Small strategy mistakes can easily cause major gross margin erosion, but who’s to blame? The answer is more complicated than one guilty party. Learn more about how the sales, pricing, marketing, and leadership teams all contribute to margin erosion. Read the full article here: https://thekinigroup.com/margin-erosion-disrupting-profits/ How Long Will You Let Margin Erosion Disrupt Your Profits? Small strategy mistakes can easily cause major margin erosion, but who’s to blame? The answer is more complicated than one guilty party. The margin erosion suspects: 1. Sales 2. Pricing 3. Marketing 4. Leadership Sales Team Challenges: 1. Bad discounting 2. Not selling value 3. Believing buyer lies Pricing Team Challenges: 1. Pricing widely 2. Forgetting value 3. Not researching Marketing Team Challenges: 1. Not understanding ideal customers 2. Building bad messaging Leadership Team Challenges: 1. Believing a bird’s eye view is enough Connect your teams with better data analysis. Blame doesn’t fall to one department. Connect your teams to stop margin erosion in its tracks.

1. How Long Will You Let Margin
Erosion Disrupt Your Profits?
Small strategy mistakes can easily cause major margin erosion, but
who’s to blame? The answer is more complicated than one guilty party.

2. The Margin Erosion Suspects
Suspect #1: Sales
1. Out of control
discounting
2. Failing to sell
on value
3. Believing
buyers’ lies
Suspect #2: Pricing
1. Pricing widely
and neglecting
to segment
2. Forgetting to
price for value
3. Researching
too little
Suspect #3: Marketing
1. Failing to
understand
ideal customers
2. Building
incorrect
messaging by
audience
segment
Suspect #4: Leadership
1. Believing a
bird’s-eye view
is enough

3. Sales Team Challenges Deep-dive
#1: Bad Discounting
Hold the target price
Give sales team the
power to see the impact
of their pricing decisions
with customer and deal
profitability analytics.
#2: Not Selling Value
Highlight the whole
package
Highlight all extras and
value propositions.
Sell customers on the
value propositions they
value the most.
#3: Believing buyer lies
Know where you stand
Do you research to see
through the baloney.
Stay firm on the facts,
and don’t back down.

4. Pricing Team Challenges Deep-dive
#1: Pricing Widely
Segment, segment,
segment
Differentiate by buying
situation.
Find opportunities for
price increases.
#2: Forgetting Value
Price for value first
Quantify value and price
each product
appropriately.
Collaborate with
marketing, account
management, and sales
teams.
#3: Not Researching
Evaluate Value Regularly
Keep an eye on emerging
points of value or those
who lose strength.
Check in quarterly at
minimum.

5. Marketing Team Challenges Deep-dive
#1: Not Understanding Ideal Customers
Follow the Data
Identify your most profitable
customers and study them.
Create subgroups to build better deals.
#2: Building Bad Messaging
Keep lines of communication open
Work with the sales team to build a
targeted customer profile.
Streamline the journey through the
sales funnel with highly-targeted
messaging.

6. Leadership Team Challenges Deep-dive
#1: Believing a Bird’s-Eye View is Enough
Lead by example
Get in the trenches.
Encourage employees to identify lost margin
and growth opportunities.
Challenge them to find mistakes without fear of
repercussions.
Take a more active role in margin analytics.

7. Connect your teams with
better data analysis.
Blame doesn’t fall to one department.
Connect your teams to stop margin erosion in its tracks.

8. Sales, customer,
pricing, and value
analytics, all in one
framework.
See how KiniMetrix works here.
margin growth