What is the right price for your product or service? This is one of the most critical and difficult questions any business leader has to answer. Price too high, and you scare away customers. Price too low, and you leave a huge amount of money on the table. Most businesses default to simple guesswork, but there is a better, more scientific way: Pricing Research.

At McKinley Research, we believe that pricing should be a strategic decision based on data, not intuition. Our pricing research services are designed to give you the confidence to set a price that maximizes both your revenue and your profitability.

Common Pricing Mistakes Businesses Make ❌

Many businesses fall into one of these common pricing traps.

  • Cost-Plus Pricing: This is the most basic method: calculate your costs and add a standard markup (e.g., 30%). This ignores the most important factor: what value your customer sees in your product.
  • Competitor-Based Pricing: Simply looking at what your competitors charge and setting your price slightly lower or higher. This assumes your product and brand have the exact same value as theirs, which is rarely true.
  • “Gut-Feel” Pricing: Setting a price based on what “feels right.” This is the riskiest strategy of all and has no basis in market reality.

The Goal: Finding Your Optimal Price Point 🎯

The true goal of pricing research is to understand your customer’s perceived value. The optimal price is the perfect balance between the maximum amount your target customer is willing to pay and a price that aligns with your business’s financial goals. It’s about capturing the true value you provide.

How We Find the Answers (Pricing Research Methods) 🔬

Determining perceived value requires specialized research techniques. At McKinley Research, we use a variety of proven methodologies depending on the product and market.

Conjoint Analysis

This is a powerful survey method where we present potential customers with different combinations of product features at different price points. By forcing them to make trade-offs, we can precisely calculate how much value they place on each feature (and on the brand itself), allowing us to model the perfect feature/price combination.

Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter

This technique uses a series of four specific questions to identify a range of acceptable prices in the customer’s mind:

  1. At what price would this product be so cheap you’d question its quality?
  2. At what price would it be a bargain?
  3. At what price would it start to seem expensive?
  4. At what price would it be too expensive to consider?

The answers from your target market help us identify a psychologically acceptable price range.

The McKinley Research Advantage

Your pricing strategy is the most powerful lever you have for profitability. Leaving it to chance is a risk you can’t afford. The expert analysts at McKinley Research conduct rigorous pricing studies that provide you with clear, data-driven recommendations.

Stop guessing and start earning what you’re worth. Contact us today to discuss your pricing research needs.