pricing-monetization-strategy

name	pricing-monetization-strategy
effort	max
description	Use when deciding how to charge for a product, evaluating a shift from one pricing model to another, or when a GTM plan needs pricing addressed before launch. Triggers on: "가격 전략", "요금제 설계", "pricing model", "freemium vs free trial", usage-based
type	workflow
theme	pm-strategy
best_for	["Designing a new pricing model from scratch","Evaluating a shift from one pricing model to another","Structuring tier/packaging decisions for a SaaS product"]
scenarios	["We need to decide between freemium and a free trial — help me think through this.","가격 전략을 세워야 해. 어떤 요금제 구조가 맞는지 모르겠어.","We're adding a new feature — should it go in the current tier or create a new tier?","Help me design a 3-tier SaaS pricing structure for our B2B product.","seat 기반에서 usage 기반으로 전환하는 게 맞는지 판단해줘.","What's the right value metric for our AI product?"]
estimated_time	60-120 min
compatibility	{"recommended":["think-tool"],"optional":["mcp-reasoner"],"remote_mcp_note":"think-tool이 있으면 가격 모델 선택의 트레이드오프와 패키징 설계 논리를 체계적으로 검토하는 데 도움이 됩니다. Claude 설정 → MCP Servers에서 remote SSE 엔드포인트를 추가하세요."}

Standing Mandates

• ALWAYS identify the value metric before designing tiers or pricing levels.
• ALWAYS validate willingness-to-pay signals before committing to a pricing model.
• NEVER design pricing without understanding the customer's buying process and budget cycle.
• NEVER recommend a pricing model change without analyzing impact on churn and expansion revenue.

Purpose

Pricing is a product decision, not a finance decision. It signals value, shapes who buys, and determines growth mechanics. This skill answers:

1. What model fits how customers receive value? (pricing model)
2. What is the right value metric? (what you charge for)
3. How do we structure tiers? (packaging)
4. What should we charge? (price point)
5. What are we optimizing for? (growth, margin, ARR, retention)

This skill produces a Pricing Model Recommendation and a Packaging Structure.

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When to Use This

• When building a GTM plan — feeds ../go-to-market-planning/SKILL.md
• When competitive pricing benchmarks are needed — input from ../competitive-analysis/SKILL.md
• When customer research reveals willingness-to-pay signals — input from ../customer-research-synthesis/SKILL.md
• When pricing is a core component of the PRD — references ../prd-development/SKILL.md

When NOT to Use This

• For pricing a services engagement or consulting project (different dynamics)
• As a substitute for actual WTP research — this gives you the framework; you still need to talk to customers
• When pricing is locked by leadership or legal contract — focus on packaging instead

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Step 1 — Understand the Value Exchange (20 min)

Before picking a model, understand how value is delivered and consumed.

Value Delivery Questions

1. When does the customer first experience value? (immediately on signup? after setup? after a threshold of use?)
2. How does value scale for the customer? (more users? more data? more integrations? more output?)
3. Is value delivered continuously or in discrete events?
4. Who is the economic buyer vs. the end user? (they may differ — price to the buyer, sell to the user)
5. (time-to-value affects trial vs. freemium choice)