Product Pricing: 11 Strategies and When to Use Them

Most entrepreneurs who are establishing a business concentrate their creative efforts on refining an idea and creating a marketable product. However, you need to determine the value of any service or product before you start trying to sell it. Your pricing strategy can help you get into the market, set your assets apart, and grow your business with sales and conversions.

The pricing strategy you decide on for a product will have an impact on its market worth. Various pricing methods can be used to increase conversion rates, determine the right price points for products and services, and increase an organization’s revenue in a particular market condition. Knowing the different pricing strategies can make it easier to select one that will work for the business’s and the market’s needs to maximize profitability and growth.

Your business’s goals for revenue, marketing objectives, positioning strategy, and product features are all taken into account by product pricing plans. Additionally, they are impacted by outside variables like market and economic changes, competition, and consumer demand.

In this post, we go over the 11 product pricing strategies and explain how they might support your business’s objectives.

11 Pricing Strategies

These 11 pricing strategies are the most commonly used across different industries, and understanding each of them will help you choose one that works best for your business. Once you understand your ideal pricing strategy, you can test your pricing to learn what your target audience would pay for your product within the constraints of your strategy.

1. Cost-plus Pricing

The most straightforward type of pricing strategy for figuring out a product’s price is cost-plus pricing, sometimes referred to as markup pricing. You create the product, consider the cost and expenses of creating the product, then add a markup to produce a profit. A cost-plus pricing strategy places all of the emphasis on your cost of goods sold.

When their primary goal is to recoup the expense of producing the product, some companies employ a cost-plus pricing strategy. For example, if you spent 200 dollars creating the product and want to make 100 dollars from each sale, you can set the pricing at 300 dollars. Physical product sellers frequently employ this tactic because their goods are more valuable than the cost of production.

The benefit of cost-plus pricing is that it is simple to understand. You already keep tabs on labor and production costs. To determine the selling price, you must set a price that meets your profit goals. If all of your costs stay the same, it can offer consistent profits.

One of the key drawbacks of cost-plus pricing is that it doesn’t take into consideration factors like competition price or the perceived worth of the customer.

2. Limit Pricing

Limit pricing is a competitive pricing strategy that lowers prices to discourage potential competitors from entering a market. Companies with a substantial market share frequently use this tactic to protect their dominance by obstructing the entry of new competitors.

By reducing profit and protecting your market share, you put up a barrier to entry into your market. While you might not make a ton of profit on each sale, your increased share of sales will lead to increased profit.

This strategy, meanwhile, can also have disadvantages, such as reducing profit margins for the current company and possibly drawing government attention to anti-competitive behavior. Overall, limit pricing is a strategic choice that requires careful analysis of both the advantages and disadvantages.

3. Penetration Pricing

Penetration pricing is known as setting a low initial price for a product to take up a sizable portion of the market quickly. This strategy looks to quickly differentiate your business, draw a sizable consumer base, and discourage possible competitors from joining the market.

Prices can be increased to a level that will result in higher profits once the company has amassed a sizable part of the market. Companies who are launching a new product or setting up a business and need to establish a presence quickly may find this method to be helpful.

Penetration pricing does come with some drawbacks, though. For instance, if prices are set too low, profit margins may be reduced, and customers may start to expect the lowest prices even when prices are raised.

Additionally, businesses that adopt penetration pricing could find it difficult to set themselves apart from competitors and establish a solid brand identity. Companies utilizing this technique need to have a well-defined plan for raising pricing and a thorough understanding of the market they are entering to succeed.

4. Price Discrimination

Price discrimination is a pricing technique when a business charges different prices to different customer segments for the same product or service. According to this method, the corporation can increase its profits by charging each customer the highest price they are willing to pay for a product because various customers have varying levels of price acceptance.

Price discrimination can be divided into first-degree, second-degree, and third-degree. Personalized pricing is frequently used to accomplish first-degree price discrimination, which entails charging each consumer the maximum price they are willing to pay for a product.

You are using second-degree price discrimination if you charge different prices depending on how much the customer buys, like giving bulk discounts. Charging differing rates based on demographic characteristics, such as age or income, is third-degree price discrimination.

Companies can use price discrimination as a pricing strategy that works well because it enables them to collect more of the value created by their products. It may, however, also have certain disadvantages. Customers may become hesitant if they believe they are paying more than other customers for an identical product. Additionally, because it necessitates a thorough understanding of consumer behavior and the ability to segment the market, price discrimination can be challenging to put into practice.

