Research Proposal: Strategy & Importance of Pricing - Aldi Case Study

This research proposal explores the significance of pricing strategies in marketing management, focusing on the case of Aldi, a British retailer known for its affordable, high-quality products. The study aims to understand how pricing acts as a crucial tool in Aldi's marketing approach, impacting both marketing effectiveness and profitability. It investigates ideal pricing approaches, the importance of well-priced products in a competitive environment, and the resulting competitive advantage. The literature review emphasizes pricing's role in the product life cycle, profit maximization, and the influence of perceived value. The research methodology employs a qualitative case study analysis, utilizing existing data and marketing theories to provide contextual understanding, supplemented by a structured questionnaire to assess consumer behavior and pricing-product relationships. The research acknowledges limitations related to data availability and predictive capabilities, ensuring academic integrity throughout the process.

Research Proposal
Dissertation Research Proposal on “The Strategy and Importance of Pricing in Marketing
Management- Aldi Case Study"
Student Name:
Institute Name:
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Research Proposal
Table of Contents
Research Rational....................................................................................................................3
Research Objectives.................................................................................................................3
Literature Review....................................................................................................................3
Research Methodology............................................................................................................4
References.................................................................................................................................6
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Research Proposal
Research Rationale
Pricing plays an important role in defining the success or failure of a product. Many
marketers often do not take the product pricing into account when carrying out their
marketing campaigns and activities, hence, undermining its importance. Product pricing is a
lot more than just a tool to lure in customers, rather it is essential to decide the marketing
structure of the product. This research will consider the role of pricing in marketing
management by analysing the case of British retailer Aldi and how it has taken up its
marketing approaches with respect to the pricing in its stores.
Research Objectives
Pricing is an essential component of marketing, and this research is based around finding its
importance in the marketing of the products. The research will aim to achieve the following
objectives:
 To understand how pricing is an essential tool in the marketing of Aldi
 To understand the effects of pricing in the marketing and subsequently in the profits
of Aldi
 To understand the ideal pricing approaches in marketing management
 To understand the importance of a well-priced product in an environment as
competitive as Aldi and the subsequent gain in competitive advantage.
Literature Review
Product pricing plays an essential role in the life cycle of the product and that of the
company. Pricing is defined as the process of identifying the relevant costs that have gone
into the making of the product and subsequently the profit that the organization is supposed
to gain out of it (Toni, Milan, Saciloto, & Larentis, 2017). Pricing is essential since it gives
the marketer a good enough insight into the future of the product to think of ideal ways to
promote it to the customers without sounding too fancy. Aldi is a UK based multinational
retailer which is known for its exceptional good quality products sold at decent and
affordable prices (Griffin, 2019). Aldi has a huge variety of products such as clothes,
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Research Proposal
groceries, home appliance and so much more. In the case of Aldi, its success can be attributed
to the prices it offers to the customers. Not only is it affordable for the customers, but it is
also quite competitive given the tough competition.
Pricing has many different roles to play, the most important of which is profit maximisation.
While this goal has its own restrictions considering the kind of market they are serving in and
the ability of the people to purchase, pricing also looks into the cost incurred on the product
as well (Kienzler & Kowalkowski, 2017).
Hence, the first step in pricing is to identify the cost associated with the product in terms of
material cost and the production cost (Lockley, 2011). It is only after this can the ideal price
be given to the product which is inclusive of the profit of the organization. Perceived value
plays an essential role in the pricing of the product. It is the value which consumers perceive
is the right value for the worth of the product (MCDANIEL, 2019). Markets have to combat
this perception of the customers and come up with strategic methods and ideas to promote the
product at the price decided by the consumer. Successful brands are able to prevent price
erosion and demand a price premium by creating and maintaining brand value (Shefer, 2019).
It is often noticed that during price negotiation, flexibility is important considering the change
in demand, consumer behaviour, consumer acceptance and so much more. There are several
pricing theories which can be used here to better understand this situation, especially from the
point of view of a marketer. Big data now plays an essential role in this practice which has
further given the marketers an advantage while deciding on the product pricing (Xu,
Frankwick, & Ramirez, 2016).
Research Methodology
The following research will be a case study analysis. The theory will be completely
qualitative in nature and will focus on analysing the current practices and evidence obtained
from the case study organization.
The methodology has been chosen to make the research more effective by studying and
identifying the approaches of an already existing well-functioning organization.
There will be very less primary data collection, and all the evidence will be obtained solely
from the efforts of the author while researching. There can be certain problems in data
collection since not all sources on the internet are reliable, but the author will try his best to
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Research Proposal
ensure that only the highest quality evidence of literature is used in this research at all times.
In case any such problem arises, the author shall try and reach out to people from Aldi to get
a better perspective on the research and the data obtained. Also, the author will try and
incorporate a structured questionnaire to be filled by the consumers for a better understanding
of the pricing-product relations with respect to consumer behaviour (Balle, 2019).
There are however few limitations to this method of research:
 The result will not be predictive in any way and will simply summarise the current
state of Aldi and its practices of marketing management
 There are high chances that not all data will be available over the internet
The data that will be collected will be analysed using the relevant marketing theories to give
it a better contextual understanding and avoiding it from being too vague.
The author will ensure that all personal biases are kept at bay and the research is conducted
with full academic integrity at all times. No sub-standard data shall be used at any time
during the research and the research should be kept free form all personal biases as well.
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Research Proposal
References
Shefer, D. (2019). Product and Pricing Strategies. Retrieved from
https://www.pragmaticmarketing.com/resources/articles/product-and-pricing-
strategies [Accessed on 29 May 2019]
Griffin, D. (2019). Pricing Strategy Theory. Retrieved from
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/pricing-strategy-theory-1106.html [Accessed on 29
May 2019]
Lockley, L. C. (2011). Theories of Pricing in Marketing. Journal of Marketing, 13(3)
[Accessed on 29 May 2019]
Kienzler, M., & Kowalkowski, C. (2017). Pricing strategy: A review of 22 years of marketing
research. Journal of Business Research, 78 [Accessed on 29 May 2019]
Xu, Z., Frankwick, G. L., & Ramirez, E. (2016). Effects of big data analytics and traditional
marketing analytics on new product success: A knowledge fusion perspective.
Journal of Business Research, 69(5) [Accessed on 29 May 2019]
Toni, D. D., Milan, G. S., Saciloto, E. B., & Larentis, F. (2017). Pricing strategies and levels
and their impact on corporate profitability. Revista de Administração, 52 [Accessed
on 29 May 2019]
Balle, L. (2019). The Effect of Price on Consumer Buying Behavior. Retrieved from
https://bizfluent.com/info-7905922-effect-price-consumer-buying-behavior.html
[Accessed on 29 May 2019]
MCDANIEL, J. (2019). The Effect Of Price On Consumer Buying Behavior. Retrieved from
https://www.mcdanielandscibal.com/2018/04/consumer-behavior-in-action-pricing/
[Accessed on 29 May 2019]
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