Sell at the right price with these 6 pricing strategies

By Ainhoa Carpio-Talleux

Published: 23 July 2025

Setting the price of a product or service sounds simple. And yet, this is often where things go wrong. Too low and you minimise the perceived value. Too high and you lose the customer before they've even read the description.

Pricing can't be guessed at, it has to be worked out, between cost price, pricing strategy, competition, market, life cycle and positioning. Like a good recipe. And above all, it needs to be tested, adjusted and optimised according to your objectives, your data and your pricing policy. That's where it all starts. Or where it all breaks down.

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Pricing: the (imperfect) science of the right price

Determining the price of a product is more than just ticking a box on a spreadsheet. It's a process that involves value, perception and commercial strategy. An unstable mix between what it costs you, what it's worth, and what the consumer is prepared to pay.

Why is pricing an art as well as a science?

Pricing is all about data: production costs, flow analysis, conversion rate studies, scenario modelling. We look for objective benchmarks, formulas, fixed points of reference. But then there's the real price... and the perceived price.

And that's often where everything falls apart. Because a well thought-out psychological price can sell three times more than a rational price. Because brand image plays a role that neither data nor algorithms can capture. And because emotion, rarity and pricing strategy can change everything.

What influences the price of a product or service

If you think that everything depends on your costs, you're going to have to rethink a couple of things. Here are the main factors to take into account before setting a price:

your market: tensions, maturity, market trends ;
demand: stable or fluctuating, predictable or price-sensitive;
competition: who sets the price? At what level?
the value perceived by the customer: according to category, use, quality, etc;
costs (yes, but last).

Good pricing is never a single answer. It's a price range within which you move, depending on your pricing strategy, your margin target, and the role your pricing should play (attract? make profitable? maximise?).

The role of pricing in sales strategy

Setting prices means choosing your positioning, your customers and your profitability challenges. The selling price speaks as much as the product itself: it tells whether you're in it to make volume, image or revenue.

👉 Good pricing can :

support an acquisition strategy
maximise your margin
strengthen your competitive edge,
or simply get you out of the red.

In other words: your pricing strategy plays a much more decisive role than a simple price. And it evolves. With time, the market and data. Like all living things.

An overview of the 6 main pricing strategies

1) Cost-based pricing: the accounting reflex

This is the basis. You calculate the cost price, add a margin, and you've got a square selling price. The problem? The customer only sees the last line. And that price, however justified, doesn't take into account perception, positioning, or the competitor who has cheated on costs to sell for less.

✅ Advantage: logical, simple, predictable.

❌ Disadvantage: disconnected from perceived value and demand.

2) Price in relation to the competition: to avoid being crushed

Welcome to the world of defensive strategy. You adjust your prices according to those of your competitors, so as not to lose market share. Useful in a highly competitive sector, this method has its limits: you follow the race, but you never lead it.

🎯 To be reserved when:

the product differentiation is weak,
competition is aggressive,
pricing power eludes you.

3) Penetration strategy: slash prices to gain a foothold

This is the foot-in-the-door technique: offer a lower price, often temporary, to quickly win over a new market or target. Perfect for a launch, especially in e-commerce or online services. But you need to know how to raise the price once you've won over the market... without losing your customers.

✅ Objective: to gain volume, not margin.

❌ The risk: getting stuck with a low-end image or losing your positioning.

4) Skimming strategy: aim high, sell little but sell well

Here, we do the opposite. You set a (deliberately) high price... to promote a premium product, strengthen the brand image and, above all, maximise revenue per sale. This is the strategy of the limited edition, the exclusive launch... and the "not for everyone". And it works.

Conditions for success :

strong perceived value
a differentiating offer,
a target ready to pay a price for rarity.

5) Dynamic pricing: playing with time, flows and data

Also known as dynamic pricing, this strategy is based on real-time analysis of the market, demand (and sometimes even consumer behaviour). Used in marketplaces, tourism and events, it enables prices to be varied according to :

the time of day
remaining stock,
the algorithm,
pressure on the service.

It's a powerful tool. But it requires a great deal of data maturity.

6) Psychological pricing: hitting the bull's eye without letting your guard down

It's the reign of €9.99. Perception rather than logic. This strategy plays on emotions, cognitive bias and perceived value. Psychological pricing is not based on costs or competition: it exploits our brains. And it is devilishly effective in improving the conversion rate, especially in B2C offers.

It can also reinforce your image, give a feeling of a good deal, or create the impulse to buy.

No strategy is perfect! Each has its strengths, its risks, its side-effects... What's important? Defining your strategy carefully, in line with your business, your customers and your objectives. And above all, never set it in stone : a price is a living thing.

Choosing (and adapting) your pricing strategy

There is no miracle formula, no perfect model. The right pricing is the one that fits your product, your market and your strategic objectives. But you still need to know how to analyse the right factors, use the right tools and adopt the right approach. Because poorly thought-out pricing can put a damper on promising growth.

What factors need to be analysed before setting a price?

Before you even think about pricing, ask yourself just one question: what do you really want to maximise? Volume, margin, perceived value, market share? Your pricing decision will depend directly on this main objective. To establish a coherent pricing strategy, you need to consider the following elements:

a comprehensive market study: size, maturity, competitive pressure ;
the price sensitivity of your target: consumer, professional buyer or general public;
the perceived value compared with the real value;
the course of time: seasonality, life cycle, key moments in commercial activity..;
your costs, of course... but also your ability to sustain competitive pricing.

It's the whole picture that counts. And each factor, if neglected, can distort your entire pricing system.

How do you test, adjust and optimise your prices?

Setting prices is one thing. Bringing them to life is quite another. All good data-driven pricing needs to be evaluated and adjusted over time. This is what we call the active implementation of a pricing strategy. Here are a few price optimisation and quality control tools to deploy:

A/B tests with variations in the prices charged,
simulation of price elasticity according to profiles,
monitoring conversion flows according to the price level applied,
analysis of indicators linked to value, volume and brand image.

The aim? Detect the models that work, adjust prices on an ongoing basis, and avoid the threshold effects that block sales.

When and why should you change your pricing strategy?

Pricing is anything but static. It evolves according to :

the economic environment (e.g. inflation, changes in purchasing power),
supply and demand, which are always on the move,
experience gained and feedback from the field,
the life of the product (from launch to end of life).

Changing strategy doesn't mean rewriting everything. It means adapting your approach, responding better to the current market, reaffirming your positioning, and keeping control of your pricing power.

Good practices to remember... and pitfalls to avoid

Pricing is a living strategy. And like any strategy, it is built on solid foundations, and crumbles at the first mistake. The practices that strengthen your impact include regular analysis of performance, close monitoring of your pricing model, and real listening on the ground (customer feedback, team data, weak signals from the market).

But what often undermines pricing is much more basic:

copying and pasting prices from the competition, without thinking things through,
a lack of adjustment when the context changes,
overly rigid implementation, disconnected from the consumer,
short-term thinking that is inconsistent with positioning.

In short: a good price is not a good figure. It's a strategic choice, reflecting both internal management and the customer experience. And that's where everything hinges.