How do we capture competitor pricing in a sales-led enterprise business?
My sales team at my B2B software company wants to know more about how our competitors price their products.
2 Answers
Jackie Palmer
Pendo VP Product Marketing | Formerly Demandbase, Conga, SAP • January 25
Similar to other questions above, there are lots of resources to leverage when thinking about pricing and packaging including competitor pricing. Here are some that I've found most useful:
- Competitor websites (hopefully you'll be lucky and they'll publish their pricing!). Know that whatever you find here is likely to be higher than actual selling price as it is not usually inclusive of discounts or promotions
- Review websites like G2 and TrustRadius. Often people will comment on the price they pay or paid
- Marketplaces like the Salesforce AppExchange, HubSpot Marketplace, Microsoft AppSource etc. These marketplaces often require vendors to list a "starting" price. Again, this will likely be higher than actual selling price
- Industry analysts like Gartner, Forrester etc. They will be able to talk about average market selling prices and average discounting practices but they won't give you an exact price.
- Independent research/survey firms. If you have the budget you can hire a company for market analysis. Many times these companies have people on contract who are practitioners and may know the market from either working at a vendor or buying from other vendors. This is often very useful but costly.
- Your existing customers or prospects. If you have a customer community you can leverage, don't be afraid to ask. Your happy customers are often willing to give you their opinion on pricing and packaging both of your own products or any competitive products they may have experience will
- Your existing partners. If you work with implementation or resell partners, often they will have knowledge of market pricing. Like the industry analysts, they may be unwilling to give you exact prices but could advise on the market or give suggestions on packaging.
- Your sales team. Maybe someone worked for a competitor or knows the general market. Or at the very least, your sales team will know how prospects and customers have reacted to pricing in the past
- Your friends and neighbors. I'm only half joking! You never know who might have knowledge of your industry's pricing and packaging. Don't be afraid to ask!
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Linda Sonne-Harrison
Giant Stride Marketing Group President • January 27
Pricing for enterprise software is harder to find than pricing for SMB products, but it's still available. Here are a few places to start.
- Your sales team. Trusted contacts will often share useful information.
- Win-loss interviews. Customers and non-customers may offer insights, even without being asked.
- Review sites like TrustRadius or G2crowd. It's not uncommon for reviewers to talk about pricing.
- Industry analysts, if they cover the market space you're in.
I'm guessing from the wording above, your sales team may not always be forthcoming with information. Invest the time in building 1:1 relationships, and information will eventually come. And be ready to share what you learn from other sources!
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