#015: Miscommunication in Pricing: Are We to Blame?
Lessons provoked by the ACCC vs. Coles/Woolworths.
Happy Saturday fellow Price Crafter!
This week, the biggest pricing news in Australia is the ACCC’s lawsuit against supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths. The consumer watchdog claims both retailers manipulated prices to mislead consumers.
They found that prices on hundreds of products were stable for years, then sharply increased for a brief period—only to be marketed under campaigns like “Prices Dropped” (Woolworths) and “Down Down” (Coles).
This news sparked an interesting discussion in my pricing circle.
Some see it as a lack of communication, while others blame the organisation’s limited pricing knowledge.
A common theme emerged:
“This happens every time marketing controls pricing tactics."
“It highlights the need for cross-department coordination when executing complex pricing strategies."
Valid points. But I see a deeper issue here.
How much of this situation is due to the pricing team’s lack of involvement in broader business decisions, which has left them sidelined from the strategic process?
Today's topic may feel a bit heavier. However, it hits close to home, and I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Are Pricing Teams to Blame for Lack of Emphasis?
I've seen ambitious young analysts eager for responsibility throughout my career leading pricing teams.
Yet, when given basic tasks, they miss critical points.
Instead of presenting a clear recommendation, they’ll present 4-5 pricing options and wait for me to decide which to present to senior leadership.
Do I give them more responsibility?
No.
Responsibility isn’t something you ask for - it’s something you earn.
Once you demonstrate the ability to manage a pricing case from start to finish, I’ll gladly assign you to larger projects.
This reflects a broader issue.
We often blame organisations for not prioritising pricing or having CEOs who don’t view it as a critical function.
Isn’t this the same mindset?
No one will emphasise the importance of pricing unless we consistently show its value.
When Wendy’s dynamic pricing initiative flopped a few months ago, many brushed it off as a failure of the corporate comms team.
I feel it's too simplistic.
Consumers don’t view pricing, finance, marketing, and sales as separate entities.
If we don’t educate the communications team on how to present pricing effectively, we are just as responsible for any missteps.
Why Does Pricing Get So Little Attention?
Pricing is often misunderstood, and the reasons are clear:
Limited Academic Exposure: Few universities offer comprehensive pricing courses, let alone degrees.
High Barrier to Entry: Pricing requires expertise across finance, analytics, marketing, product and sales, making it hard for young graduates to break into the field.
Weak Communication Skills: Many pricing professionals are strong with numbers but struggle to communicate effectively.
Limited Academic Exposure:
While I’ve never taken a university pricing course, I’ve experienced a pricing master class at Chicago Booth and heard similar feedback from others who attended courses at INSEAD.
The consensus?
These courses are overly theoretical, making pricing seem like rocket science, detached from real-world applications.
If even top business schools can’t teach pricing effectively, the outlook for traditional education in this field is discouraging.
High Barrier to Entry
Most people don’t enter the pricing field by choice.
They stumble into it because their company needs someone "good with numbers."
This, combined with the lack of formal education, only heightens the entry barrier.
However, the truth is that pricing is more than just being analytical.
The field requires a deep understanding of how various functions like marketing, finance, and product intersect.
This high level of expertise isn’t easily accessible for new professionals, which further explains why pricing remains niche.
Weak Communication Skills
In the past six months, I’ve spoken with countless professionals who said, “I didn’t know pricing was even a profession.”
I wasn’t surprised.
When I first started posting on LinkedIn, I was given the advice to interact with other Pricing leaders or influencers.
But finding them was another story.
Searching for “Pricing Director” or “Pricing Executive” rarely surfaces anyone with a significant following or regular posts.
Searching for “Pricing Director” or “Pricing Executive” rarely turns up someone with a large following or regular posts.
Even when you find them, the content often feels off, written in a way only pricing experts could resonate.
It’s as if we’ve put up a wall where the message to outsiders is: “If you don’t already get pricing, don’t bother trying."
This reminds me of my early days as an Actuary.
The attitude was often, "We don’t need to explain this model to the business—it’s too complex for them."
But while Actuaries can afford this isolation due to regulatory requirements, Pricing doesn’t have that luxury.
If we isolate ourselves, we risk being left out of the business entirely.
The Solution?
The path forward for me is clear. Improve communication both within your organisations and within our profession. By doing so, we elevate not only our value but the entire pricing community.
Twenty years ago, few cared about product design or customer experience. Today, product professionals make up one of the largest segments in most companies.
I believe pricing is in the early stages of a similar transformation.
The road ahead may be unclear, but it’s exciting. And if you believe in this vision, join me in promoting our profession and proving our worth.
The future of pricing depends on us stepping out of our bubble and showing the world what we can do.
Something for you to reflect on this weekend
If you or your team faces communication challenges, either to sell your Pricing ideas or to promote your brand, I’d love to hear from you.
Drop me a DM, and we can connect more there!
Have a lovely weekend!
Cheers,
Claire
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