Assessing organizational approaches to pricing, segmentation and value creation - how to get started

Rashaqa Rahman is a Principal Consultant at Ibbaka. See her Skill Profile on Ibbaka Talent.

Have you ever wanted to pause and get an outside-in view into your organization’s approach to pricing, positioning and value creation? Do you ever wonder if there is untapped potential out there and that your organization is missing out on opportunities for growth? Do you worry about sticky, legacy strategies that may prevent you from adapting to rapid industry transformation?

Whether you are new to market or a mature organization, having stakeholder alignment on how you create differentiated value, who you create value for and how you can capture a fair share of that value through pricing is critical to success. Having a good segmentation model and understanding the role of pricing, value creation and effective value communication across the customer journey should be a core concern for anyone in a leadership role.

For the Mature Organization

For more mature organizations, it is difficult to objectively assess the merits of existing go-to-market strategy and where there is room for improvement. There are often multiple stakeholders across different business functions with competing priorities. This makes strategic changes an uphill task. In today’s dynamic business landscape, organizational inertia is not really an option. Assessing and evaluating one’s strengths and weaknesses relative to the customers’ next best competitive alternative is critical to creating and sustaining a competitive position. 

Relying on legacy pricing, out-of-date segmentation and/or  biased assumptions about how value is being created for the customer, may mean missed opportunities for growth, leaving money on the table, or in the worst case scenario, no longer being able to compete within the industry.

New to Market Offers

For new market entrants or incumbents bringing new offers to the market, the tendency often is to focus on the immediate and try to just get one’s foot through the door. While acting quickly to capitalize on an opportunity that presents itself is important, one must also be aware of the pitfalls of hasty decisions and pricing or positioning becoming a frozen accident that is hard to course correct in the future.

So, how do you take a disciplined approach to developing, assessing and executing on your pricing and go-to-market strategy?

We can help you get started!

At Ibbaka, we understand that assessing one’s market approach is not an easy undertaking. We want to enable both new and mature organizations to take a disciplined approach to assessing their pricing and go-to-market strategy. Which is why we have designed a set of free tools to get you started. 

The three short pricing, segmentation and value assessments will help you get thinking about the effectiveness of your current strategy and where there may be room for improvement. 

We would recommend asking individuals within your organization from various business functions to take this test. Compare the results to see where there is alignment within the organization and where you differ. 

Once you have taken the test ask yourself, are you aligned on pricing, segmentation and marketing?

YES!  If you are aligned, that is great - are there ways you can improve your existing market approach? The Ibbaka Self-Assessment Reports will help you think through how you can improve your current strategy.

NO?  - If you are not aligned, it’s time to dig deeper. As a next step, we would recommend you apply Roger Martin’s Strategic Choice Cascade to get organizational alignment on what goals you are trying to achieve, where you can create differentiated value, and specific tactics on how to achieve your goals.

To learn more about strategic choice cascade, download the free Ibbaka Strategic Choice Cascade for Pricing Tool.

As you work your way through the process, we are here to answer any questions you may have. We are always looking to hear from the community. If you would like to share your feedback on any of our free tools please contact us at info@ibbaka.com