Published on: April 30, 2019 | Last updated on: March 13, 2024 |
If you’re a manufacturer and you’re not monitoring prices, you’re missing a trick.
In fact, a trick might be an understatement. In 2022, data is gold, and pricing data is gold dust.
If you’re not keeping on top of your own prices, then who is?
In this article, we’ll take you through everything you need to know about price monitoring, including what it is and how it can help manufacturers like yourself. We’ll even include a living, breathing example of how our own monitoring tool has helped revolutionise a global brand’s pricing strategy.
Let’s get started.
Price monitoring, also known as price tracking, is a way of keeping an eye on product pricing online. You can use it to watch your own prices across retailers, as well as what your competitors are up to. This is usually done through a piece of software, tool, or website. Although the exact functionality of price tracking tools vary, you can expect to find tools such as competitor insights, pricing alerts, and historical pricing data.
If you’re a manufacturer, there are plenty of reasons why you should be tracking prices:
If you’ve ever worked with resellers and distributors, you know how difficult it can be to stay on top of them. Nothing ruins a limited time sale more than a partner failing to update things on their side. With a tool such as Magpie DBX, you can monitor your prices across the web, keeping tabs on your resellers, and receiving alerts when they fall out of line.
What are your competitors up to? What products are they pushing at the moment? How have their prices changed over time? Keep tabs on your closest rivals and spot trends in their pricing strategies.
Ditch the countless spreadsheets, screenshots and word docs. With a price tracking tool, you’ll have all the pricing information you need in one place. Most price monitoring software (including Magpie DBX) stores data in the cloud, so you and your team can access everything from everywhere.
Get summaries, reports, and insights on what matters most to you. The hard work is done for you, so you can quickly see your position in the market without digging through hard drives and email chains.
Use the data in your hands to make decisions that matter. A good price monitoring tool will lay everything on the table – it’s then on you to action real change.
Here’s a few examples:
Where many retailers use Magpie DBX for competitor price monitoring to compete with rivals, some use it to retrieve insight on their own products.
One of the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturers (we can’t reveal their names for legal reasons) was looking for a tool which would ensure their pricing strategy was implemented consistently across the market.
Their phones are available to buy globally, across 1000s of high street retailers and websites, making it extremely tricky to oversee everything at any given moment.
Covering so much ground was proving to be a double-edged sword, and their old methods of price monitoring were no longer fit for purpose. One of their biggest concerns was about staying competitive in a market where a slight overprice could have a devastating knock-on effect.
When they approached us, it was clear that their manual price monitoring method was hurting them badly in both time and money. A more efficient solution was certainly needed – enter Magpie DBX.
We worked with the manufacturer closely to ensure Magpie DBX could do everything they needed.
First things first, gathering data. We worked with the client to target their key products and retail partners, making sure we were pulling in everything they needed. Magpie isn’t just some out of the box product – it’s a tailored solution.
Using Magpie’s Price Tracker and multiple custom reports, our client could now access everything they needed to stay competitive. This included regular pricing alerts and daily Squawks to keep on top of changes in the market. They could also analyse historical pricing trends, giving them insight into how the past could shape the future.
Competitor price monitoring has revolutionised the client’s pricing strategy, allowing them to efficiently and effectively make informed decisions that impact priority areas.
Interested in trying out price tracking for yourself? We’d love to hear from you so that we can arrange a demo. Get in touch today.
If you run a business, you will have competitors.
And just like you, your competitors are working hard to make their business the best.
Some things will work for them, and some things won’t. They may have already solved problems that you’re currently facing, or maybe they’re gearing up for a big product launch.
But if you’re not keeping a close eye on them, how would you know all this?
In this article, we break down why it’s important to monitor competitors, including how one of our partners solved a crucial problem by monitoring their competition.
As a thriving business, launching products is always an exciting time.
You’ve got the initial anticipation, then the launch date itself, and finally (hopefully) the inflated sales figures that follow.
But some companies experience negative consequences on the digital shelf after releasing the brand-new product they’ve worked so hard to perfect; instead of attracting customers from other brands, they end up stealing sales from themselves. This can be explained through one increasingly common phenomenon: product cannibalisation.
In this article, we look at product cannibalisation in detail, covering what it is, the potential causes and impact, as well as tips on how to avoid making the same mistakes as other businesses.
Pricing your products competitively while securing a healthy profit margin is the ambition of every business. With customers now more tech-savvy and commercially aware than ever, competitor price monitoring is essential.
But how exactly do you stay ahead of your competition and keep prices consistent?
In this article, we’ll show you 10 ways to beat competitors without changing your prices, and explain what Magpie DBX can do to help your company maintain its pricing position.
Want to learn more about how Magpie DBX can help your business? Get in touch with us and let us show you!
