💰 Pricing
🌐 Website
This playbook requires the following signals:
Monitored Signals
1. Why should I care about an entry-tier price increase?
Here’s why it’s a big deal:
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2. Examples of companies increasing entry-tier prices
This is a common strategy for maturing SaaS companies. For instance, a competitor might increase the price of their "Basic" tier from €29/month to €35/month while keeping their "Premium" tier at €99/month. This small change makes the leap to "Premium" feel less significant, subtly pushing new users to a higher tier. It’s a deliberate move designed to capture more value from new customers and improve the company's overall unit economics.
3. How to monitor competitors for entry-tier price increases
You can't capitalize on a market gap you don't see. To stay ahead, you need a system for tracking granular changes on competitor pricing pages.
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 Tier-Specific Pricing: Automatically scan competitor pricing pages to detect when the price of a specific tier changes, even if other tiers remain the same.
Get Intelligent Alerts: Receive real-time notifications with screenshots and text comparisons showing the exact pricing adjustment, so you can analyze the strategic implication immediately.
Access This Playbook: Put this playbook, and many more, to work. Automated.
If you're not using Zimt, you must manually check competitor pricing pages frequently to catch these subtle but important strategic shifts.
4. Playbook Response Options
4.1 Defend and Capture the Low End of the Market
ⓘ Best for: When you have a competitive entry-tier price and want to attract the price-sensitive customers the competitor may be abandoning. | ||
Goal: Increase top-of-funnel leads and win market share from the low end of the market. | ||
Strategic Rationale: The competitor has created a gap at the bottom of the market. This is a direct, offensive move to capture the customers they no longer see as a priority, strengthening your position with startups and small businesses. |
Launch a targeted "better value" campaign.
Develop ad copy and messaging that specifically highlights your affordable entry-level plan as the ideal solution for startups, small businesses, or anyone feeling priced out by the competition.
Create a "competitor comparison" landing page.
Build a dedicated webpage that directly, but professionally, compares the features and pricing of your entry-tier plan against the competitor's new, more expensive offering.
Update sales battle cards to highlight the price gap.
Arm the sales team with talking points and objection handlers that clearly articulate your superior value at the entry-level, turning the competitor's price hike into your advantage.
Monitor lead quality and volume from the low end.
Track if the campaign is increasing sign-ups for your entry-tier plan and ensure that these new users still fit your long-term customer profile.
4.2 Hold Firm and Focus on Upmarket Value
ⓘ Best for: When you also compete in the mid-market or enterprise space and your entry-tier plan is not your primary growth driver. | ||
Goal: Maintain your current positioning and focus resources on higher-value customer segments where margins are better. | ||
Strategic Rationale: This option acknowledges the competitor's move upmarket and chooses not to engage in a price war for entry-level customers. It reinforces your own focus on providing robust solutions for more mature businesses, protecting your brand's premium perception. |
Confirm the competitor's strategic shift upmarket.
Use CI to analyze their messaging and any other changes that confirm they are deprioritizing smaller customers.
Reinforce your value proposition for higher tiers.
Double down on marketing content (case studies, whitepapers) that showcases the advanced features, security, and support available in your higher-priced plans.
Engage proactively with mid-market and enterprise customers.
Launch a campaign for existing customers in your higher tiers to reinforce the value they are receiving and ensure their loyalty.
Monitor win/loss rates across all segments.
Track whether the competitor's move is affecting your win rates at the low end of the market and, more importantly, whether it's impacting your success in upmarket deals.
4.3 Match the Increase and Re-evaluate Your Own Tiers
ⓘ Best for: When the competitor's price hike gives you the "social proof" to increase your own entry-tier price, thereby improving your own unit economics. | ||
Goal: Increase revenue and profit margins from your entry-level plan without becoming the most expensive option in the market. | ||
Strategic Rationale: The competitor has raised the price floor for the entire market. This gives you an opportunity to adjust your own pricing to capture more value, provided your product and brand can justify the increase. |
Analyze the market's new price ceiling.
Quantify the competitor's price increase and conduct an internal analysis to determine if your product's value justifies a similar price point.
Decide on your own strategic price adjustment.
Based on the analysis, decide whether to match the competitor's price increase fully, partially, or hold firm.
Add value to justify the new price.
If you decide to increase your price, consider bundling a new feature or increasing usage limits in your entry tier to soften the impact and provide clear justification for the change.
Communicate the pricing change to customers.
If you increase your price, draft a clear email to existing customers that sets the stage, announces the change, and provides a strong justification based on the value you provide.