《历年BEC商务英语中级考试真题（8）》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《历年BEC商务英语中级考试真题（8）（3页珍藏版）》请在金锄头文库上搜索。
1、 历年BEC商务英语中级考试真题（8）2 a context that makes it difficult to increase prices3 the consequences of companies trying to conceal their approach to pricing4 the means by which a company ensured precision in the prices it offered5 the fact that companies can learn about the effects of a price reduction 中华考试
2、网6 the first sector to price products according to how much customers were prepared to spend7 the widespread use of rough guidelines to determine pricesGetting the price rightA、Chief executives need to pay more attention to pricing, according to Roberto Lippi of the Apex Group, a consultancy that of
3、fers advice on pricing strategy. He accepts that low inflation figures in many industrialised countries makes raising prices tough, but argues that this should not necessarily deter companies. He gives the example of the airlines, which, with their minimum stay requirements and massive premiums for
4、flexibility, led the way in sorting customers into categories, based on their willingness to pay.B、The key to pricing is to avoid alienating customers. As Lippi points out, once a bad price has been established, it can be very difficult to turn the situation around. He gives the example of a consume
5、r goods company that went bankrupt largely because it did not price its digital cameras properly. In contrast, he cites the case of a Swiss drug company that introduced software for every sales representatives laptop, enabling them to provide consistent and accurate price quotes. To help staff with
6、this innovation, the company also created a new post of director of pricing strategy.C、Many of todays managers have the benefit of modern technology to help them with pricing. Supermarket chains, for example, can easily track customers elasticity - how their buying habits change in response to a pri
7、ce rise or a discount. But although a company can now measure this sort of thing in a more sophisticated way, following basic rules is still the most common way of setting prices. Most bosses still worry more about their costs than the prices they charge; one recent survey found that they spend as l
8、ittle as 2% of their time on pricing.D、One popular approach to pricing is illustrated by the car companies that charge extra for product add-ons such as electric windows, instead of offering them as part of the standard price. Although many customers are prepared to pay extra, Lippi recommends that companies make sure that price differences reflect real differences in the product, either in quality or in the extra service on offer. The worst approach is to try to keep the pricing structure secret from customers. Nowadays, that is more likely to lead to lost contracts than large profits.
