Pricing research

Research into what buyers will pay and where your price should sit, matched to the specific pricing decision you have to make.

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Methods and questions

Pricing research spans several methods, each built for a different kind of question. Most engagements use one or two of the areas below, chosen once the decision is clear.

The decision first: Working out what you are deciding, whether a price for a new product or a change to one you already charge.
Willingness to pay: Estimating what buyers will actually pay for what you sell, reported as a range with the chances written out.
Van Westendorp: A survey approach that maps the prices buyers find too high against the prices they find too low.
Gabor-Granger: Testing a set of specific price points to see how demand falls as the price rises.
Conjoint analysis: Separating out how much each feature and the price are worth when buyers trade one against another.
Competitor pricing: Reading what rivals charge and how they discount, so you know where your price sits against the alternatives.
How certain the answer is: Reporting how firm each figure is, so a wide range is not read as a precise one.

Choosing the method that fits the decision

Most pricing research begins from the method and works backward to the question. A team hears that conjoint is the serious approach, or that Van Westendorp is quick, and the study gets designed around the tool. The answer that comes back may not address the decision the pricing was meant to serve, and it tends to read as precise when the data underneath it is thin.

The method should follow from what you are deciding. Van Westendorp maps the range buyers find acceptable and suits an early read on a new product. Gabor-Granger tests named price points and helps when you already have a few candidates in mind. Conjoint separates the value of the price from the value of the features, which matters when a product has several moving parts and you want to know what buyers are really paying for. Competitor pricing analysis sits alongside these methods, because what rivals charge shapes what buyers will accept.

Amos starts from the decision that hangs on the research and picks the method that answers it. The result comes with an account of how firm the numbers are, and where a sample is too small to separate two prices, the report says so.

How to start

The brief

Say what you are pricing and who buys it, and name the decision the research has to support. Point to any prices you are already weighing and to what competitors charge today.

Confidentiality

Pricing plans are sensitive, so a non-disclosure agreement can be signed before you share them.

Who does the work

Amos Weiskopf builds the statistical models behind his pricing studies himself, after more than twenty years of work in software and data.

Questions buyers ask

What is pricing research?

It is research into what customers will pay and where a price should be set. The method is chosen to fit the decision you face.

Which pricing method should I use?

It depends on what you are deciding. A new product usually calls for a different study from a change to a price you already charge, and the method is picked once that is clear.

What is the difference between Van Westendorp and Gabor-Granger?

Van Westendorp maps the range of prices buyers call acceptable, so it reads as an open question. Gabor-Granger shows buyers specific prices and measures how demand falls as the price rises, which suits candidates you already hold in mind.

When is conjoint analysis worth it?

Conjoint is worth the extra effort when a product has several features and you want to know how much the price matters against each of them. It asks buyers to trade one thing against another, which reveals what they are really paying for.

Does pricing research include competitor pricing analysis?

Yes, when it bears on the decision. What rivals charge and how they discount shapes what your buyers will accept, so competitor pricing often runs alongside a willingness-to-pay study.

How much does pricing research cost?

It depends mainly on the method and the size of the sample. The price is agreed after the brief.

Engagements by written brief.

Work begins from a documented problem statement, not a sales call.

Write a brief Or book a meeting