Pricing a new product before you have data

A new product has no sales history to learn from, and launch dates rarely wait for research. The first price will be wrong in some way. The goal is a price you can defend now and adjust quickly once real customers respond.

Start from the value, not the cost

Work out what the product saves or earns for a typical customer in a year. Talk to five of them if you can. For most business products, a price between a tenth and a fifth of that value is a sensible place to start.

Look at what customers use today

Every new product replaces something: a spreadsheet, a supplier, someone’s time. What customers spend on that today is the number they will compare your price with, whether you mention it or not.

Launch with fewer options

Two plans are easier to test than five. Keep the difference between them clear, and leave room above the top plan for a version you add later.

• One plan for small teams, one for larger ones.

• A clear limit that moves customers from the first plan to the second.

• No permanent launch discounts.

Decide now when you will review it

Put a date three months after launch in the calendar to look at win rates, the plans customers choose and the questions sales hears most. Tell early customers their price is fixed for a year, so a later change doesn’t cost you their trust.