Design pricing that captures value, drives growth, and aligns with customer willingness to pay.
Step 0: Context Check
Read .agents/product-marketing-context.md (or .claude/product-marketing-context.md
on older setups) first. Only ask for what isn't there.
Pull this context:
1. Business Context
- Product type (SaaS, marketplace, e-commerce, service)
- Current pricing (if any)
- Target market (SMB, mid-market, enterprise)
- GTM motion (self-serve, sales-led, hybrid)
2. Value & Competition
- Primary value you deliver
- Alternatives customers consider
- How competitors price
3. Current Performance
- Current conversion rate
- ARPU and churn rate
- Customer/prospect feedback on pricing
4. Goals
- Optimizing for growth, revenue, or profitability?
- Moving upmarket or expanding downmarket?
Pricing Fundamentals
The Three Pricing Axes
1. Packaging — what's included at each tier?
- Features, limits, support level
- How tiers differ from each other
2. Pricing Metric — what do you charge for?
- Per user, per usage, flat fee
- How price scales with value
3. Price Point — how much do you charge?
- Actual dollar amounts
- Perceived value vs. cost
Value-Based Pricing
Price on value delivered, not cost to serve:
- Customer's perceived value — the ceiling
- Your price — between alternatives and perceived value
- Next best alternative — the floor for differentiation
- Your cost to serve — only a baseline, not the basis
Key insight: price between the next best alternative and perceived value.
Value Metrics
What is a Value Metric?
What you charge for. It should scale with the value customers receive.
Good value metrics:
- Align price with value delivered
- Easy to understand
- Scale as the customer grows
- Hard to game
Common Value Metrics
| Metric | Best For | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Per user/seat | Collaboration tools | Slack, Notion |
| Per usage | Variable consumption | AWS, Twilio |
| Per feature | Modular products | HubSpot add-ons |
| Per contact/record | CRM, email tools | Mailchimp |
| Per transaction | Payments, marketplaces | Stripe |
| Flat fee | Simple products | Basecamp |
Choosing Your Value Metric
Ask: "As a customer uses more of [metric], do they get more value?"
- If yes → good value metric
- If no → price doesn't align with value
Tier Structure Overview
Good-Better-Best
Good tier (Entry): core features, limited usage, low price Better tier (Recommended): full features, reasonable limits, anchor price Best tier (Premium): everything, advanced features, 2-3x Better price
Tier Differentiation
- Feature gating — basic vs. advanced features
- Usage limits — same features, different limits
- Support level — email → priority → dedicated
- Access — API, SSO, custom branding
Tier structures and persona-based packaging: references/tier-structure.md.
Pricing Research
Van Westendorp Method
Four questions that identify the acceptable price range:
- Too expensive (wouldn't consider)
- Too cheap (question quality)
- Expensive but might consider
- A bargain
Analyze intersections to find the optimal pricing zone.
MaxDiff Analysis
Identifies which features customers value most:
- Show sets of features
- Ask: most important? Least important?
- Results inform tier packaging
Detailed research methods: references/research-methods.md.
When to Raise Prices
Signs It's Time
Market signals:
- Competitors have raised prices
- Prospects don't flinch at price
- "It's so cheap!" feedback
Business signals:
- Very high conversion rates (>40%)
- Very low churn (<3% monthly)
- Strong unit economics
Product signals:
- Significant value added since last pricing
- Product is more mature/stable
Price Increase Strategies
- Grandfather existing — new price for new customers only
- Delayed increase — announce 3-6 months out
- Tied to value — raise price but add features
- Plan restructure — change plans entirely
Pricing Page Best Practices
Above the Fold
- Clear tier comparison table
- Recommended tier highlighted
- Monthly/annual toggle
- Primary CTA for each tier
Common Elements
- Feature comparison table
- Who each tier is for
- FAQ section
- Annual discount callout (17-20%)
- Money-back guarantee
- Customer logos / trust signals
Pricing Psychology
- Anchoring: show higher-priced option first
- Decoy effect: middle tier should be best value
- Charm pricing: $49 vs. $50 (for value-focused)
- Round pricing: $50 vs. $49 (for premium)
Pricing Checklist
Before Setting Prices
- Defined target customer personas
- Researched competitor pricing
- Identified your value metric
- Conducted willingness-to-pay research
- Mapped features to tiers
Pricing Structure
- Chosen number of tiers
- Differentiated tiers clearly
- Set price points based on research
- Created annual discount strategy
- Planned enterprise/custom tier
Task-Specific Questions
- Pricing research done?
- Current ARPU and conversion rate?
- Primary value metric?
- Main pricing personas?
- Self-serve, sales-led, or hybrid?
- Pricing changes you're considering?
Related Skills
- iblai-marketing-churn-prevention: Cancel flows, save offers, reducing revenue churn
- iblai-marketing-page-cro: Pricing page conversion
- iblai-marketing-copywriting: Pricing page copy
- iblai-marketing-psychology: Pricing psychology principles
- iblai-marketing-ab-test-setup: Testing pricing changes
- iblai-marketing-revops: Deal desk processes and pipeline pricing
- iblai-marketing-sales-enablement: Proposal templates and pricing presentations