2014年ESL之商务英语 07 Competing in Business

（单词翻译）

Competing in Business 

Yoko: We used to be the only game in town. Now we have three competitors and they are luring¹ away our customers. 

Cedric: I know. We need to do something before we go under. What about price matching? 

Yoko: Our prices are already competitive. If we want to focus on price, we’ll need to undercut our competitors. 

Cedric: Slashing² prices would be really hard on our profit margin³, but these are desperate times. What do you think of a two-for-one deal? We could offer it for a limited time. 

Yoko: We can do that if lowering our prices doesn’t work. I’m thinking we could go in another direction. What do you think about offering freebies or gifts with purchase? 

Cedric: I think that’s a good idea. The more frills we include the better our services look. What kind of frills? 

Yoko: I’m not sure, but the more bells and whistles the better. 

Cedric: And if all of this doesn’t work? 

Yoko: Then we’ll be up the creek⁴ without a paddle! 

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse