South Africa's 2010 World Cup best and worst marketers

I walked through the V&A Waterfront at lunchtime last week and I couldn't help noticing that some restaurants were full and others practically empty.

The reason was on the menus tacked up outside the doors. The full restaurants offered good value while those that were empty all featured horrendously expensive menu items.

The same applies to accommodation. All those people hoping to make a killing by ramping up the prices on their B&B's have battled to get customers while those who just kept their normal rates have been booked solid for months.

All over South Africa there is evidence of the same story. And that is quite simply that consumers are not stupid and can see a rip-off a mile away.

It also proves that the pricing of a product or service is not the exclusive function of accountants but very much the domain of marketers.

It's the biggest mistake companies make, both large and small. Pricing is calculated with no consideration for what the market will or will not bear. Another big mistake is not including marketing costs in pricing calculations. You don't want to pay for things like advertising out of gross profit.

So, when that marketing plan is drawn up and ready to roll, take a bit of time out to do an audit on the pricing - it can make the difference between success and failure. As so many South Africans have discovered these past few weeks.