Introduction
Are you in Ecommerce but still tracking your prices manually? Oh dear!
Most (60%) of your customers will purchase a product purely in terms of the best price so in order for you to keep one step ahead (at the very least) of the competition you will need to monitor your prices on a daily basis to see how they compare with your rivals - and this task could potentially take up your whole work day.
A much more sensible solution - and one which will pay dividends in the long run - is to acquire price tracking software.
Reasons To Use Price Tracking Software
Eliminate mistakes
Excel is the most common method of manually tracking and storing competitors' prices but you run the risk of making mistakes when transferring data, however careful you think you are. By using a proven competitor price tracking tool, you will eliminate the risk of making what could be extremely costly mistakes.
Accelerate your price changes
Price wars can be fierce and for many ecommerce sectors, particularly electronics, home maintenance and construction, prices are highly dynamic. Add to the pot special promotions, discounts and seasonal sales, and it becomes almost impossible to manually update pricing data on a daily basis.
On the other hand, when you use competitor price tracking software you are monitoring the whole market and the alerts you will set up means you can accelerate your response/adjust your prices dynamically according to your competitors' prices.
Save time
Time is valuable and your day should be spent in a productive fashion, not bogged down in the product prices of your competitors, particularly if we are talking hundreds, perhaps thousands of products here.
There are much better ways for you (or your employees) to spend time productively on other areas of business. Let the software trawl the internet for you.
Cut costs
The ROI will be realised in a very short space of time. Competitor price tracking software is more effective, accurate and economic than employing someone to track prices.
Improve data analysis
You've already saved valuable time and resources, now it's the turn of improving your data analysis. By investing in price tracking software you'll learn what is the life cycle/stage of your product, whether the product could be cheaper or higher priced in the future; whether price changes should occur regularly or seasonally - and whether discounts or promotions would be appropriate.
Price tracking software means you have all the relevant pricing information at your fingertips and it becomes much easier to make accurate decisions for the future success of your business.
Related posts
8 Reasons Why Excel-based Pricing Could be Hurting Your Business
The Benefits of Price List Management Software
Sources
http://www.ask.com/technology/disadvantages-microsoft-excel-542d9841173542d3
http://www.denizon.com/spreadsheets/top-10-disadvantages-of-spreadsheets/
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-spreadsheets-26551.html
http://www.answers.com/Q/What_are_disadvantages_of_spreadsheets
The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing by Tom Nagle and John Hogan, 2016
Pricing Strategy: Tactics and Strategies for Pricing with Confidence by Warren D. Hamilton, 2014
Pricing with Confidence: 10 Ways to Stop Leaving Money on the Table by Reed K. Holden and Mark Burton, 2014
Pricing for Profit: How to Develop a Powerful Pricing Strategy for Your Business by Peter Hill, 2013