II Ex. 2.1. Распределите слова и словосочетания по колонкам:

cut drop fall lower put up

raise rise reduce push down rocket

increase	decrease

Ex. 2.2. Изучите примеры и ответьте на вопрос внизу:

Глагол + дополнение

1. The company has decided not to raise salaries this year.

2. The supermarket raised the price of milk.

Глагол без дополнения

3. Costs are rising all the time.

4. The price of milk rose last month.

Какие из глаголов в упражнении 2.1. используются с дополнением, а какие без?

Ex. 2.3. Выберите один из предложенных вариантов ответа в тексте, переведите текст.

Earn less, spend more?

Growth slows, but customers still spending

Consumer spending in the US ¹rose / raised last year, mainly because the oil companies ² pushed up / rose the price of oil to the highest level for several years. Higher oil prices meant that spending on petrol for cars, as well as home heating, ³ raised / increased. However, salaries did not ⁴ put up / go up to match the rise in spending. Many companies ⁵ cut / fell jobs at the start of the year in order to ⁶ reduce / rocket their costs. These companies are still not ⁷ increasing / rising their workforce. Economic growth remains slow and current trends seem set to continue.

III. Pricing strategy

Ex 3.1. Какая из стратегий наиболее подходит для увеличения

прибыли?

	Strategy	Profit increase (%)
1	Reduce costs by one per cent
2	Increase the volume of sales by one per cent
3	Increase all its prices by one per cent.

Ex. 3.2. Прочитайте о ценовой стратегии мистера Тейлора, эксперта по маркетингу. Насколько компания может увеличить свою прибыль, применяя каждую стратегию из упражнения 3.1.? Прочитайте первую часть и заполните таблицу наверху.

Part one

Price is important to everyone. Companies spend a lot of time deciding how to set prices. But they often don’t choose the best method of pricing their products. This can have a huge impact on profitability. A study of 2,400 companies showed what happened when they followed one of three strategies. The first strategy was to reduce costs by one per cent; the second was to increase the volume of sales by one per cent; and the third was to increase all their prices by one per cent. The companies who reduced their costs improved profitability by 2.3 per cent. The companies who increased their volume of sales also had an increase in profitability – of 3.3 per cent. But the companies who increased their prices saw the biggest increase, with profits increased by as much as 11 per cent.

Ex. 3.3. Прочитайте вторую часть и заполните предложения после текста.

Part two

So how should companies set the price for a product? One method is a simple “cost-plus” strategy. You calculate what it costs to produce an item and then you add the profit margin you’d like to have. And that’s your price.

Another method is to find out what your customers are ready to spend on that product. Then you set the price to match.

And a third way is to look at the competition. You see what your competitors are asking for the same kind of product and you set your price at about the same, or lower if you want to be competitive.

Pricing is really difficult to get right and companies have to think carefully about the different factors. For example, ask: Who are your target customers and is a price important for them? A second question is: What kind of product or service are you selling? Because if it’s a quality product or a special service that no one else can offer, then asking a lower price won’t help your sales. Pricing should be a part of your plan. You shouldn’t develop a product and then say: “OK, now let’s think of a price.”

1. The cost-plus method of pricing: “You calculate what it costs to _____________ an item and then you add the _______ _______ you’d like to have.”

2. Another method: “Find out what your ____________ are ready to _________ on that product.”

3. A third way: “Look at the ___________.”

4. Before setting a price, companies should ask two question: Who are the __________ __________ ? What kind of ___________ or ___________ are we ______________?

5. You shouldn’t develop a product and then say: “OK, now let’s ________ ________ ________ ________.”