One of the most important and misunderstood decisions you’ll ever make in your business is how you set your price.
From your profit margins to your growth potential and even how customers perceive your value, price impacts everything. And yet most business owners spend more time picking their website template than they do crafting their pricing strategy.
Maybe you’ve fallen into this trap. Perhaps you asked the wrong questions, like: “What are my competitors charging?” or “What markup feels acceptable?”
That’s not strategy. That’s sleepwalking into mediocrity.
Price isn’t just a number on a page. It’s a strategic marketing lever — one of the most powerful tools you have to shape perception, influence behavior, and drive growth.
In this article I’m going to show you how to use price intentionally to position your brand, increase your profit, and attract the right customers. Let’s dive in.
Have you ever though about how Rolls-Royce or Ferrari set their prices? I guarantee it’s not by adding up the cost of steel, leather, and labor, then tacking on a markup.
These brands understand something most business owners miss, and that’s price is a story. It tells the market who you are, what you stand for, and what level of value you deliver.
When you position yourself as an educator, a trusted adviser, or a category leader, pricing becomes more flexible.
I’ll give you an example. Nobody wants the cheapest heart surgeon. If you’re going to be cranking open my chest, you better have done it a thousand times. So people want the best and they’re willing to pay for it.
But if your price doesn’t reflect your positioning, you create a credibility gap. And that gap costs you not just in profit, but in trust.
Take a look at your pricing model. If you’re underpricing yourself, raise your prices.
Another pricing trap that kills conversions is offering your customers too many options. Intuitively, we think “more choice equals more sales.” Wrong!
In reality, the opposite is true. A famous study by Professor Sheena Iyengar at Columbia University proved it.
In a California market, when shoppers were offered 24 flavors of jam, 60% stopped at the booth but only 3% purchased. When offered just 6 flavors, fewer stopped by the booth, but of those that did, 30% bought.
Why? Because too much choice overwhelms people. When customers are unsure, they freeze. And instead of trying to find the right option, they walk away… because it takes too much effort.
This is why Apple offers only a handful of variations per product. It’s not a limitation. It’s a sales strategy. One that has netted them an almost evangelical customer base.
So here’s what I want you to do.
The “Premium” tier should deliver the highest profit margin while helping customers self-select their level of investment.
From experience I can tell you that most customers fear uncertainty more than they fear higher prices. They don’t want to be stung by surprise costs and that fear kills deals. You can eliminate it entirely with an “unlimited” pricing option.
A few examples:
People tend to overestimate their future usage at the point of purchase. So while they think they’re getting a great deal, in reality the cost to you is predictable, and the offer builds trust and increases conversions.
Remember, unlimited pricing isn’t about giving away the farm. It’s about giving customers peace of mind and making the buying decision easy.
Every market has a small group of customers who want the best of the best. And their signal for the “best” is price. Some customers are willing to pay 10x, 20x, even 100x more than the standard offer for a premium experience, faster results, or higher status.
Think private jets, luxury cars, first-class service. This is the beauty of a high-ticket offer:
A good rule of thumb is 10% of your customers will pay 10x more. 1% will pay 100x more. But here’s the kicker: if you don’t offer them something to buy at that level, they can’t.
Do you have an ultra high-ticket offer? If not, start creating one.
When markets get competitive, many businesses panic. And panic leads to poor decision making, most notably, many businesses start discounting. That’s a dangerous game.
Discounting erodes your margins, damages your positioning and trains customers to expect lower prices. Unless it’s a deliberate loss leader strategy, discounting is usually a race to the bottom.
A smarter play is to add value instead of cutting price. Here’s what I like to do:
✅ Bundle services.
✅ Include bonuses.
✅ Extend access or support.
Do this and your perceived value increases, your margins stay healthy, and your brand remains strong. Look at your current offer. What can you add to the mix that increases value?
Most businesses treat pricing as a one-time decision. Set it. Forget it. Move on.The truth is pricing is dynamic. It’s a lever you can test, measure, and refine over time.
Your price affects how people perceive your product. It shapes the type of customers you attract. And it directly impacts your profitability.
Remember, price isn’t what you think your product is worth. It’s what your market believes it’s worth. That’s why pricing isn’t just a financial decision, it’s a strategic marketing decision.
If you’re setting your price based on what others are doing, or what you think the market would be willing to pay for, you have a losing strategy.
Stop basing your prices on what your competitors are doing. Stop picking numbers out of thin air. Stop treating price like a back-office calculation.
Price is a front-line marketing tool. It’s how you signal value, influence perception, protect your brand, drive higher margins and win the right customers. When you master your pricing strategy, you stop playing the low-cost game and start owning your market position.
So here’s my challenge to you:
Step 1: Review your pricing today.
Step 2: Simplify your offers.
Step 3: Introduce a premium tier.
Step 4: Remove risk.
Step 5: Add value instead of discounting.
Price isn’t just a number. It’s one of the sharpest weapons in your marketing arsenal. Use it wisely.
You'll get new articles delivered straight to your inbox, plus special subscriber-only content such as podcasts, videos and live training events.
Get free weekly emails that make you smarter at marketing and help you grow your business