| name | price-change-rollout |
| description | Plan a price change as a migration, not an edit — grandfathering, cohort sequencing, renewal-timing, comms, and the guardrail metrics (GRR, contraction, leakage, win-rate) to watch. Reach for this when raising prices, repackaging, migrating models (e.g. seat to usage), or simplifying a price card. Pairs with packaging-and-tiering and the price-change-rollout-plan template. |
Skill: Price-Change Rollout
A price change is a migration of an installed base, not an edit to a price card. The
new number is the easy part; grandfathering, sequencing, timing, and comms are the
deliverable. A new price card with no migration plan is half an answer.
Step 0 — One opinion up front
Never migrate everyone at once. Sequence by cohort and renewal date so you can
read the churn/contraction/leakage signal on the first cohort before you've committed
the whole base.
Step 1 — Name the goal (it sets the mechanics)
Which change is this?
- Margin recovery (raise prices) — grandfathering + comms are the risk.
- Repackaging (move features between tiers) — contraction/upgrade paths are the risk.
- Model migration (e.g. per-seat → usage) — bill-shock + trust are the risk.
- Simplification (fewer tiers/SKUs) — orphaned customers are the risk.
Step 2 — Set the grandfathering policy
Decide who stays on the old price, for how long. A price increase that hits the loyal
base first is how you manufacture churn. Common: existing customers grandfathered for
a defined window (e.g. 12 months or until a major renewal), new customers on the new
price immediately.
Step 3 — Sequence the cohorts
- Order by renewal date and by risk (start with a cohort you can afford to learn on).
- Change at renewal, not mid-term, to respect contracts and reduce surprise.
- Define the go/no-go between cohorts: what guardrail reading pauses the rollout.
Step 4 — Plan the comms
- The increase should never first appear on an invoice. Lead with the value
narrative, then the change, then the bill.
- Give notice consistent with the contract and the relationship.
- Arm the team with the "why" and the concession ladder (see Step 6).
Step 5 — Instrument the guardrails
Watch on the changed cohort (definitions in ../../knowledge/monetization-metrics.md):
- GRR & contraction — are customers leaving or downgrading more than modeled?
- Discount leakage — is the new list price holding, or is the field discounting it back?
- Win-rate (new business) — did the new price dent acquisition?
Set thresholds that trigger a pause/rollback before you start.
Step 6 — Prepare the rollback / concession plan
Have the concession ladder ready (what you'll offer a churning key account) and the
rollback trigger defined. A change with no exit plan is a bet, not a plan.
Output
A price-change migration plan using ../../templates/price-change-rollout-plan.md:
goal, grandfathering policy, cohort sequence + go/no-go, comms plan, guardrail metrics
- thresholds, and the rollback/concession plan. Hand the revenue/margin impact model
to
finance.
