When is an ideal time to prepare a change in pricing strategy and how does a PMM lead/join in on this decision-making before being asked to strategize messaging for the price change itself.

The role of PMM in pricing strategy varies across companies. There is never an "ideal" time to make pricing changes. My core belief is that a pricing strategy should be an active discussion between product, marketing, and GTM teams that is never locked but optimized as opportunities arise (e.g., clarify value, messaging, competitive differentiation, etc.). In organizations where PMM leads pricing decision-making, you should: Actively monitor your competitive landscape and understand how your pri ...Read More

The best time to prepare a change in pricing strategy is when you have actionable data. Perhaps you would have guessed something more related to the product or portfolio lifecycle, like when another product is getting added into the mix. These moments can certainly make internal conversations a little smoother, but ultimately you’re going to want your case to be built on a strong foundation rather than anchoring yourself to internal processes. In that case, the question then becomes “What data?” ...Read More

Short answer is as early as humanly possible.  Also probably don't launch in your Q4 (Q1 at your Sales Kick-Off is great if you can swing it!). The key is maximum mind share from the field and minimal distraction as deals are in flight.  PMM tends to lead (assuming that pricing and packaging is in the PMM org) the recommendation and execution.  My feeling has always been that the pricing and packaging is actually messaging, so it's hard to decouple. And importantly, the messaging content needs t ...Read More

Even if PMM does not “own” pricing they should be part of the conversation and early stages of explorations for pricing changes. Here’s what PMM brings to the conversation: Defining and quantifying the business problem and pain points Building the marketecture and the packaging that goes with it - what we sell and how it all works together. Especially in situations where you have more than one product. Capturing the voice of the customer including why, when and how they buy and the value they ex ...Read More

Aside from the triggers, I would say it is imperative to constantly review your pricing on a regular basis. Aside from one-off items mentioned above, I run an annual process (that in the future I want to be 2 per year) where I gether the pricing committee that I lead and we bring up suggestions of the key issues we think we need to be addressed with monetization strategy. Our process goes as follows: I prepare an initial list of pain points and opportunities I send the list to others to add thei ...Read More

There are multiple turning points when you should think about reviewing or changing pricing; You're losing too many deals to the competition Constant feedback from your Sales team that pricing and packaging needs a revamp You're expanding your product portfolio You're entering a new market You recently got acquired Too many customers are churning (although it could be for other reasons) Reached an MRR or Customer acquisition milestone In sum, lots of different events could create an excellent op ...Read More

Pricing strategy will be closely tied to either a major product change, new market entry, onboarding a brand new sales team or persistent issues identified in deal win/loss analysis.  This is like any other major company strategy change. PMM can lead the discussion if they are involved in bringup the insights leading to the change in pricing -- i.e. win/loss, competitive analysis or being part of strategic analysis on TAM for a new product or market.  Once you earn a seat at the table, you might ...Read More