Pricing Strategy

Comprehensive pricing analysis including pricing models, competitive analysis, and recommendations.

Purpose

Pricing strategy determines how you capture value:

•Pricing model aligns with customer value perception
•Competitive pricing informs positioning
•Willingness to pay determines price ceiling
•Cost structure determines price floor

HARD GATE: Market analysis SHOULD be completed before pricing strategy for context.

Process

Phase 1: Pricing Context

Understand the pricing landscape:

markdown

## Pricing Context

### Product/Feature Overview
**Product:** [Name]
**Value Proposition:** [Primary value prop]
**Target Segment:** [From market analysis]
**Competitive Category:** [From positioning]

### Current State (if applicable)
**Current Pricing:** [Existing pricing if updating]
**Current Revenue:** [Baseline]
**Current Conversion:** [Rate]
**Known Issues:** [Pain points with current pricing]

### Pricing Objectives
| Objective | Priority | Target |
|-----------|----------|--------|
| Revenue maximization | HIGH/MED/LOW | [Target] |
| Market penetration | HIGH/MED/LOW | [Target] |
| Competitive positioning | HIGH/MED/LOW | [Target] |
| Customer acquisition | HIGH/MED/LOW | [Target] |
| Margin optimization | HIGH/MED/LOW | [Target] |

Phase 2: Pricing Model Analysis

Evaluate pricing model options:

markdown

## Pricing Model Analysis

### Model Evaluation
| Model | Fit | Pros | Cons | Recommendation |
|-------|-----|------|------|----------------|
| Flat Rate | HIGH/MED/LOW | [List] | [List] | CONSIDER/REJECT |
| Tiered | HIGH/MED/LOW | [List] | [List] | CONSIDER/REJECT |
| Usage-Based | HIGH/MED/LOW | [List] | [List] | CONSIDER/REJECT |
| Per-Seat | HIGH/MED/LOW | [List] | [List] | CONSIDER/REJECT |
| Freemium | HIGH/MED/LOW | [List] | [List] | CONSIDER/REJECT |
| Hybrid | HIGH/MED/LOW | [List] | [List] | CONSIDER/REJECT |

### Recommended Model
**Model:** [Selected model]
**Rationale:**
1. [Reason 1]
2. [Reason 2]
3. [Reason 3]

### Model Structure
**Base:** [What's included in base]
**Variable:** [What scales with usage/seats]
**Add-ons:** [Optional extras]

### Packaging
| Tier | Features | Target Segment |
|------|----------|----------------|
| Free/Entry | [Feature list] | [Who it's for] |
| Standard | [Feature list] | [Who it's for] |
| Premium | [Feature list] | [Who it's for] |
| Enterprise | [Feature list] | [Who it's for] |

Phase 3: Competitive Pricing Analysis

Analyze competitor pricing:

markdown

## Competitive Pricing Analysis

### Competitor Pricing Matrix
| Competitor | Model | Entry Price | Mid Price | Enterprise | Notes |
|------------|-------|-------------|-----------|------------|-------|
| [Comp 1] | [Model] | $X/mo | $X/mo | Custom | [Key difference] |
| [Comp 2] | [Model] | $X/mo | $X/mo | Custom | [Key difference] |
| [Comp 3] | [Model] | $X/mo | $X/mo | Custom | [Key difference] |

### Price Positioning
**Market Range:** $X - $Y
**Average Price:** $X
**Premium Tier:** $X+
**Budget Tier:** <$X

### Positioning Decision
| Strategy | Price Point | Rationale |
|----------|-------------|-----------|
| Premium | Above market | [When appropriate] |
| Value | At market | [When appropriate] |
| Penetration | Below market | [When appropriate] |

**RECOMMENDATION:** [Strategy with rationale]

### Feature-Value Comparison
| Feature | Our Price | Comp A | Comp B | Value Gap |
|---------|-----------|--------|--------|-----------|
| [Feature 1] | $X | $Y | $Z | [Over/Under] |
| [Feature 2] | $X | $Y | $Z | [Over/Under] |

Phase 4: Value-Based Pricing

Determine willingness to pay:

markdown

## Value-Based Pricing

### Value Drivers
| Value Driver | Customer Impact | Quantification |
|--------------|-----------------|----------------|
| [Time saved] | [Hours/week] | [$X value] |
| [Cost reduced] | [% reduction] | [$X value] |
| [Revenue enabled] | [% increase] | [$X value] |

### Total Value Delivered
**Quantified Value:** $X per [time period]
**Value Capture Ratio:** X% (price / value delivered)
**Price Justification:** [How price relates to value]