5. Psychological Pricing

The psychological pricing technique involves examining consumer purchasing trends to sway consumer choices and generate higher-value sales. When you thoroughly understand your target market, these techniques are effective.

For psychological pricing strategy to be effective, you must have a good grasp of your customer base. By appealing to this need through your marketing, you can help your product satisfy your clients’ psychological need to save money if they react positively to discounts and coupons.

Having the most affordable price on the shelves might not help you meet your sales goals if your audience values paying for quality. Your pricing, as well as marketing, should take into account the reasons that buyers may have for paying a particular price for a product.

Customers are more likely to spend $5.99 on necessities than $6 on needed products. In reality, the price difference is totally negligible. However, it significantly alters how buyers perceive it. Frequently, this tactic is used in grocery stores and small businesses.

To ensure retaining devoted clients when adopting this strategy, transparency is vital. Retailers can elicit impulse purchases by using psychological pricing. Prices that end in an odd number give consumers the impression that they are getting a deal, which can be difficult to resist. On the other side, psychological pricing can occasionally come off as tacky to customers and erode their faith in you. In contrast, a straightforward whole-dollar price is clear and seen as transparent.

6. Dynamic Pricing

Dynamic pricing is a pricing technique that modifies a product price based on the state of the market and other variables, such as market trends, demand, and rival prices. With this kind of pricing, businesses are able to adjust their prices as market demand changes and increases sales.

Several businesses use dynamic pricing, including retail, hotel, and transportation. For example, airlines employ dynamic pricing to change ticket rates in accordance with demand and supply. Retailers use dynamic pricing to increase prices during times of strong demand, such as holidays, and lower prices during times of low demand.

Both businesses and customers can benefit from dynamic pricing. Businesses can increase their profitability by optimizing prices, while consumers benefit from lower prices when there is less demand. Dynamic pricing, however, can also be problematic because it may result in higher rates for some customers, such as those who must buy things during times of strong demand.

Companies must collect and evaluate data on market circumstances, competitive pricing, and client demand in order to establish a dynamic pricing strategy. They can employ technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning to examine this data and determine prices in real-time.

7. Price Leadership

A pricing leadership strategy involves one company setting the market’s prices while all other businesses follow suit. The dominating or largest company in the market, the leader company, typically holds significant market influence. The market leader sets prices so that it can maximize revenues while enabling other businesses to continue to turn a profit.

Both the leading company and the following companies can profit from price leadership. By establishing the prices and fostering a favorable market environment, the leading company can sustain its edge in the competitive market. The market’s stability will assist the follower companies and will lessen the dangers of price competition.

This pricing strategy probably doesn’t work for new or emerging businesses because they are not the market leader. For instance, the leader firm can exploit its market dominance to set prices at levels the follower companies cannot support, resulting in less competition and fewer customer options. The leader company might also be more concerned with its own earnings than with the consumer’s or follower companies’ demands.

Companies must actively track competition prices and comprehend market dynamics in order to develop a price leadership strategy. They should also think about how their pricing choices will affect the market and their competitors in the long run.

8. Target Pricing

Target pricing is an effective pricing strategy in which a business establishes a target price range for a product or service and then calculates the costs and volume of production necessary to reach that price. Using this pricing approach, a business can finalize competitive pricing for a product and turn a profit.

The target price is often established using market research, competitive analysis, the pricing structure, and the company’s profit margins. When determining if it is feasible to make the product at a cost that enables it to achieve its goal price, the company looks at all of its production expenses, including materials, labor, and overhead. If not, the business might have to alter its plan or production process to cut expenses.

A corporation can benefit from target pricing by using it to set reasonable prices and maintain its competitiveness in the market. Focusing on cost-cutting and enhancing production efficiency can also benefit a business and improve earnings in the long run.

Target pricing, however, can potentially have disadvantages. For instance, if the goal price is set too low, it may lead to lower earnings or quality. Additionally, the target price could be established using out-of-date market data, resulting in pricing decisions that don’t reflect the state of the market.

9. Absorption Pricing

According to the pricing strategy known as absorption pricing, a business sets its prices to fully cover all of its expenses, including both direct costs (like labor and materials) as well as indirect costs (such as overhead and marketing expenses). This pricing strategy aims to create enough revenue to cover all expenses and turn a profit.

