Skill

Pass

Audit score 90

pricing-strategy

Q: What's the difference between Good-Better-Best tiers?

Good tier: core features, limited usage, low price for entry. Better tier: full features, reasonable limits, anchor price (recommended). Best tier: everything plus advanced features, 2-3x the Better price. Differentiate via feature gating, usage limits, support level, or API access.

Q: How do I research optimal pricing without surveying customers?

Use Van Westendorp method (four price-acceptability questions to find optimal zone), MaxDiff analysis (identify most-valued features), or analyze competitor pricing and ARPU benchmarks. Combine with conversion rate and churn data to validate assumptions.

Q: What discount should I offer for annual billing?

Standard annual discounts are 17-20%, which incentivizes longer commitment without feeling excessive. Tie the discount to your unit economics and churn rate—higher churn justifies larger discounts to lock in revenue.

coreyhaines31/marketingskills

Design SaaS pricing that captures value and aligns with customer willingness to pay.

Source View on skills.sh

What is pricing-strategy?

Expert guidance on pricing decisions, packaging, and monetization strategy for SaaS and digital products. Use this when figuring out what to charge, how to structure pricing tiers, or whether to raise prices. Covers value metrics, tier design, pricing research methods, and pricing page best practices.

Identify optimal price points using value-based pricing principles and willingness-to-pay research
Design tier structures (Good-Better-Best) with clear feature and usage differentiation
Select and validate value metrics that align price with customer value delivery
Conduct Van Westendorp and MaxDiff pricing research to inform decisions
Evaluate when and how to raise prices without losing customers
Optimize pricing pages with psychology principles and conversion best practices

How to install pricing-strategy

npx skills add https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills --skill pricing-strategy

Prerequisites

Product marketing context (if available in .agents/product-marketing-context.md or .claude/product-marketing-context.md)
Understanding of your target customer segments and their needs
Current pricing data or competitor pricing for reference

Claude Code

Cursor

Windsurf

Cline

How to use pricing-strategy

1.Gather business context: product type, target market, go-to-market motion, and current pricing performance
2.Define your primary value metric—what customers pay for as they grow
3.Research willingness to pay using Van Westendorp or MaxDiff methods, or analyze competitor pricing
4.Design tier structure using Good-Better-Best framework with clear differentiation
5.Set price points based on value delivered, not cost to serve
6.Validate pricing with target customers before launch or major changes
7.Plan pricing page layout with comparison tables, recommended tier, and trust signals

Use cases

Good for

Launching a new SaaS product and determining initial pricing and tier structure
Restructuring existing pricing tiers to improve conversion or ARPU
Deciding whether to raise prices and planning the rollout strategy
Choosing between per-user, per-usage, flat-fee, or hybrid pricing models
Designing freemium or free trial strategies and packaging decisions

Who it's for

SaaS founders and product leaders setting or revising pricing
Product managers designing tier structures and packaging
Go-to-market teams optimizing pricing for growth or revenue
Pricing analysts conducting willingness-to-pay research
Sales and RevOps teams managing pricing strategy and deal desk

pricing-strategy FAQ

How do I choose between per-user, per-usage, and flat-fee pricing?

Select a value metric where price scales with value delivered. Per-user works for collaboration tools (Slack), per-usage for variable consumption (AWS), per-feature for modular products (HubSpot), and flat-fee for simple products (Basecamp). Ask: 'As customers use more of this metric, do they get more value?' If yes, it's a good metric.

When should I raise my prices?

Raise prices when market signals (competitors raised, prospects don't flinch), business signals (>40% conversion, <3% monthly churn), or product signals (significant new value) indicate readiness. Strategies include grandfathering existing customers, announcing 3-6 months ahead, tying increases to new features, or restructuring plans entirely.

What's the difference between Good-Better-Best tiers?

Good tier: core features, limited usage, low price for entry. Better tier: full features, reasonable limits, anchor price (recommended). Best tier: everything plus advanced features, 2-3x the Better price. Differentiate via feature gating, usage limits, support level, or API access.

How do I research optimal pricing without surveying customers?

Use Van Westendorp method (four price-acceptability questions to find optimal zone), MaxDiff analysis (identify most-valued features), or analyze competitor pricing and ARPU benchmarks. Combine with conversion rate and churn data to validate assumptions.

What discount should I offer for annual billing?

Standard annual discounts are 17-20%, which incentivizes longer commitment without feeling excessive. Tie the discount to your unit economics and churn rate—higher churn justifies larger discounts to lock in revenue.

Full instructions (SKILL.md)

Source of truth, from coreyhaines31/marketingskills.

name: pricing-strategy description: "When the user wants help with pricing decisions, packaging, or monetization strategy. Also use when the user mentions 'pricing,' 'pricing tiers,' 'freemium,' 'free trial,' 'packaging,' 'price increase,' 'value metric,' 'Van Westendorp,' 'willingness to pay,' 'monetization,' 'how much should I charge,' 'my pricing is wrong,' 'pricing page,' 'annual vs monthly,' 'per seat pricing,' or 'should I offer a free plan.' Use this whenever someone is figuring out what to charge or how to structure their plans. For in-app upgrade screens, see paywall-upgrade-cro." metadata: version: 1.1.0

Pricing Strategy

You are an expert in SaaS pricing and monetization strategy. Your goal is to help design pricing that captures value, drives growth, and aligns with customer willingness to pay.

Before Starting

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/product-marketing-context.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing-context.md in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

1. Business Context

What type of product? (SaaS, marketplace, e-commerce, service)
What's your current pricing (if any)?
What's your target market? (SMB, mid-market, enterprise)
What's your go-to-market motion? (self-serve, sales-led, hybrid)

2. Value & Competition

What's the primary value you deliver?
What alternatives do customers consider?
How do competitors price?

3. Current Performance

What's your current conversion rate?
What's your ARPU and churn rate?
Any feedback on pricing from customers/prospects?

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?

The actual dollar amounts
Perceived value vs. cost

Value-Based Pricing

Price should be based 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?

The value metric is what you charge for—it should scale with the value customers receive.

Good value metrics:

Align price with value delivered
Are easy to understand
Scale as customer grows
Are 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 Framework

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