Playbook: the journey to better pricing

Getting pricing right is not a one-time decision. It is a process, and it helps to have a clear path to follow. Here is the framework I use with scale-ups, broken into nine steps. Each one builds on the previous.

Step 1: Customer portfolio analysis

Start by mapping your current customer base. Who are your customers, and what value do they get from your product? Not what you think they get, but what they actually use, what outcomes they achieve, and how deeply embedded you are in their operations.

This sounds basic, but most companies skip it. They assume they know their customers. The portfolio analysis almost always surfaces surprises: segments you did not know existed, customers extracting value in ways you did not design for, and gaps between your assumptions and reality.

Step 2: Segmentation

Once you understand your portfolio, you need to decide where the boundaries are. Which customers are fundamentally different from each other in terms of needs, willingness to pay, and how they use your product?

Segmentation is about building fences. Not every customer should pay the same, but the differences need to be based on real distinctions in value, not arbitrary tiers. The goal is to make it obvious to each segment why their package exists for them.

Step 3: Understand the expected business outcomes

Different segments expect different outcomes. An SMB customer might use your tool to save time. An enterprise customer might use the same tool to reduce operational risk. Same product, completely different value perception.

Understanding these expected outcomes by segment is what makes the rest of the pricing strategy possible. Without it, you are guessing.

Step 4: Value chain analysis

With business outcomes mapped, you can start tracing the value chain. Where in the customer’s workflow does your product create value? Where does that value compound? Where are the natural points where a customer would say “this is what I am paying for”?

This step determines which parts of your product carry the most pricing power and which are table stakes.

Step 5: Choose your pricing anchor

Based on the value chain analysis, you identify the right pricing metric. The metric should correlate with the value the customer receives. If your product saves time, price on time-related units. If it processes transactions, price per transaction. If it protects against risk, price on coverage.

The anchor point is where your price connects to the customer’s perception of value. Get this right and price conversations become straightforward. Get it wrong and every deal feels like a negotiation.

Step 6: Map the growth path

How do customers grow with you? There are typically three patterns: single-user entry that expands across an organization, phased departmental rollout, or multi-stakeholder sales that require broad growth paths from day one.

Your pricing needs to support whichever pattern is natural for your customers. If customers grow seat by seat, your packaging should make it easy to add seats. If they grow department by department, you need tier transitions that feel natural.

Step 7: Service strategy

Not all value comes from the product itself. For many SaaS companies, the service layer, onboarding support, SLAs, dedicated account management, is a significant part of what customers pay for.

Decide what is included at each tier, what costs extra, and what is reserved for your highest-value segments. Service is a powerful packaging lever, but only if it is deliberate.

Step 8: Payment models

Subscriptions, one-time payments, usage-based, hybrid. The payment model affects cash flow, customer expectations, and how easily customers can start.

The right choice depends on your business strategy, what your customers prefer, and what the market expects. There is no universally correct answer. What matters is that the model matches how customers experience and extract value from your product.

Step 9: Set the price point

This is where everything comes together. After working through the previous eight steps, setting the price becomes less of a guessing game and more of a logical conclusion.

You know your segments. You know what they value. You know where your product creates that value. You have a metric that correlates with it. Your packaging supports natural growth. Your service strategy differentiates tiers. Your payment model matches expectations.

The price reflects all of that. And because it is anchored in real customer value, it holds up in conversations.

This is the framework behind every pricing engagement I run. If you want to walk through it for your company, book a conversation.