Worksheet · B2B: Business Pricing Health Check
Ask your top thirty customers two questions, twice a year
What customers think of your prices moves before your volumes do. This sheet asks the same two questions of your top thirty customers every six months and keeps the answers as a series. It builds the Competent step of the check:
Customers' view of our price position and value is measured on a schedule for key segments, and the result is reported.
Step 1. The two questions
Keep the wording fixed. Change it and the series breaks.
- "Compared with the other suppliers you use, are our prices much lower, a little lower, about the same, a little higher, or much higher?"
- "For what you get from us, how well are we worth the price, from 1 (not at all) to 5 (completely)?"
Optional follow-up: "What would make us worth more to you?"
Step 2. Ask them
Someone other than the account manager asks. Customers are more candid with a stranger.
| Customer | Segment | Asked by | Date | Price (1 much lower to 5 much higher) | Worth it (1 to 5) | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Step 3. Read it by segment
| Segment | Average price score | Average worth score | Last time | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
- Worth it high, price seen as the same or lower: room to price.
- Worth it low, price seen as higher: share is at risk. Fix the offer or the price.
- Both moving together: customers are reacting to the price, and the offer has not changed in their eyes.
Step 4. Report it
| Half-year | Reported to | Date | The main shift, in one line |
|---|---|---|---|
Done when: the two questions have been asked on schedule for your key segments, and the result has gone to the leadership team.
Adapted from our own pricing approach (PSP, 2007).
From the B2B: Business Pricing Health Check. Your report links the sheet for each of its moves.