💰 Pricing
🌐 Website
This playbook requires the following signals:
Monitored Signals
1. Why should I care about feature gating changes?
Here’s why it’s a big deal:
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2. Examples of feature gating changes
This is a common tactic used to reshape a product's user base over time. The strategic intent depends entirely on the direction the feature moves:
Moving a Feature UP (The Upsell Play): A competitor's "Pro" tier no longer includes advanced analytics, which is now exclusive to their "Enterprise" plan. This is a clear strategy to identify their most engaged "Pro" users and push them into more expensive, higher-margin contracts.
Moving a Feature DOWN (The Value Play): A competitor's "Basic" tier now includes phone support, which was previously only available on their "Pro" tier. This is a move to make their entry-level plan more competitive and attractive, helping them win a higher volume of new customers at the top of the funnel.
3. How to monitor competitors for feature gating changes
A feature gating change is a clear, observable event on a competitor's pricing page. You need a system to detect these changes in the feature lists under each tier to understand their strategic shift as it happens.
Zimt is the go-to competitor monitoring tool for B2B SaaS companies. We have over 35 competitor playbooks you can launch on autopilot, including one designed specifically for this scenario. Activating the playbook allows you to:
Monitor Tiered Feature Lists: Automatically track the feature checklists on competitor pricing pages for any additions, removals, or movements between tiers.
Get Intelligent Alerts: Receive real-time notifications with before-and-after comparisons showing exactly which features have been moved, so you can immediately analyze the competitor's strategic intent.
Access This Playbook: Put this playbook, and many more, to work. Automated.
If you're not using Zimt, you must manually check and compare the detailed feature lists on competitor pricing pages to catch these critical changes.
4. Playbook Response Options
4.1 Response to a Feature Moving UP: Target Their Frustrated Customers
ⓘ Best for: When a competitor moves a valuable feature from a lower tier to a higher one, and you offer that same feature in your equivalent (or cheaper) tier. | ||
Goal: Capture the competitor's customers who are now being forced to upgrade or lose a key feature they rely on. | ||
Strategic Rationale: This leverages the customer frustration created by the competitor's aggressive upsell tactic. You become the "safe haven" that offers better value and more predictable, stable packaging. |
Identify the feature and the affected user segment.
Confirm the value of the feature they've moved and identify the persona of the user who is now being asked to pay more for it.
Launch a targeted ad campaign.
Run paid search and social campaigns with messaging like "Don't pay more for [The Feature]. Get it included with our [Your Tier] plan." Target users who follow the competitor or are searching for alternatives.
Create a comparison asset highlighting the feature difference.
Develop a simple datasheet or webpage that directly compares your tier against their newly devalued tier, focusing on the specific feature they moved.
Enable sales to target this specific pain point.
Update battle cards with talking points that allow your sales team to highlight this change in competitive deals, asking prospects, "How does [Competitor]'s recent packaging change affect your team's access to [The Feature]?"
4.2 Response to a Feature Moving DOWN: Match or Differentiate
ⓘ Best for: When a competitor adds a key feature to their entry-level plan, making it suddenly more competitive with yours. | ||
Goal: Neutralize the competitor's new value proposition at the low end of the market and protect your top-of-funnel pipeline. | ||
Strategic Rationale: You have two primary choices: either match their move by adding similar value to your own entry tier (a defensive move) or double down on your other differentiators to justify why your plan is still superior, even without that specific feature (a value-based defense). |
Analyze the impact of their new entry-tier offering.
Quickly assess how much more attractive their entry-level plan is now. Talk to sales to see if this new feature is coming up as a reason for losing deals.
Decide whether to match the feature addition or hold firm.
Make a strategic decision. Can you afford to add the feature to your own entry tier? If not, what are the core differentiators you will focus on instead?
If matching, communicate the new value.
If you decide to add the feature, update your pricing page and launch a small marketing campaign announcing that your entry tier is now "even more powerful" with the inclusion of [The Feature].
If holding firm, launch a campaign focused on your unique value.
If you don't match, run a campaign that reinforces your unique differentiators, such as superior ease-of-use, better customer support, or other exclusive features.
4.3 Re-evaluate Your Own Packaging Strategy
ⓘ Best for: When the competitor's move signals a broader shift in how value is defined in the market, prompting a more strategic review of your own tiers. | ||
Goal: Ensure your pricing and packaging remain competitive and aligned with market expectations over the long term. | ||
Strategic Rationale: Instead of a purely tactical reaction, you use the competitor's move as a catalyst for a strategic review of your own feature distribution. This allows you to optimize your tiers for both customer acquisition (what's in the low tier) and expansion revenue (what's in the high tiers). |
Conduct customer research on feature value.
Run a survey or interview customers to understand which features they value most and which ones they would be willing to pay more for.
Audit your current feature distribution.
Map out all of your features and which tiers they currently belong to. Identify any features that might be better suited to a different tier.
Model the impact of potential packaging changes.
Work with Finance and Data teams to model the potential revenue and churn impact of moving certain features between your own tiers.
Present a strategic recommendation to leadership.
Synthesize your findings into a formal recommendation on whether and how to adjust your own feature gating strategy to remain competitive and maximize revenue.