Pizza Pricing Strategies

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

Pizza Pricing Strategies

Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum,

Read

• Chapter 5 of the course text, Principles of Marketing

Instructions:

This week, you learned about the three core pricing strategies: penetration, neutral, and skim. In this activity you are going to briefly recap the three pricing strategies, use them to classify the major pizza chains based on exploring the online ordering process, and then answer a few related questions. So, let’s dig in!

• Refamiliarize yourself with the three main pricing strategies.
  • Review Section 5.2 in the text as needed.
• Research actual pizza pricing for five different pizza chains of your choice.
  • Visit each site, identify your location, and simulate an order.
  • Price out a medium cheese or pepperoni pizza.
  • Proceed to payment, observing the selling process.
  • Record the final price (minus tax).
  • Execute your purchase as you see fit. (Note that you do not need to actually purchase the pizza.)
• Create a forum post that includes the following:
  • A brief description of the three pricing strategies, from least to most expensive strategy.
  • Classifications of the five brands into the three pricing strategies: penetration, neutral, and skim.
  • For any of the three pricing strategies where you have multiple brands, rank the brands from least to most expensive.
  • Include the kind of pizza you priced, your recorded prices, and any other pertinent notes you observed in ordering process.
  • Your classifications may differ from others. That’s okay.
• Answer the following questions:
  • Did your perception of these chains’ pricing strategies change based on this exercise? If so, how?
  • For you, which of these chains represents the greatest value and why?
  • Explain how each of the four Ps of the marketing mix contributes to your answer.
  • If you were to suggest two sales promotion strategies (Section 5.4) to attract more sales, for the brand that has the greatest value for you, which two would you suggest?
  • Name the promotional pricing strategy and explain why this is the best fit for the brand you picked.
• Your initial post must be at least 350 words.
• Be sure to use subject headers for each of the questions asked.
  • Review the Level Heading section of Introduction to APA resource from the Writing Center for more information.
• Be sure to properly cite your textbook as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your Paper guide.

Guided Response:

• Respond to at least three of your fellow marketers by Day 7 (Monday).
  • Price-value perceptions vary by individual.
  • Respond to three of your peers, including one who selected a different chain as offering the best value. Customize your “pitch” to try to change their mind.
• You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful discussion and collaboration between you and your fellow marketers.
• Continue to monitor the discussion forum through Day 7 (Monday), and respond to anyone who replies to your initial post.

Skills Learned This activity helps you practice the following industry-required skills:

• Negotiation
• Leadership/Independence

Helpful Tips:

• There is no (insert pizza chain here) near me. What do I do?
  • Just work with the nearest location from your zip code search.
• Will University of Arizona Global Campus subsidize my pizza purchases?
  • Sadly, no. You’re on your own if you decide to order.
• I’m lactose intolerant. Is there an alternate assignment?
  • Very funny. To be clear, you only have to shop for pizza, not eat it.