Pricing and customer journey, a necessary relationship

Over the last decade, marketing teams have assumed that the user, the potential client and their circle of action, is the nerve centre of their activity, the key to the success of a business. This, transferred to the sales teams, has led to the need to recognize the fundamental role played by the consumer when setting pricing strategies. At the end of the day, it seems reasonable that if the user is the one who is finally going to pay for a product or service, its price should be adjusted to their expectations.

At the same time, it is essential to take into account that the user's expectations (as well as their needs) will evolve as the state advances in relation to the brand. How to nurture it, an advance towards the next step? What if the ecommerce pricing strategy was synchronized with the customer journey of the audience?

The customer journey defines the journey that the user makes during their relationship with the brand. In marketing, this is the route that is used to draw the strategy and place the points of impact with it. If these milestones are transferred to the ecommerce pricing strategy, the moments in which it is convenient to apply a specific repricing strategy for specific users can be defined.

There are four key moments to take into account within the pricing strategy of the online store:

1. The welcome. The registration of a user is a clear sign of his interest in the store, its products and its platform. In this case, it is just as valid to subscribe to a newsletter or, even, first direct contact via a form. Many ecommerce (and other types of digital businesses) already take advantage of this milestone to offer a temporary discount and increase the degree of security for the first purchase.

2. The first purchase. The scope of the first transaction implies that the user has really opted for an ecommerce compared to the other possibilities. And this is, first of all, to be grateful for. And what better way to do it than by offering a bonus on their next purchase? Of course, experience shows that putting an expiration date is not always the most appropriate. This can be a good time to check the degree of interest and satisfaction with the client through its use.

3. The recurring purchase. When the user becomes a recurring customer it means that their trust is more than deposited in the ecommerce. As a loyalty action, this point in the road must also be taken into account to offer the consumer a prize to thank for their support.

4. The recommendation to third parties. Today, with the number of options that exist in the market, the recommendation of a platform, product or service by a user is practically the maximum that a brand can aspire to. In this sense, the online store can operate in two ways: make a direct proposal of recommendation to the user informing him of the prize for doing it or to keep this action always available as a loyalty and recruitment program just for the. The only change is the orientation perceived by the client; the reality is that it is possible to offer and enjoy the discount in either of the two ways. This is a practice carried out by companies of all types, regardless of the digital field, which gives even more reasons if it is possible to start it up.

Accompanying the client throughout his relationship with the brand is a way to further strengthen the bond between the two. By choosing to do so through a good pricing strategy, the reward for the user is evident and practically instantaneous. If, before carrying out this process synchronization, doubts arise as to how to do the calculations, a price intelligence tool will be of great help to be able to define the prices promoted without losing the profit margin.