Finding the Right Price Equation Essay

SmashBurger - Finding the Right Price Equation
Assignment Objectives
Allow students to understand the effects of pricing as a tool for differentiation.
Help students understand the concept of “value” in relation to price.
Enable students to understand how the nature of a market and market demand affect pricing decisions.
Let students examine different pricing strategies in the context of an actual company.
Allow students to consider the sustainability of pricing strategies.
Course Concepts
Consumer behavior (Chapter 5)
Price
 (Chapter 10)
Customer perception of price: value-based, good-value- based, value-added pricing strategies(Chapter 10)

Considerations in setting price (ref. figure 10.1)
Overview
Hamburgers are America’s favorite food. Consumers spend more than $100 billion on the beef sandwiches every year. But despite America’s infatuation with burgers, there is considerable dissatisfaction among consumers based on hamburger quality and value. Many customers just aren’t happy with what is served up at market-leading fast-food outlets. They want a better burger, and they won’t hesitate to pay a higher price to get one. Enter Smashburger. Started just a few years ago in Denver, Colorado, Smashburger is now a rapidly expanding chain of more than 100 stores in 17 states. And all this growth happened during a severe economic downturn despite Smashburger’s average lunch check of $8. Many customers pay as much as $10 or $12 for a burger, fries, and shake. The Smashburger video shows how this small startup has pulled off a seemingly impossible challenge.
Your Task
You will be demonstrating that you understand the above-noted course concepts by applying them to the Smashburger video case.
Directions
View the Smashburger video, which can be found in MyMarketingLab under Chapter 10. 
Review the requirements for written assignments and the grading rubric in your course syllabus under project descriptions.
If you are unclear about the assignment requirements, ask questions in the written assignment discussion topic inn our Leo classroom.
Prepare your three- to four-page written assignment by addressing each of the following questions in order.
After viewing the video featuring Smashburger, answer the following questions:
Questions
Describe the customer dissatisfaction with fast-food hamburger options? Why do people continue to consume burgers if they are not satisfied?
What effect does Smashburger’s premium price have on consumer perceptions? How did a restaurant with a premium-priced product and little track record take off during a recession?
Is Smashburger’s success based on novelty alone or will it continue to succeed?
Be sure to edit your work and submit your best effort into your assignment folder by the due date noted in the course schedule. Refer to the grading rubric and note that points will be deducted for grammar and composition errors. Be sure to use an appropriate style guide for writing and referencing.
Your written assignment, including proper citations and references, must conform to standards of formatting and documentation found in an acceptable college-level writing guide, such as the Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, the Chicago Manual of Style, or UMUC’s Online Guide to Writing and Research.
Your written assignment must
be 3–4 pages long
be typed in 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font, double-spaced, with margins no wider than one inch
have footnotes or end notes with correct citations
have a bibliography of sources formatted as specified in one of the style guides noted above
be prepared using word-processing software and saved with a .doc, .docx, or .rtf extension
be uploaded to your Assignments Folder by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on the due date