Are Startup Pricing Strategies Really Important?
One of the most crucial aspects of a successful startup are the startup pricing strategies set for products or services. No matter how brilliant the concept, pricing your product incorrectly, whether too high, too low, or even for free, can swiftly lead to the downfall of any startup. Today, we’ll look at some of the most critical factors to consider when deciding your startup pricing strategies. Furthermore, get to grips with some of the strongest pricing tactics for your firm.
Understanding the Perceived Value of Your Product
Understanding the Perceived Value of Your ProductIt’s essential to understand how useful your product is to your customers in comparison to the price you’ve set. The top companies in the world have figured out how to read their market and price their products so that what they offer is considered as a necessary buy with a perceived worth far greater than the price.
There are a few ways you can increase the perceived value of your product. For example, you can lower the price of your product to be more affordable. You could also increase the value you are offering within the product so that customers feel like they are getting more value for their money. Sometimes the best way to gather this knowledge is through testing the sales of your product at a certain price. After this, you can use the collected consumer data to identify what consumers value about their product and whether they believe they are receiving sufficient value for money.
Competitor’s Startup Pricing Strategies
Another key thing to consider is the price your competitor’s goods have been established at. Your product may be far superior than your competitors’. However, if they have priced their product at a level that provides greater value for money, customers will most likely choose your competitor. If your product has more value than the competition, be sure that the added value is something that customers want. After this, you should then price it accordingly.
To sum up, it’s critical to remember that it doesn’t matter how much you appreciate your product; what matters is how much the consumer values it! Your product may seem incredibly valuable to you, but that does not matter if your target market does not agree, as can be seen by your sales data. 
Pricing Strategies for a Startup
Market Penetration Pricing
Industry penetration is a great approach for businesses to break into a crowded market. It can also help you quickly establish a robust client base. This is when you join the market at a significantly lower price than your competitors in order to lure loyal clients away from them. This method may result in a short-term loss of profits, but it can have a long-term favourable impact on your profits.
Premium Pricing
Premium pricing may be appropriate for a startup whose product is entering a specialised market with little to no competition. Thus, you are then able to avoid charging a lower price to compete. To make premium pricing a success for your firm, you must be able to generate a high consumer value perception of your product so that customers are willing to pay. Being first to market helps you build a loyal client base. In turn, a loyal client base means you can keep your premium price even when competitors enter the market. However, for this to be successful your product must continue to add market value.
With premium pricing you can also move into a price skimming strategy if deemed necessary, this is where you slowly bring your price down as you look to bring out improved versions of your product.
Cost Plus Pricing
This is the more straightforward pricing technique for startups, which involves just adding a percentage to the cost of production to make up the difference. This is a secure method of ensuring a consistent level of profit from sales. The biggest problem with this technique is that if your production expenses per product are high, you’ll have to charge a little more than cost to earn a profit. As a result, you could end up overpricing your product and struggle to sell it.
Conclusion
Your brain might spin when you start considering all the factors that go into price, including competition, manufacturing costs, consumer demand, profit margins, and so on. Fortunately, you don’t have to become an expert in each of these areas all at once.
There is no perfect pricing strategy for all startups. Unfortunately, you may have to sacrifice certain areas of your pricing strategy to favour others. Therefore, when deciding on the best strategy for your startup, make sure you know exactly what you’re attempting to accomplish with it. Additionally, you need to prepare for whatever positive or negative influence it may have on your business.
Amit Khanna, 7startup Founder
Amit has 18 years of experience in the industry and an MBA. He supports entrepreneurs with every aspect of their business including concept and product development, investor presentations, and fundraising. Amit & 7startup assist startups in the pre due-diligence process and help connect them to our vast network of investors. Reach out to us today and see if we’re a fit!
