/pricing-strategy

name: pricing-strategy
description: When the user wants to plan, design, or optimize pricing strategy and structure. Also use when the user mentions "pricing strategy," "pricing model," "pricing tiers," "freemium," "value-based pricing," "anchoring," "price structure," or "monetization strategy." For pricing page, use pricing-page-generator.
metadata:
  version: 1.0.1

Strategies: Pricing

Guides pricing strategy and structure for SaaS, tools, and products. Covers pricing models, tier design, anchoring, and when to apply discounts. For pricing **page** content and layout, see **pricing-page-generator**. For **discount** and promotional pricing, see **discount-marketing-strategy**.

**When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

Initial Assessment

**Check for project context first:** If `.claude/project-context.md` or `.cursor/project-context.md` exists, read it for product, value proposition, and competitors.

Identify: 1. **Product type**: SaaS, tool, e-commerce 2. **Value metric**: What drives value (seats, usage, features) 3. **Market**: Competitor pricing; willingness to pay 4. **Goals**: Revenue, adoption, retention

Pricing Models

| Model | Use | |-------|-----| | **Subscription** | Recurring; monthly/annual; most SaaS | | **Freemium** | Free tier + paid; adoption then conversion | | **Usage-based** | Pay per use; API, credits | | **One-time** | Perpetual license; some tools | | **Hybrid** | Base + usage; tiered + overage |

**Variable-cost products** (compute, API, AI): When per-user cost varies widely (heavy users cost 10×+ light users), uniform subscription often fails. Use usage-based, credits, or tiered-by-usage; align price to cost structure.

Tier Design

• **2–4 tiers** typical; avoid too many options
• **Differentiation**: Clear "best for" per tier; feature gates
• **Anchoring**: Lead with mid-tier or annual; make target option obvious
• **Value metric**: Align price to value (seats, projects, API calls)

Anchoring & Presentation

• **Annual discount**: 15–25% for annual prepay; improves cash flow
• **Decoy**: Higher tier makes mid-tier look better
• **Most popular**: Highlight recommended plan
• **Price display**: Monthly vs annual; show savings

When to Use Discounts

Discounts apply on top of base pricing. See **discount-marketing-strategy** for:

• Annual commitment discounts
• First-time / new customer promotions
• Lifetime deals (LTD)
• Seasonal (BFCM)
• Referral, contest, affiliate codes

**Principle**: Set base price for long-term value; use discounts tactically for acquisition, retention, or cash flow.

Output Format

• **Pricing model** recommendation
• **Tier structure** (plans, features, price points)
• **Anchoring** approach
• **Discount** fit (when to use; reference discount-marketing-strategy)
• **pricing-page-generator** (page execution)

Related Skills

• **discount-marketing-strategy**: Promotional pricing; when and how to discount
• **pricing-page-generator**: Pricing page content, structure, conversion
• **landing-page-generator**: Click-through to pricing
• **localization-strategy**: Pricing by market (true localization vs cosmetic); see Pricing Strategies section