What Is Value-Based Pricing and How Does It Work?
May 01, 2022 By Susan Kelly

A product or service based on its perceived worth is known as value-based pricing. Rather than charging a fixed price for a product, organizations employ value and customer-focused pricing.


When it comes to pricing, value-based pricing is distinct from "cost-plus" pricing, which considers the expenses of manufacturing. Unique or highly useful features or services are better positioned than commoditized commodities to take advantage of the value pricing model firms.


Learning About Value-Based Pricing


In marketplaces where owning a product improves a customer's sense of self-worth or opens the door to previously unimaginable adventures, the value-based pricing theory is particularly useful. As a result, the value customers give to a product is reflected in its perceived value, which directly impacts the final price a customer pays.


Even though pricing value is an imprecise science, marketing strategies may set the price. In other words, luxury carmakers request consumer input, which essentially quantifies customers' experiences driving a specific model.


Qualities Essential for Value-based Pricing



An organization using value pricing must have something that makes it stand out from the competitors. There must be an emphasis on the client's demands when it comes to product enhancements and new features. The company's management must have high expectations for the product or service quality. Additionally, the company's interactions with its clients must be transparent and trusting.


Examples of Value-Based Pricing


Several diverse contexts call for the application of value-based pricing. A list of value-based items and the economic considerations that influence their pricing are provided below.


Housing


For a product to have inelastic demand, the desire is so strong that a reduced price would have little to no effect on sales. Real estate is a prime illustration of this. Buyers are willing to spend hundreds of dollars more than the asking price in the real estate market as of Q2 2021, which is called a "seller's market."


There may be periods of both a buyer's and a seller's market, but the fact is that even if demand for property rises, a lower price would have little to no influence on the selling of most properties.


Milk


Customers' willingness to pay determines the final price in intense competition and high price sensitivity in marketplaces. Charge too much, and you may scare away potential purchasers. If you go to any supermarket, you'll discover that milk is a staple item. There are a few various milk brands in the cooler, but the prices are all within a few cents of each other.


Hermès Birkin Bag


Hermès Birkin Bag When it comes to luxury handbags, Hermès proves that they are as unique as beautiful. The bags sell for tens of thousands of dollars on the internet, but obtaining one from the maker is practically hard to do so straight from them.


The demand for a Birkin bag is so great that consignment stores like BagHunter have to price the bags accordingly because of the arduous training that the artisans undergo to manufacture one.


Swiffer


The usefulness of a product can be improved by selling companions and add-ons. The original product may not be useable without them in some circumstances. Swiffer sweeper mops are an excellent illustration of value-based pricing because of their benefits to the customer.


With your first Swiffer Sweeper purchase, you get a handle and a few cleaning pads. On the other hand, Sweeper pads are consumables that must be replaced when used up.


How to Price Your Value-Based Product



A few more procedures are needed to arrive at a final selling price when using value-based pricing. A simple strategy like cost-plus can be used, but several aspects must be considered when determining the final price.


Research your clients


Having a clear understanding of your client's willingness to pay can help you choose your price point. To get to this amount, you may start by reaching out to existing customers already familiar with your offerings and asking them how much they would be willing to pay for your product now that they have experienced its benefits. Make sure that your pricing strategy relies heavily on the perceived worth of your clients.


Examine your whole market


Despite the importance of customer data in choosing a pricing point, it is a skewed sample because current customers have already proved they are willing to acquire your goods. Conduct market research in your entire addressable market to discover how your product is valued by everyone you're trying to sell to and what they're prepared to pay for it.


Analyze the Competition


Rather than paying for expensive market research when launching a new product, look at what your competitors are charging and how comparable your product is to theirs. Setting your product's pricing at the same level as the competitors is a solid indicator of how much value your target market places on the product. If sales are lower than expected, you may be forced to use a price strategy based on the strength of your rivals' brand loyalty.