Pricing Maturity – The 4 A for strategic pricing organizations
When it comes to becoming true pricing champions, full pricing maturity does not come overnight. Companies must evolve through distinct stages to build a solid foundation and ultimately achieve mastery in pricing. Below are the four key levels of the Pricing Maturity Pyramid that organizations move through on their journey toward strategic pricing excellence:
1. Aware
The pinnacle of pricing maturity, this level represents a company that fully understands the strategic importance of pricing. Pricing is used as a competitive advantage, with strategies continuously evolving to meet market demands and create value for both the business and its customers.
2. Aligned
In this phase, alignment becomes the focus. Teams and individuals within the company are synchronized in their understanding of pricing strategies and are aligned toward the company’s global goals. This ensures a unified approach to pricing that reflects the company’s broader objectives.
3. Able
Here, the company is equipped with the right tools and processes to optimize pricing decisions based on data. However, while the organization has the capability, the application of these tools is often inconsistent across teams or departments.
4. Apply
At this stage, the company actively implements its pricing strategies in real-world situations. Pricing is not just a concept; it’s part of day-to-day operations. While this is a fundamental step, the focus is more on execution than refining or optimizing.
My name is Salva, I am a product exec and Senior Partner at Reasonable Product, a boutique Product Advisory Firm.
I write about product pricing, e-commerce/marketplaces, subscription models, and modern product organizations. I mainly engage and work in tech products, including SaaS, Marketplaces, and IoT (Hardware + Software).
My superpower is to move between ambiguity (as in creativity, innovation, opportunity, and ‘thinking out of the box’) and structure (as in ‘getting things done’ and getting real impact).
I am firmly convinced that you can help others only if you have lived the same challenges: I have been lucky enough to practice product leadership in companies of different sizes and with different product maturity. Doing product right is hard: I felt the pain myself and developed my methods to get to efficient product teams that produce meaningful work.