Price comparison: the secret to more innovative sales and purchasing decisions
Business owners need to make well-informed sales decisions. It’s crucial to the ongoing success and growth of any organization. However, with a plethora of potential approaches and possible pricepoints, building an idea of the optimal market value takes time and effort.
This is where price comparison through web-scraping comes in. Utilizing these modern methods and strategies, you’ll gain valuable insights into pricing trends. As a result, you’ll have everything you need to make informed decisions that benefit your business going forward.
This article addresses some of the key benefits of price comparison for businesses.
#1 Stay competitive
Most people use web-scraping to keep up with (and overtake) the competition. Web-scraping contributes to a database, portraying your rivals’ prices over time. It’s most effectively employed as a method of understanding which prices sell well, where (geographically and online) they sell well, and providing you with all the information you need to understand why they sell well. Once you’ve grasped this, you’ll use the competitor prices in your web-scraping database to set prices of your own (potentially utilizing methods such as dynamic pricing).
For instance, you might notice when the prices go up or down in relation to seasons or other events. This is most relevant in industries where prices are constantly fluctuating, such as e-commerce or commodities. Nevertheless, you could apply the principle just about anywhere.
Let’s take an example of a local business selling office equipment. Alongside other small organizations, they likely compete against big names like Staples and Office Depot, as well as online stores like Amazon Business. The local business can remain competitive, even against the online options, through web-scraping (alongside other approaches like a good marketing scheme). Through understanding the prices offered on competitor websites, the owner might adjust their rates or improve the quality of their product to get one step ahead. As a result, customers are more likely to purchase from their store.
#2 Improve customer satisfaction
Alongside the obvious monetary benefits, price comparison techniques also ultimately lead to improved customer satisfaction. By ensuring prices are always competitive through competitor price tracking, an organization can list its own products accordingly, leading to greater customer satisfaction. Of course, this brings value itself, as your consumers are more likely to recommend your product to others and return for further purchases themselves.
Customer satisfaction usually comes from paying the best rate for the highest quality. Taking the example of a car retailer, a business owner may notice drivers and potential owners not entering the showroom as frequently. Their price comparison tools may reveal that a rival dealership down the road displays lower upfront prices than theirs.
So, what should they do?
The analysis may indicate that they could lower their prices to stay competitive. It might also show that the owner can’t lower their prices anymore, influencing their market approach to turn more towards additional benefits, warranties, higher quality of customer service, and so on. Once clients notice the added value, they will start returning.
#3 Find the best supplier deals
Most people approach web-scraping and price comparison for their sales departments. However, as a side benefit, it could also be applied as a critical tool for your purchasing staff. Your employees could use web-scraping and the relevant on-site or online databases to compare prices from various vendors, identifying the most affordable options without choosing a lower-quality product. Naturally, this leads to many savings and displays invaluable evidence of a long-term investment and commitment.
For instance, you may be looking to supply your organization with new equipment—anything from chairs to company cars. Let’s use chairs as an example. Have an employee research the most appropriate chair style and what features your staff needs and wants. Next, identify options that match this criteria. Finally, use web-scraping to find the retailers offering these products at the most affordable rates. You might even find some on sale!
Implementing price comparison solutions
As demonstrated, price comparison tools have the potential to vastly improve your business—not only its profit but also its relationship with its stakeholders and its long-term perseverance and sustainability.
These days, web-scraping software and databases are, by far, the most effective price comparison solutions. These use AI and machine learning to crawl the internet 24/7, noting current prices and deals and allowing you to match them or go one better. With web-scraping solutions on your side, businesses have the most modern, up-to-date system, giving them a competitive edge in competitor tracking and price optimization. The natural result is a streamlined online marketplace, vastly improved sales, and much more profit! Anyone dealing in online sales should look no further than web-scraping.
Check out more of our articles about the most effective ways to set up your pricing strategies through web-scraping!