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 premium¹ to regular; take fewer trips by car, consolidate² errands, switch to public transportation³; 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 hybrid⁴, 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 retail⁵ price points. This may mean downsizing package sizes, something the candy industry always does in response to inflation.

4.Use Promotions⁷. 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 promotion⁶. 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 inevitable⁸ next price increase.

5.Unbundle. Customers who previously⁹ welcomed the convenience of buying product, options, and services rolled into one may now ask for a detailed¹⁰ price breakdown¹¹. 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 inventory¹² 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 input¹³ costs.

7.Increase Relevance¹⁴. You need to persuade customers to cut back their expenditures¹⁵ 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 loyalty¹⁶ while increasing retail price points. Weaker brands risk private label and generic¹⁷ substitution.

最近这些天开车经过加油站的时候，你有没有注意油价？你有没有留意自己买任何东西，都比以前更在意价格？不是你一个人这样的．每个消费 者现在都比以前更关注商品的价格．就连之前几年对价格上涨没有感觉的人们也突然对买东西的支出数额感到吃惊了．那么，市场上的企业用什么办法才能不仅应对 通货膨胀问题而且也能照顾到消费者的感受呢？

１、要理解顾客．汽油价格上涨，消费者至少 有以下四种反应：不再使用优质油转而购买普通油；减少开车出行，把事情统一起来做，选择公共交通工具；或者仍旧开车出行但是缩短每次出行的里程，比如说， 在离家近一些的地方渡假，同时更注重车子的燃油经济性，这样每加仑汽油就能跑更多的里程；消费者还可以一次性购买一定数量的汽油，而不是一次又一次地去油 站加油，尽管这样做要使用油泵．甚至会有消费者宁愿赔钱去把ＳＵＶ型车换成混合动力型车，这同时也是一个可以说明一种商品价格的上涨如何引起对其他相关商 品需求变化的例子．

２、做市场调查．企业这个时候必须抛开已有的消费者细分的假定并根据 消费者的产品使用行为和对价格的敏感程度对其重新细分，企业必须亲自深入市场，直接和消费者对话，了解消费者的切身利益，以及他们在通货膨胀的时候，购买 商品的行为和态度有什么变化．接下来，企业必须对消费者的这些变化进行量化分析并且制定产品和价格策略来平衡商品需求，以维持盈利和市场份额．

３、重新定义＂价值＂．购 买软饮料的消费者会从三个方面来考虑价格：首先,一罐或者一瓶饮料的绝对价格，其次是每盎司饮料的价格，还有就是比较少见的，每个月购买饮料的总价格．现 金短缺的消费者会更在意绝对价格，他们会购买定价０．９９美元的软饮料却不会购买定价１．２９美元同时量也增加了一半的饮料．因此，为了刺激现金短缺的消 费者，企业就必须逆向设计开发产品和包装来配合商品的零售价格，这样的措施一般都是缩小包装规格，糖果行业常常会这么做去应对价格上涨．

４、利用促销．如 果企业总是将原材料成本的增加转嫁给最终消费者，那么就没有必要去改变政策．然而，把成本的增加转嫁给消费者的速度放慢就会起到和临时价格促销一样的效 果．消费者大部分都想要打折商品，都在密切地关注着价格促销活动．企业不需要通过董事局决议降价，而只需要降低消费者购买的具体商品的价格就可．对于现金 短缺的消费者来说，这些促销活动会使小规格包装的商品价格正好在他们可以接受的水平上，而对于不存在现金短缺的消费者来说，则可以在下一次不可避免的价格 上涨来临之前，鼓励他们购买多种包装规格的产品．

５、分别计价．涨价之前，消费者为了方便希望有多种选择，会把产品和相关的服务一起购买，涨价之后，消费者则可能会需要了解它们各自的价格．所以，为了让那些对价格特别敏感的消费者更好地在他们真正需要的多种选择和服务之中做出最佳决策，企业就要提供各种购买选择的单独定价单．

６、修正交易条款．如果实力强大的分销商偿付货款的周期比他们购买产品的周期长的情况出现，企业要警惕!在通货膨胀的环境下，分销商通过延迟应付账款的时间而获利．企业可以采取后进先出法来管理存货，以保证销售额的增加不低于存货成本的增加．

７、强调商品的实用性． 企业要劝说消费者减少在其他商品而不是本企业商品的开支．在经济环境严峻时期，消费者比以前更需要同时也应该得到特殊的待遇．所以，像哈根达斯，就可以告 诉消费者用名牌豌豆代替私人品牌的豌豆，但同时也告诉消费者不要放弃吃着自己最喜欢的冰淇淋蜷在沙发上的惬意舒适．影响力强的品牌提高零售价格会保住消费 者的忠诚度，而知名度不高的品牌则会有被代替的风险．