Make MAP Pricing Work for Your Business

Feeling limited by MAP? Don’t be. Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) protects the market for everyone and keeps the profit margins high. MAP also reinforces branding, quality, and perceived value. A creative strategy can result in a win for you and for your customers. When thinking of successful retailers who adhere to MAP, think of none other than Apple. From the beginning Apple stuck to one price for their products though they occasionally ran specials on included software and hardware. And Apple's branding strategy was apparent - create demand for the product and don't devalue the brand by competing on price. Today, consumers will never find an Apple product pricing difference when shopping various retailers. Today their brand is one of the most recognized in the world and the perceived value of Apple products is off the charts.

If your budget is limited, no worries, your brand is limitless. No matter the size of your business, MAP is an integral part of retail sales. But it is not something dealers can type into a CMS and then be lazy about strategizing around. It just take a little creative energy to make it work for you!

5 Suggestions for Making MAP Pricing Work for You:

· Offer free shipping. Perhaps the biggest online draw is a break on shipping. With large retailers offering free shipping under certain conditions it's almost imperative that all online businesses do this on occasion.

· Offer free accessories. An example is LandAir Sea's current offer of a vehicle power adaptor with every purchase of the Tracking Key Pro.

· Offer a gift with purchase. Think gift cards from a retailer who may want to partner with you, subscriptions to print or electronic content that may support your industry or brand. Often you will receive reciprocal exposure from the company or product you partner with.

· Offer a discount on an additional item. Even if you can't discount the MAP item, chances are there is something on your site, related to the MAP item, that you can offer a discount on... even a steep discount in order to pique the customer's interest.

· Offer coupon codes on your website. Coupons for future purchases are a good way to get customers back to your site. Investigate coupon clearing house sites like RetailMeNot.com. Coupon codes are also good for occasional social media content. (To be safe, if you’re offering a coupon code, always mention which items are excluded from the promotion.)