Absorption pricing is frequently employed in production- and manufacturing-based businesses where the price of a good is mostly determined by its cost of production. A business can make sure that its prices are based on the true costs of manufacturing, not simply the direct costs, by employing absorption pricing.

A corporation can benefit from absorption pricing by ensuring it makes a profit and covers all expenses. Given that the prices depend on the actual production costs, it can also help in achieving the business goal of maintaining its pricing consistency.

Absorption pricing, however, might not work for every business. For example, the pricing can be greater than those of competitors, which would make the business less competitive. Also, the prices can be established using stale or inaccurate cost data, resulting in poor pricing decisions.

10. High-low Pricing

A high-low pricing strategy is when a business sells a product at a high price up first, then reduces that price when the product loses its novelty or usefulness.

High-low pricing is a pricing strategy where a business provides clients with temporary discounts or a sale. This kind of pricing strategy seeks to draw clients who are price-conscious and boost sales.

In high-low pricing, the normal price is set at a level that corresponds to the perceived value of the good or service, with the goal of covering costs and making a profit for the business. The temporary sale prices or discounts are to encourage customers to buy the goods at a cheaper cost in the hopes that they will return and buy them at the regular price in the future.

A business can attract users and foster loyalty by providing discounts. High-low prices, however, can sometimes have disadvantages. Customers might learn to exclusively buy the product during sales, which would undermine the value of the normal price. Additionally, clients might become confused and lose faith as a result of high-low pricing because they might question the authenticity of the standard prices.

11. Marginal Cost Pricing

A company uses the marginal cost, or the additional cost of manufacturing one more unit of a good or service, to determine its prices as part of its pricing strategy. This kind of pricing plan aims to produce enough income to pay the marginal cost and maintain the company’s profitability.

Marginal cost pricing is frequently employed in businesses with low fixed costs and high variable costs, like utilities and technology firms. These businesses can ensure that their prices are set in a way that considers the real cost of producing each additional unit rather than the total cost structure of the company by employing marginal cost pricing.

A corporation can benefit from this strategy by ensuring it makes a profit, covers costs, and maintains market competitiveness. Additionally, because prices are set based on actual production costs rather than just those of the competition, marginal cost pricing can help prevent pricing wars.

Marginal cost pricing doesn’t work for every business. If the prices do not accurately reflect the whole cost structure of the company, profit margins may be reduced or even negative. Additionally, the prices might not reflect the perceived value of the product or service, making the business less competitive.

Price Testing

Once you have decided on your strategy, or even before you know exactly what you want to charge for your product, price testing will help you understand your users and the value of your assets.

Price testing is a method used by companies to determine the best prices for their products and services. Through testing, companies can gain insight into how consumers respond to different prices, allowing them to maximize their profits and attract the most customers.

Price testing can be used to determine the most effective pricing strategy for a particular product. By testing different prices at different times, companies can find the most effective pricing model that works best in the current market. Companies can also use price testing to determine the overall value of their product or service and make sure that they are not overcharging customers. Price testing can also be used to identify areas of improvement in the company’s pricing model, allowing them to make changes to ensure that they are offering the best prices possible.

Price Testing with Poll the People

Poll the People price testing is the best way to understand your target audience and quickly gather data and analyze it to understand the best possible price for their product or services. Poll the People is an easy-to-use market research platform used to test assets like pricing, branding, products, and more using our dedicated user panel. We help marketers become superheroes by reducing risk, driving conversions, and improving overall marketing effectiveness. By unleashing the combined power of AI and human intelligence, we help you create optimized, validated digital assets.

The combination of our user panel of over 500,000 users that lets you get feedback from your target audience. Our expert-built templates that make test design easy, and the rapid, high-quality feedback you get from our AI-backed results analysis. And our AI analysis tools make price testing easier than ever.

Conclusion

Setting an effective pricing plan takes time, consideration, and research. Every business needs to choose a price and strategy that covers expenses, produces profit, and attracts users to become loyal customers.

You can make better decisions and give potential customers a more individualized shopping experience by offering the ideal price now that you are better aware of the many pricing strategies and how to use them.

Once you have identified the strategy that might work best for your business, validating or comparing the potential options through a price test helps you find what you and your users can agree upon. If you are ready to know what your target audience thinks of your pricing strategy, sign up for Poll the People and launch your first test.