value creation for both the end user customer and the distributor whereas previously we were only focussed on one or the other.
4. Was the workshop worthwhile for you? Why?
I found the workshop very informative and enjoyed the questions and debate in respect to the ideas you presented. As mentioned above, the discussions and new understanding of the differences between Customer Satisfaction surveys and the Customer Value Management where excellent and gave me a greater understanding of the concepts of customer value creation and this has also been supported by your excellent book which you were so kind to give me.
My pricing journey is in the early stages but I am thoroughly enjoying the new learning's and understanding of the strategic pricing strategies and of the different concepts required to fully deliver increased profits and shareholder value. It is a very exciting field and one I am enjoying each day although I must admit it does come with a large amount of frustration in trying to communicate the message throughout the business. Old habits and concepts can be very difficult to change.
Mr Jay Jabbar Senior Manager - Consumer Pricing (American Express)
1. Did you learn something new at the workshop? What?
The model to estimate customer value was the highlight of the workshop and perhaps the conference.
2. Did the workshop help you think through optional methods of pricing and creating value? How?
3. Have you been able to use the techniques learnt at the workshop? How?
Unfortunately, no. Regulatory activities have been keeping us quite busy in areas other than creating CM value. But you could say, that operational excellence creates value to the portfolio of customers as a whole.
4. Was the workshop worthwhile for you? Why?
Yes, it was. I wish more workshops from the conference could've provided us with useful models. It would be more worthwhile once I can use the models at work.
Mr Andre Koeppl (Quantiz Pricing Solutions)
1. Did you learn something new at the workshop? What?
Yes, I've never seen an Importance Performance survey as you showed in your seminar. You gave me new insights about how to exploit better the information of this kind of survey and interpretation.
2. Did the workshop help you think through optional methods of pricing and creating value? How?
I believe yes, we use Importance Performance as an additional way of capturing insights to create value. It's difficult to rely just on these surveys because of the natural bias of the method.
3. Have you been able to use the techniques learnt at the workshop? How?
Yes, we tried this method in one of our projects, but the client wasn't able to spend more than 15 minutes during the survey. As you must ask about their evaluation of your attributes and the competition's attributes and there were many attributes, it'd take too much time. We had to adapt this method but I believe with a certain loss of functionality. In general, Brazilians don't want to spend time in surveys, they think more than 20 min is ridiculous. It's difficult to implement this culture of gaining systematic data through surveys.
4. Was the workshop worthwhile for you? Why?
Yes, You gave me new insights about how to exploit better the information of this kind of survey and interpretation.
Rob Kantor (NBC-Universal)
I just wanted to thank you again for a very insightful workshop, the copy of your book, and the great discussion over the course of last week. It was my team's first exposure to pricing at that level, but it has sparked a lot of interest and ideas already. Just wanted to pass along my contact info in case you needed it and hope you had a safe trip back home.