Why might our pricing be off for the target market on a new product?

[Scarlett.A]

We’re about to launch a new product line, and I’m genuinely worried we’ve completely misjudged our target customer. Our early prototypes got great feedback from industry friends, but the pricing feedback from a small, unbiased group was a real gut check—they said our cost was way out of line with the value they perceived. It makes me wonder if we built something for ourselves, not for the market.

[Aaron_J]

Yep I know that feeling. Our first round of prototypes got nods from industry friends, then a random unbiased panel told us our price was way off for the value. It stung because it felt like we built for ourselves. We cut scope, added a mid tier, and ran a lightweight price test, but the numbers still didn’t line up with what people said it was worth. It left me wondering what we actually measured as value.

[NathanUT]

I keep coming back to the job to be done. The product seemed to solve something in the room, but the metrics people care about aren’t what we assumed. Maybe we built what we wanted, not what customers would pay for. I’m not sure the pricing alone fixes that.

[MarkM]

We did a small price test: three tiers, a 14 day trial, and tracked signups and activation. The middle tier barely moved the needle; the top tier killed adoption. We scrapped the high tier and re-priced around the core features. The revised price feels more aligned with what early users say they get, but it’s still a hangup for some.

[PaulM]

I did end up chasing marketing tweaks instead of talking to buyers, so I drifted off topic for a bit. When I finally asked one customer what they’d actually pay for the onboarding experience, they hesitated, then spoke to value clearly. Maybe the bigger issue is clarity of what customers buy, and pricing is just the visible hint. Still not sure if that’s the real fix.