---
title: "How to Set Price: 10 Steps That Will Reveal the Right Price for Your New Offering"
description: "How to Set Price: 10 Steps That Will Reveal the Right Price for Your New Offering"
---

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# How to Set Price: 10 Steps That Will Reveal the Right Price for Your New Offering

 by [Tim Ogilvie](https://blog.peerinsight.com/blog/author/tim-ogilvie)  | [business models](https://blog.peerinsight.com/blog/tag/business-models), [DIY Templates & Tools](https://blog.peerinsight.com/blog/tag/diy), [innovation strategy](https://blog.peerinsight.com/blog/tag/innovation-strategy), [lean startup](https://blog.peerinsight.com/blog/tag/lean-startup), [Product and Service Development](https://blog.peerinsight.com/blog/tag/product-and-service-development)

As we help firms introduce new, breakthrough services and experiences, there comes a moment that can feel like the first day of school: *Pricing*.

No matter how much preparation has come before, the venture team can suddenly feel uncertain, anxious, and wracked with doubt.

\*Deep breath.\*

Before simply setting a price for a new offering, most venture teams have taken great care to study the user context and to define and validate the surrounding business model. The typical elements include:

- User journey/job-to-be-done/pain- point
- User perceived value of the offering
- Right to play
- Supply chain
- Demand chain/channel/customer acquisition
- Service delivery model
- Cost structure
- Revenue requirements (we recommend Discovery-Driven Planning for this)
- Year 1 go- to -market plan
- Revenue model (bundle, **price**, frequency, revenue share)
- On-ramp (how we lower the hurdle for tryout)

As this list shows, *Price* - that magic element that excites and frightens us - serves as an important cog within a larger machine. You don’t set the price in isolation. You don’t choose price using a mathematical model. And you certainly don’t announce a price and cross your fingers.

![](https://blog.peerinsight.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/witharrow-1024x768.png)

Instead, ventures can view *Price* like other attributes that they design for with input from the market. Here is a step-wise checklist for how successful ventures can *step down* to price, rather than making a risky leap. You can think of each step as **[an assumption that needs to be tested and validated](https://peerinsight.com/blog/moving-from-say-to-do/)** with the market.

**Step 1, The venture team believes target users will perceive a problem and will perceive value in our solution.**

- We have *observed* the problem directly, and based the design of our solution on empathy with the users

**Step 2, Target users do perceive a problem and see value in our solution when we show it to them.**

- Users tell us, “I like that.”

**Step 3, Target users validate ordinal value.**

- Users tell us, “I like that more than X, but less than Y.”

**Step 4, Target users indicate cardinal value (they are aware of their current expenditures of money and time regarding this problem).**

- Users tell us, “I see it as saving me X time and Y dollars.”

**Step 5, Target users are willing to have a relationship with our firm/agent regarding this offering (i.e., right to play).**

- Users tell us, “Your firm/agent is a credible provider of a solution.”

**Step 6, Target users believe it is equitable to pay, based on precedents/analogies.**

- Users tell us, “I would expect to pay for this, similar to how I pay for Z.”

**Step 7, Target users have a reference group of expenditures in mind when considering your solution.**

- Users tell us, “I spend about X dollars for category Y, and that is way less important to me.”

**Step 8, Payment timing makes sense to them.**

- Users tell us, “I see, I don’t pay until/unless I use it.”
- Users tell us, “I see, since you provide it monthly, I pay a monthly subscription.”

**Step 9, Price feels fair compared to (a) existing workarounds and (b) alternative solutions**.

-  Users tell us, “That amount sounds worth it, if it works.”

**Step 10, Early adopter target users feel their risk is being recognized and offset (i.e., an on-ramp).**

- Users tell us, “It makes it easier that you’re willing to bear some of the risk since this is relatively unproven.”

The actual *Price* does not come into play until Step 9 of 10. By then, the venture has had ample signals (Steps 1 thru 8) to help bracket the price. Each one occurs within a rich context of the surrounding offering, business model and venture strategy.

By following these steps, *Price* feels less like a decision, and more like a natural output of the business design and validation process. That’s when *the Price is Right*.

Of course, you’ll still feel those first-day-of-school butterflies. But it’s because you care so much about your venture, not because you aren’t prepared. Don’t worry; the *Price* is right- enough. In almost no time your venture will be post-revenue! Now you can turn your attention to **[getting traction in the market](https://peerinsight.com/services/venture-acceleration/)**.

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