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Five Rules for Pricing Excellence

ChangeThis recently published our manifesto on how to get more for your services. Viewed by thousands of readers already, it has quickly become one of the most popular ChangeThis manifestos. Past authors of ChangeThis have included Tom Peters, Guy Kawasaki, Chris Anderson and Seth Godin. More information >>

The latest news

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InnovationNJ

Patrick Lefler of the Spruance Group is a member of InnovationNJ - a coalition of New Jersey's leading businesses, trade associations and academic institutions established to promote policies that foster an environment for innovation within the state. More information >>

We drive top-line growth for our clients. We accomplish this by focusing solely on the improvement of their condition. We don’t peddle the latest methodologies nor do we believe in ‘one-size-fits-all’ prescriptive remedies. We diagnose first; then work together with the client to create and implement the best possible solution.

Our clients view us a valuable partner; one who observes their processes through a fresh and impartial lens. Results are delivered at every stage - outcomes that achieve a measurable, definitive impact. We accomplish this with a combination of independent observation, critical thinking and diagnostic skills.

Clients gain the most value utilizing these three primary areas of our expertise: product marketing, pricing strategy and innovation.

The services our clients value most

Product marketing

Product Marketing

Product marketing is much more than creating the messages that drive prospects into the sales funnel. Product marketing can also be a driving force of market information; valuable feedback that helps prevent the creation of products that customers don’t want in the first place. More information >>

Pricing Strategy

Pricing Strategy

The most successful organizations realize that pricing is strategic and that it can affect top-line growth and bottom-line profitability faster and more directly than anything else. They also know that short-changing this process is the fastest way to leave cash on the table—money that will be lost forever and never recovered. More information >>

Innovation

Innovation

Innovation is not pixie dust. And contrary to popular opinion, it’s not the end-all to solving some of the most basic product deficiencies. But when introduced appropriately and combined with a rigorous dose of critical analysis and forward thinking, it can create significant competitive advantages and be a powerful driver of long-term growth. More information >>

Spruance Group news...

eCommerce Times DM Confidential San Diego Business Journal

Patrick Lefler of the Spruance Group was interviewed and his comments were prominently featured in Erika Morphy's eCommerce Times story, Google May Take a Whack at Same-Day Delivery. More information >>

On March 1, 2013, Patrick Lefler was included in a DM Confidential panel of experts commenting on Groupon. What Groupon’s Firing of Andrew Mason Means for the Company and the Daily-Deals Industry.   More information >>

Patrick Lefler recently contributed strategy advice and was quoted in the San Diego Business Journal article, Can a company follow in Qualcomm's giant steps?  More information >>

Insight and analysis

Pay-what-you-want pricing

A different look at pay-what-you-want pricing

What’s the best way to strike gold with pay-what-you-want pricing? Focus on digital goods? Brick-and-mortar products? No, it turns out that what really matters is when you combine a charitable component to this unique pricing model. That’s where the money is! Read more >>

Surge Pricing

Surge Pricing: What a difference a year makes

When Uber rolled out surge pricing during the 2012 New Year holiday, the customer reaction was terrible. A year later, they utilized the same pricing model with a much better reception. So what was the difference? It turns out that if you properly communicate and prepare customers for price changes, their response is significantly more positive. Read more >>

Baseball free agency and the winner's curse

Baseball free agency and the winner's curse

Does the “Winner's Curse”—the tendency for the winning bidder in an auction to overpay because of emotions and irrational behavior—apply to baseball's free agent market? As it turns out, many owners exhibit this type behavior…but it may surprise you when you find out who they are. Read more >>

Dynamic pricing

Dynamic pricing and the death of PeopleExpress

Dynamic pricing was still in its infancy 27 years ago when American Airlines leveraged its SABRE reservation system and created Super Saver fares. Designed to allocate just enough discount fares to keep airplanes full, this killer pricing strategy was a nail In the coffin of low-cost rival PeopleExpress. Read more >>

Freemium pricing model

Three errors guaranteed to sink your freemium pricing model

While freemium pricing models--offering free versions of a product or service to entice paid upgrades--have become the rage within the start-up world, most companies never achieve their revenue goals. Overcoming these three errors is key to achieving that elusive success. Read more >>

Most customer surveys are useless

Most customers surveys are useless; here's why

While initiated with the best of intentions, most customer surveys fall way short of achieving their goals. They ask the wrong questions to the wrong audience, which assures unreliable feedback. Here are five reasons why you should change the way you conduct surveys going forward. Read more >>

Price wars are a fool's game

Price wars are a fool's game

In 1992, American Airlines initiated one of the most destructive price wars of all time. Price cuts led to more retaliatory price cuts by industry players. In a short three-month span, US airline companies collectively lost over $1.5 Billion. Think price wars are winnable? Think again. Read more >>

Fosbury's innovative flop

Fosbury's innovative flop

In 1968, a young American high jumper named Dick Fosbury won the Olympic gold medal with a new and unorthodox style. Known as the Fosbury Flop, it remains the stardard technique for world-class jumpers today and is considered track & field’s most successful innovation. Read more >>

A John Wooden lesson for today's CEO

A John Wooden lesson for today's CEO

Before winning his first basketball championship in 1964, John Wooden enjoyed limited success at UCLA in sixteen previous seasons. So what was the tipping point for this reversal of fortune? Better players? Better coaching? No, it turns that Wooden's success was the result of one of the great mid-course management corrections of all time. Read more >>

Does price drive value?

Does price drive value?

We're all familiar with the term “you get what you pay for”—but does it really factor into buyers’ perceptions of value today? When the Humane Society Silicon Valley faced a pet adoption and return challenge, they used an unconventional approach to solve the problem; they raised prices. Read more >>

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