Worksheet: Choose your position against each competitor

"We're competitive" usually means matching whoever a customer names. This sheet chooses, by product group, where you match, where you charge a premium and which competitors you ignore. Then it checks the gap each month. It builds the Competent step of the check:

Our position against each main competitor (match, premium or ignore) is written down by product group, and the tracked gap is checked against it.

Step 1. The position

Customers remember the prices of a small set of products. Match on those. Elsewhere, price to what you offer.

Product group	Do customers compare it?	Competitor A: match, premium or ignore	Gap allowed	Competitor B: match, premium or ignore	Gap allowed	Reason
e.g. Top 50 known-price items	Yes	Match	0 to +2%	Ignore	None set	B sells a different range

Step 2. The price-match rule

Question	Our answer
Which competitors we match
On which products
What the customer must show
Who can approve a match

Step 3. The monthly check

Take the actual gap from your competitor price record. Use prices any customer can see. Never ask a competitor for its prices or plans.

Month	Product group	Competitor	Gap allowed	Actual gap	Inside?	Action

Done when: your position against each main competitor is written down by product group, and each month's actual gap is checked against it.

Adapted from our own pricing process (PSP, 2004).