BUSI 435 Week 5 Forum 3 Thread Example

Course	BUSI 435 Small Business Entrepreneurship (BUSI435)
Module/Week	5
Assignment	Discussion Board Forum 3 Thread
Paper type	Discussion thread
Length	about 506 words (thread and replies). Course guide: a thread of 500 words on a chapter topic with outside research, aiming for substantial, thoughtful and critical discussion
Format	APA 7 citations and reference list
Points	50
School	Liberty University Online
Program	BS in Business Administration
Where it sits	Module/Week 5 in Liberty's published BUSI 435 course guide; current sections can differ
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for BUSI 435 Week 5

Discussion Board Forum 3 Thread: Pricing Strategies for Small Businesses

BUSI 435 Small Business Entrepreneurship, Discussion Board Forum 3 Thread

Thread by [Student Name]

The forum prompt and the dog-walking business are composites; the textbook and the research cited are real, and the structure follows Liberty's public course guide for BUSI 435.

Why this part earns its pointsThe thread names a common habit, cost-plus pricing, so the research has a practice to test.

Scarborough (2016) describes several ways small businesses set prices, from adding a markup to cost to matching competitors to pricing according to the value customers perceive. In practice, many small firms default to the first: they add up what a product or service costs, add a percentage and call it the price. I want to argue that this habit leaves money on the table, and that small businesses should price according to the value customers receive, with cost serving as a floor rather than the starting point.

Why this part earns its pointsTwo studies provide the evidence and explain why owners still resist.

Research supports value-informed pricing. Ingenbleek et al. (2003) studied how firms priced new products and found that pricing informed by customer value was the practice most strongly associated with new product success, while practices based mainly on costs contributed far less. Pricing that reflected what customers gained helped products succeed in the market.

Why, then, do so many firms price by cost? Hinterhuber (2008) studied companies' resistance to value-based pricing and found several obstacles: value is hard to assess and harder to communicate, firms struggle to segment customers by what they value, and sales staff and managers find cost-plus pricing simpler to defend. For a small business owner without a pricing department, those obstacles are even larger. Cost-plus pricing feels safe because the owner knows the numbers, but customers do not buy the owner's costs; they buy what the service does for them.

Consider a composite dog-walking business that charged $20 per walk, based on the owner's time and travel plus a markup. A short survey of clients revealed that what they valued most was reliability, the same walker every day, and a photo update during the walk, which reassured owners at work. The business created a premium package with a dedicated walker, a guaranteed time window and photo updates at $28 per walk. Most existing clients switched to it, and new clients signed up at the higher price, because the price now matched the value they cared about.

Cost still matters. A price below the cost of delivering the service loses money no matter how much customers value it, and the financial plan chapter's break-even analysis shows how many sales a price must support. The point is not to ignore cost but to start with value and check against cost, rather than the reverse, and to revisit both as the business grows. For our group's business plan, that means surveying potential customers about what they value before setting prices, then confirming that those prices cover costs at a realistic volume.

There is a practical way for a small business to start. The owner can ask a handful of customers three questions: what problem the service solves for them, what they would do if it disappeared, and which features they would miss most. The answers point to where value lies, and they often reveal that customers care about something the owner treats as minor, like the dog walker's photo updates. Pricing those features, rather than the hours behind them, is the heart of value-based pricing for a small firm.

References

Hinterhuber, A. (2008). Customer value-based pricing strategies: Why companies resist. Journal of Business Strategy, 29(4), 41-50. https://doi.org/10.1108/02756660810887079

Ingenbleek, P., Debruyne, M., Frambach, R. T., & Verhallen, T. M. M. (2003). Successful new product pricing practices: A contingency approach. Marketing Letters, 14(4), 289-305. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:MARK.0000012473.92160.3d

Scarborough, N. M. (2016). Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management (8th ed.). Pearson.

What the BUSI 435 Week 5 instructions ask

Module/Week 5 assigns chapters 8 through 10 of Scarborough, which cover e-commerce, pricing and credit strategies and creating a financial plan, with a presentation, the Forum 3 thread worth 50 points and the individual portion of the business plan, due to the group. The post needs 500 words, outside research and a real argument drawn from these chapters. Replies of 250 words follow in Week 6, when the business plan and Quiz 3 are also due. Pricing is a natural choice because every group's business plan needs a pricing strategy and a financial projection, so the thread can test ideas the plan will use.

How this BUSI 435 Week 5 example is built

The thread is built as an argument against a common habit. It opens with Scarborough's description of the main pricing approaches and the observation that small firms often price by markup. Research on new product pricing practices shows that value-informed pricing was most strongly linked to success, and a study of resistance to value-based pricing explains why owners still rely on cost. A composite dog-walking business that surveyed clients, found they valued reliability and photo updates most and repriced its premium service accordingly makes the argument concrete. The thread then qualifies its own claim, explaining that costs set a floor below which no price works. The closing connects pricing to the financial plan. The example uses real-looking prices so the gain is visible.

BUSI 435 Week 5 grading rubric: where the points go

As always in BUSI 435, the post must pass 500 words, address chapter material, bring in outside research and take a defensible position rather than survey the topic. For a pricing topic, instructors look for accurate use of Scarborough's concepts, such as cost-plus and value-based pricing, price lining, penetration and skimming, and break-even analysis, and for a clear position supported by evidence. A thread that recognizes the limits of its own argument, such as the role of costs in setting a minimum price, shows critical thinking. Connecting pricing to the group's business plan demonstrates the practical application the course is building toward.

BUSI 435 Week 5 help: mistakes that cost points

Choose one decision from chapters 8 through 10 that every small business faces, such as how to set prices or how much credit to extend, and take a position. Find research in marketing or entrepreneurship journals that tests the position, and explain the findings in your own words. Use a small, concrete business as the example, with numbers if possible. Include a limitation of your argument. Reach 500 words. Get the thread up by midweek, since replies come in Week 6, and share your pricing ideas with your group, since the business plan due next week needs a pricing strategy that matches the financial projections. Including one number, such as a price before and after, makes the argument concrete.

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BUSI 435 Week 5 questions, answered

What is the BUSI 435 Forum 3 thread?

BUSI 435's third thread, 50 points: a 500-word post on a topic from the pricing, e-commerce and financial plan chapters, with outside research.

Where can I find a free BUSI 435 Week 5 sample paper?

Here is a complete BUSI 435 Week 5 thread arguing that small businesses should price by customer value rather than cost alone, with research on pricing practices and a dog-walking example.

What is value-based pricing?

Setting prices according to the value customers receive and are willing to pay for, rather than by adding a markup to cost, while still making sure the price covers costs.

Why do small businesses underprice?

Often because they set prices by cost-plus markup or by matching competitors, without measuring what customers value, and because they fear losing customers if they charge more.

What else is due in BUSI 435 Module/Week 5?

The individual portion of the business plan is due to the group, after chapters 8 through 10 of Scarborough and one presentation; the plan itself is due in Week 6.

Use it as a model, or ask for your own

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BUSI 435 Week 5 Discussion Board Forum 3 Thread Example