### Willingness to Pay Research
**Method:** [Survey, interviews, conjoint analysis, Van Westendorp]
**Sample Size:** N
**Key Findings:**
- Price too cheap: $X
- Acceptable range: $X - $Y
- Price too expensive: $Y
- Maximum willingness: $Z

### Segment Pricing Sensitivity
| Segment | Price Sensitivity | Recommended Price |
|---------|-------------------|-------------------|
| [Segment 1] | HIGH/MED/LOW | $X |
| [Segment 2] | HIGH/MED/LOW | $X |
| [Segment 3] | HIGH/MED/LOW | $X |

Phase 5: Pricing Recommendation

Synthesize into recommendation:

markdown

## Pricing Recommendation

### Recommended Pricing
| Tier | Price | Billing | Features | Target |
|------|-------|---------|----------|--------|
| Free | $0 | N/A | [List] | [Segment] |
| Starter | $X/mo | Monthly/Annual | [List] | [Segment] |
| Pro | $X/mo | Monthly/Annual | [List] | [Segment] |
| Enterprise | Custom | Annual | [List] | [Segment] |

### Annual Discount
**Discount:** X%
**Rationale:** [Why this discount]

### Price Anchoring
**Anchor Price:** $X (Highest visible tier)
**Target Tier:** [Most recommended tier]
**Value Demonstration:** [How to show value]

### Revenue Projection
| Scenario | Assumptions | Year 1 Revenue |
|----------|-------------|----------------|
| Conservative | [Assumptions] | $X |
| Base | [Assumptions] | $X |
| Optimistic | [Assumptions] | $X |

### Implementation Plan
| Phase | Action | Timeline |
|-------|--------|----------|
| 1 | [Action] | [When] |
| 2 | [Action] | [When] |
| 3 | [Action] | [When] |

### Risks and Mitigations
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|------|------------|--------|------------|
| Price too high | HIGH/MED/LOW | HIGH/MED/LOW | [Plan] |
| Price too low | HIGH/MED/LOW | HIGH/MED/LOW | [Plan] |
| Competitor response | HIGH/MED/LOW | HIGH/MED/LOW | [Plan] |

Output Format

markdown

# Pricing Strategy: [Product/Feature]

## Executive Summary
- **Recommended Model:** [Model type]
- **Price Range:** $X - $Y
- **Primary Tier:** $X/mo
- **Confidence Level:** HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW

## Pricing Context
[Phase 1 output]

## Model Analysis
[Phase 2 output]

## Competitive Analysis
[Phase 3 output]

## Value-Based Pricing
[Phase 4 output]

## Recommendation
[Phase 5 output]

## Next Steps
1. **Validation:** [Recommended validation approach]
2. **Stakeholder Approval:** [Who needs to approve]
3. **Implementation:** [Timeline and steps]

## Dependencies
- Market Analysis: [Link to market-analysis.md]
- Competitive Intel: [Link to competitive-intel.md]
- Positioning: [Link to positioning.md]

Blocker Criteria

Blocker	Action
No competitive pricing data	STOP. Research required.
Conflicting pricing objectives	STOP. Align stakeholders on priorities.
No willingness to pay data	STOP. Recommend research approach.
Cost structure unknown	STOP. Cannot set floor without costs.

Anti-Rationalization Table

See shared-patterns/anti-rationalization.md for universal anti-rationalizations.

Gate-Specific Anti-Rationalizations

Rationalization	Why It's WRONG	Required Action
"Match competitor pricing"	Competitor pricing serves their strategy, not yours	Develop independent pricing based on your value
"Lower price wins"	Race to bottom destroys value. Differentiate instead.	Price based on value, not fear
"We'll figure it out later"	Wrong pricing at launch damages brand and revenue	Validate before launch
"Pricing is just numbers"	Pricing communicates value. It's strategic.	Treat as strategic decision

Pressure Resistance

See shared-patterns/pressure-resistance.md for universal pressure scenarios.

Gate-Specific Pressures

Pressure Type	Request	Agent Response
"Just undercut competitors"	"Price 20% below market"	"Undercutting signals low value. Pricing based on differentiation."
"Make it free to grow"	"Free tier will drive adoption"	"Free can work but requires strategy. Analyzing freemium viability."
"Don't worry about margins"	"Growth first, margins later"	"Unsustainable pricing kills companies. Ensuring viable margins."

Execution Report

Base metrics per shared-patterns/execution-report.md:

Metric	Value
Duration	Xm Ys
Iterations	N
Result	PASS/FAIL/PARTIAL

Gate-Specific Details

•models_evaluated: N
•competitors_analyzed: N
•willingness_to_pay_assessed: YES/NO
•recommendation_confidence: HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW
•validation_status: PENDING/VALIDATED