AMA: Microsoft Sr. Director of Product Marketing & Growth- Copilot, Bhavika Thakkar on Pricing and Packaging

I’d first separate the business model question from the pricing question. If the company is still deciding between subscription vs. advertising, that needs to be resolved first because the success metrics are very different: subscription depends on perceived value, habit, retention, and willingness to pay; advertising depends more on scale, engagement, and audience monetization. But if competitors are already succeeding with subscription pricing, I’d use that as a signal that consumers have perm ...Read More

The answer lies in customer empathy and competitor knowledge- do you have competitors or alternatives to benchmark against? Can you interview customers from different segments and understand their needs-tablestake features, nice-to-have and must-haves? I have an inkling that you'll get direction there- more likely there will be complex features such collaboration, integration, compliance, security, multi-user access, multi-persona access that only enterprises require and they are willing to pay ...Read More

I’d decide based on whether the functionality is an activation unlock or a monetization lever. In my experience with PLG and B2B SaaS, if a feature materially lowers time-to-value — meaning it helps the user get to the “aha moment” faster, create their first asset, publish their first video, or prove value internally — I’d be very careful about charging for it too early. You don’t want to tax activation. Faster time-to-value can improve conversion, retention, expansion, and sales efficiency, so ...Read More

Great question- I've followed different approaches keeping both rising COGS, revenue expectations and CSAT in mind. I've also implemented pricing changes in ways I wouldn't but revenue pressure, you know :). Test in one isolated region to see if its effective and also gauge the response Rollout to new customers first and give some headway to loyal customers Communicate rationale and early enough -ideally rollout with new value added in the product. Deeply understand legal implications and also, ...Read More

I’d start by asking whether the product, buyer, and buying motion are simple enough for self-serve. Self-serve works best when the user can understand the value quickly, try the product without heavy hand-holding, activate on their own, and pay with limited procurement or security friction. If the product requires deep implementation, legal review, custom integrations, complex onboarding, or multiple stakeholders, self-serve may still play a role but more as a lead-gen, trial, or land-and-expand ...Read More

Price anchoring is the idea that people evaluate price relative to the first number or reference point they see. In product marketing, that “anchor” can shape whether a product feels expensive, fair, or like a great deal. For example, a $30/month plan may feel expensive on its own, but reasonable if it is positioned against a $100/month an alternative such as hiring someone, or a higher-tier plan with more advanced capabilities. Product marketers can use anchoring in packaging, pricing pages, la ...Read More

If all of your SaaS competitors require an enterprise demo, I wouldn’t treat that as “no pricing data.” It just means you need to compare pricing architecture instead of exact price points. Look at how they package value: what is gated behind enterprise, what their value metric seems to be, whether they price by seat, usage, volume, workflow, location, data, integrations, support, compliance, or outcomes. You can also triangulate through customer interviews, win/loss calls, procurement conversat ...Read More

Regional pricing should be intentional and based on durable market factors: local willingness to pay, purchasing power, competitive alternatives, currency, taxes, payment methods, compliance costs, support costs, distribution channels, and whether the product is sold self-serve, through sales, or through partners. The goal is not simply to discount by region, but to make the product accessible while preserving the value perception and economics of the business. For special pricing through sales ...Read More

Great question. It sounds like you may have a segment where there is strong product-market fit and the product value is resonating, but the segment is price sensitive. I’d start there rather than trying to solve for every segment at once. Understand what alternatives or competitors that segment is using today, what problem they are hiring your product to solve, and what their willingness to pay is for that specific workflow or outcome. That becomes your core segment and core package. From there, ...Read More

Great question- even the best AI tools started with a freemium model with subscription to capture large share of users, then created premium tiers, then expanded to credit based consumption model. the answer is- do you have the capacity to absorb large COGS? if not, then you want to think of consumption based pricing vs. subscription based or at least combo of both. If yes, then- start with a low price point or even give away some turns for free in your existing plan to drive habitual usage and ...Read More