Pricing Strategy Advisor

Purpose

Recommend a pricing model and structure: how customers pay, what drives the bill, tier boundaries, and unit economics sanity check for AI/SaaS products.

Input: Product type, ICP, cost structure (COGS per user/request), competitive pricing (optional), business goal (growth vs margin)
Output: Pricing Strategy Memo with model recommendation, tier table, unit economics worksheet, and rollout considerations
Examples: See examples.md for worked input/output.

Workflow

Step 1: Gather pricing inputs

If COGS unknown for AI product, estimate from ai/ai-cost-optimizer outputs or request model/token assumptions.

Step 2: Map pricing model options

Score each option against ICP and COGS (1–5).

Step 3: Define value metric for AI products

Pick one primary value metric; secondary metrics only for overage.

Step 4: Design tier structure

Typical 3-tier pattern:

Per tier define: limits, features gated, support level, contract terms.

Step 5: Unit economics check

If margin negative at target price, recommend limit changes, model routing, or price increase — do not ignore COGS.

Step 6: Competitive and psychological pricing

• Anchor against 2–3 comparables (not race to bottom)
• Charm vs round pricing by segment (SMB vs enterprise)
• Annual discount standard: 15–20% for cash flow
• Grandfathering policy for existing users on change

Step 7: Rollout and experimentation plan

Step 8: Validate

Run Validation checklist.

Decision Rules

Validation

• Value metric identified and justified for ICP
• ≥2 pricing models compared with scores
• Tier table with limits and feature gates
• Unit economics worksheet with gross margin estimate
• AI COGS line item explicit for AI products
• Competitive reference points cited
• Rollout / experiment plan for price validation
• Grandfathering and migration notes if repricing

Anti-patterns

• Cost-plus only — ignores willingness to pay and value.
• Copy competitor price — no wedge or COGS fit.
• Unlimited free AI tier — COGS death spiral.
• Too many tiers — decision paralysis (max 4 public tiers).
• Hidden overage — destroys trust; disclose limits clearly.

Best Practices

• Price on outcome when you can measure it reliably.
• Show ROI calculator for enterprise buyers.
• Pair with ai/ai-cost-optimizer to keep margins as models change.
• Revisit pricing when model costs drop 30%+ (AI market shifts).
• Use annual prepay to fund inference float.

Output Structure

# Pricing Strategy: [Product Name]

## Context
[ICP, motion, strategic goal]

## Model recommendation
[Primary model + rationale]

## Value metric
[What drives the bill]

## Tier table
| Tier | Price | Limits | Features |
|------|-------|--------|----------|

## Unit economics
| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|

## Competitive context
[Comparables]

## Rollout plan
[Tests, migration, instrumentation]

## Risks
[Margin, competition, bill shock]

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