When driving these days, do you look at the prices every time you pass a gas station? Do you notice yourself paying more attention to the prices of everything you buy? You are not alone. Consumers everywhere are more price aware. People who've been indifferent to price increases for years are suddenly amazed at what things now cost. How can marketers cope not just with inflation but with consumer sticker shock?

1.Understand Your Customers. There are at least four ways in which customers can respond to higher gas prices: downgrade from premium to regular; take fewer trips by car, consolidate errands, switch to public transportation; take the same number of trips but reduce the miles driven per trip by, for example, vacationing closer to home; drive more economically and less aggressively to improve miles per gallon; and buy a specific dollar amount of gas rather than filling up every time, even though this may mean more visits to the pump. Some consumers may even trade in (at a loss) the SUV for a hybrid, an example of how price inflation on one product can cause demand shifts in a second, related, category.

2.Invest in Market Research. You must discard your existing customer segmentation assumptions and segment consumers around product usage behavior and price sensitivity. You must get out into the marketplace yourself and talk to consumers directly to understand their pain points and how they are changing attitudes and behaviors in response to price inflation. You must then quantify these shifts and develop product and pricing strategies that balance the need to maintain both profitability and market share.

3.Redefine Value. Customers buying soft drinks can think about price in three ways: the absolute cost per can or bottle, the cost per ounce, and, less common in this category, the monthly consumption cost. Customers short on cash will focus much more on the absolute price. They'll go for the 99 cent soft drink rather than the $1.29 container with 50 percent more volume. To motivate cash-poor consumers, marketers must reverse engineer products and packaging to hit key retail price points. This may mean downsizing package sizes, something the candy industry always does in response to inflation.

4.Use Promotions. If you've always passed through raw material price increases to the end consumer, you don't necessarily need to change that policy. However, lagging competitors in passing on price increases can have the same effect as a temporary price promotion. More customers than usual will be looking out for price promotions, but don't give away the store to those who don't need the discount, and cut prices not across the board but only on items selected as your inflation-busters. For cash poor consumers, these promotions should hit the key price points on small pack sizes. For cash rich consumers, encourage multi-unit purchases ahead of the inevitable next price increase.

5.Unbundle. Customers who previously welcomed the convenience of buying product, options, and services rolled into one may now ask for a detailed price breakdown. Make it easy for your more price-sensitive customers to better cherry-pick the options and services that they truly need by giving them an unbundled menu of options.

6.Monitor Trade Terms. Beware of powerful distributors paying you more slowly than they turn the inventory they buy from you. In an inflationary environment, they're making money on the float by stretching their payables. Manage your inventory on a last-in, first-out basis to insure that increases in your realized selling prices do not trail the increases in your input costs.

7.Increase Relevance. You need to persuade customers to cut back their expenditures on other products, not on yours. In tough times, consumers more than ever need and deserve the occasional treat. So, if you are Haagen Dazs, tell the consumer to substitute private label peas for the name brand but to not forego the comfort of curling up on the sofa with a tub of her favorite ice cream. Strong brands can hold consumer loyalty while increasing retail price points. Weaker brands risk private label and generic substitution.

   最近這些天開車經過加油站的時候，你有沒有注意油價？你有沒有留意自己買任何東西，都比以前更在意價格？不是你一個人這樣的．每個消費 者現在都比以前更關注商品的價格．就連之前幾年對價格上漲沒有感覺的人們也突然對買東西的支出數額感到吃驚了．那么，市場上的企業用什么辦法才能不僅應對 通貨膨脹問題而且也能照顧到消費者的感受呢？

１、要理解顧客．汽油價格上漲，消費者至少 有以下四種反應：不再使用優質油轉而購買普通油；減少開車出行，把事情統一起來做，選擇公共交通工具；或者仍舊開車出行但是縮短每次出行的里程，比如說， 在離家近一些的地方渡假，同時更注重車子的燃油經濟性，這樣每加侖汽油就能跑更多的里程；消費者還可以一次性購買一定數量的汽油，而不是一次又一次地去油 站加油，盡管這樣做要使用油泵．甚至會有消費者寧愿賠錢去把ＳＵＶ型車換成混合動力型車，這同時也是一個可以說明一種商品價格的上漲如何引起對其他相關商 品需求變化的例子．

２、做市場調查．企業這個時候必須拋開已有的消費者細分的假定并根據 消費者的產品使用行為和對價格的敏感程度對其重新細分，企業必須親自深入市場，直接和消費者對話，了解消費者的切身利益，以及他們在通貨膨脹的時候，購買 商品的行為和態度有什么變化．接下來，企業必須對消費者的這些變化進行量化分析并且制定產品和價格策略來平衡商品需求，以維持盈利和市場份額．

３、重新定義＂價值＂．購 買軟飲料的消費者會從三個方面來考慮價格：首先,一罐或者一瓶飲料的絕對價格，其次是每盎司飲料的價格，還有就是比較少見的，每個月購買飲料的總價格．現 金短缺的消費者會更在意絕對價格，他們會購買定價０．９９美元的軟飲料卻不會購買定價１．２９美元同時量也增加了一半的飲料．因此，為了刺激現金短缺的消 費者，企業就必須逆向設計開發產品和包裝來配合商品的零售價格，這樣的措施一般都是縮小包裝規格，糖果行業常常會這么做去應對價格上漲．

４、利用促銷．如 果企業總是將原材料成本的增加轉嫁給最終消費者，那么就沒有必要去改變政策．然而，把成本的增加轉嫁給消費者的速度放慢就會起到和臨時價格促銷一樣的效 果．消費者大部分都想要打折商品，都在密切地關注著價格促銷活動．企業不需要通過董事局決議降價，而只需要降低消費者購買的具體商品的價格就可．對于現金 短缺的消費者來說，這些促銷活動會使小規格包裝的商品價格正好在他們可以接受的水平上，而對于不存在現金短缺的消費者來說，則可以在下一次不可避免的價格 上漲來臨之前，鼓勵他們購買多種包裝規格的產品．

５、分別計價．漲價之前，消費者為了方便希望有多種選擇，會把產品和相關的服務一起購買，漲價之后，消費者則可能會需要了解它們各自的價格．所以，為了讓那些對價格特別敏感的消費者更好地在他們真正需要的多種選擇和服務之中做出最佳決策，企業就要提供各種購買選擇的單獨定價單．

６、修正交易條款．如果實力強大的分銷商償付貨款的周期比他們購買產品的周期長的情況出現，企業要警惕!在通貨膨脹的環境下，分銷商通過延遲應付賬款的時間而獲利．企業可以采取后進先出法來管理存貨，以保證銷售額的增加不低于存貨成本的增加．

７、強調商品的實用性． 企業要勸說消費者減少在其他商品而不是本企業商品的開支．在經濟環境嚴峻時期，消費者比以前更需要同時也應該得到特殊的待遇．所以，像哈根達斯，就可以告 訴消費者用名牌豌豆代替私人品牌的豌豆，但同時也告訴消費者不要放棄吃著自己最喜歡的冰淇淋蜷在沙發上的愜意舒適．影響力強的品牌提高零售價格會保住消費 者的忠誠度，而知名度不高的品牌則會有被代替的風險．