Value metric, tier design, anchoring, willingness to pay, comp pricing, expansion. Every decision either picks customers or sets expectations.
Layout
Pricing Strategy
6 blocks · 2-row grid
"Pricing is the thing that picks your customers. Everything else just executes the consequences."
What it is
A six-block memo. Value Metric is what scales the price. Tiers and Anchoring shape perception. Willingness to Pay grounds the prices in research. Competitive Pricing locates you on the spectrum. Expansion Path closes the NRR loop.
Origin
Software pricing matured through three eras: perpetual licenses, per-seat subscriptions, and now usage-based or value-metric pricing. The strategic insight that powered the third era — that the unit of pricing should track the unit of value — became the default question every pricing committee now asks first.
When to reach for it
You're launching and need to commit to a price page that won't embarrass you in a year.
You're repricing — incidents like missed targets or excess churn often surface as pricing problems.
You're moving up-market and the per-seat model is breaking.
The blocks
Worked example uses Figma.
What good looks like
A single unit that tracks customer value. Easy to predict for the buyer, easy to meter for you.
Example — Figma
Editors (designers and PMs producing files). Buyers can predict it from their org chart; we meter cleanly.
What good looks like
Three tiers max. Each tier has a real price and a clear boundary feature.
Example — Figma
Free for unlimited viewers + up to 3 files. Professional $15/editor/mo (unlimited files, version history). Organization $45/editor/mo (SSO, plugin admin, shared libraries).
What good looks like
Named anchor (Enterprise tier, comp set, ROI). Max discount allowed. Approver tiers.
Example — Figma
Organization tier anchors. Max public discount 15% (annual). Field discounts capped at 25% with VP approval; 25–40% with CFO sign-off only.
What good looks like
Method, sample size, range found, and how it ties back to chosen prices.
Example — Figma
~120 design lead interviews pre-launch. WTP range $8–$22 per editor; chose $15 to leave room below Sketch + Abstract bundle (~$22).
What good looks like
Comp set with public prices. Your % position. Rationale for the gap.
Example — Figma
Sketch $99 perpetual + Abstract $14/mo = $22/mo first year. Adobe XD $9.99. We sit between, justified by collaboration + browser-first delivery.
What good looks like
Primary lever (seats/usage/tier-up), NRR target, friction reducers built into product.
Example — Figma
Lever: editor seats (every new designer in the org pulls a seat). NRR target 150%. Friction reducers: workspace-wide invitations, automatic upgrade prompts on file-share.
How to use it
Pick a value metric the customer can self-forecast. Surprise bills are the fastest way to break trust.
Three tiers. Free or trial → mid → enterprise. Anything more is a menu, not packaging.
Validate prices with at least 20 customer conversations before committing to a page.
Discount discipline is more important than discount level. Write the rules, then follow them.
Common mistakes
Per-seat pricing chosen by default. Always test a usage- or value-based alternative.
Discount policies that exist on paper but get broken in every deal cycle.
Comparing only to direct competitors. Status-quo (Excel, manual) is the real comparison.
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