By Ian Ferguson

MANY Bahamians travel to the United States for a vacation experience during the summer months. Most of these Bahamians travel with one purpose in mind: Shopping.

It was the late Dr Cleveland Eneas who declared that Bahamians were born with the unalienable right to travel to Miami; in fact The Bahamas and South Florida has such a rich historic past that most persons simply accept that we are inseparable. If you ask the common Bahamian why they choose to shop in Miami, New York, Orlando, Ft Lauderdale or wherever Bahamians are shopping these days, the common response would simply be…the prices!

While I believe that much of our exercising our right to travel and shop is connected to the tremendous bargains to be found in America, for so many Bahamians our craze for American shopping is psychological. The Chamber Voice resoundingly says again that we encourage Bahamians to shop locally and to ensure that the earnings that we secure from tourists visiting the Bahamas remain in the country for our future development. A local business leader declared recently in my hearing that Miami is nothing more than a large wholesale and retail distribution centre. Little to no manufacturing takes place in Miami or South Florida (assembly of finished goods at best). What they have done successfully for years in travelling to the manufacturers in Hong Kong, China Taiwan, Haiti and everywhere else, we can do quite easily. Our focus then is towards assisting local companies address one of the consumers’ greatest complaints: The PRICE of goods and services in The Bahamas.

Price is the quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in exchange for goods and services. The pricing strategy of your business can ultimately determine your fate. Business owners can ensure profitability and longevity by paying close attention to their pricing strategy. Research also bears out that in difficult economic times when sales are hard to find, adopting a better pricing strategy is the key to remaining viable. Merely raising prices is not the answer as many companies have priced themselves out of business. By the same token some companies under price goods and services and miss the opportunity to get full value for their products and services

We rest by stating that one pricing strategy does not fit all. It is important to study the behaviour of customers, competitors, the market place, the economy and price accordingly. Here are a few tips that will assist you whatever pricing strategy you decide to use:

• Conduct a competitor analysis: Do not just look at the price of the competition’s goods or services, but the entire value of what they are offering, including service levels; value added goods and services, etc.

• Know your pricing limits: (ie. The bands in which consumers are prepared to purchase your goods and services). Some goods stay on shelves for long periods of time because we have priced ourselves out of the market

• Enhance exclusivity: Products or services that are exclusive to your business provide protection from falling prices and are quite attractive to your potential customers.

• Drop high maintenance goods: There may be products or services in your business that have high customer service and maintenance costs. Drop the unprofitable lines and find out what customers don’t want.s

• Strengthen the Brand: Develop your brand name in the market. Brand name businesses can always stand strong in a price war.

NB: Ian R. Ferguson was educated locally, regionally and internationally, having earned a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Miami. During the course of his nearly 20 years in education, talent man- agement and human resources, he has served both the public and private sector in senior manage- ment roles. He currently serves as manager of the Chamber Institute, and as a local consult- ant in the field, having assisted hundreds of local and regional businesses in improving business and service excellence through their human capital.