suede-pricing

Files (7)

• CARD.md
• SKILL.md
• openai.yaml · agents/
• evals.json · evals/
• pricing-page-teardown.md · references/
• research-methods.md · references/
• tier-structure.md · references/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Suede AI Pricing Skills

## Compatibility

Works with supplied product economics, customer evidence, and current pricing. Competitor and regulatory facts require current sources. Produces a decision brief or teardown; billing writes require separate authorization.

For a concrete input, expected output, recovery path, and validation check, read
[the worked contract](references/worked-contract.md). Use it to check the handoff
before treating the task as complete.

Suede AI Pricing turns verified product economics, buyer evidence, and commercial
constraints into testable prices, value metrics, tiers, and migration plans.
It produces a decision brief and measurement plan while keeping billing changes
behind explicit approval.

## Before Starting

**Check for product marketing context first:**
If `.agents/product-marketing.md` exists (or `.claude/product-marketing.md`, or the legacy `product-marketing-context.md` filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

### 1. Business Context
- What type of product? (SaaS, marketplace, e-commerce, service)
- What's your current pricing (if any)?
- What's your target market? (SMB, mid-market, enterprise)
- What's your go-to-market motion? (self-serve, sales-led, hybrid)

### 2. Value & Competition
- What's the primary value you deliver?
- What alternatives do customers consider?
- How do competitors price?

### 3. Current Performance
- What's your current conversion rate?
- What's your ARPU and churn rate?
- Any feedback on pricing from customers/prospects?

### 4. Goals
- Optimizing for growth, revenue, or profitability?
- Moving upmarket or expanding downmarket?

---

## Pricing Fundamentals

Three axes, decided in this order: **packaging** (what's included per tier),
**pricing metric** (what you charge for), **price point** (how much).

Price sits between the next best alternative (the floor) and the customer's
perceived value (the ceiling). Cost to serve is a baseline, never the basis.

---

## Value Metrics

### What is a Value Metric?

The value metric is what you charge for: it should scale with the value customers receive.

**Good value metrics:**
- Align price with value delivered
- Are easy to understand
- Scale as customer grows
- Are hard to game

### Common Value Metrics

| Metric | Best For | Example |
|--------|----------|---------|
| Per user/seat | Collaboration tools | Slack, Notion |
| Per usage | Variable consumption | AWS, Twilio |
| Per feature | Modular products | HubSpot add-ons |
| Per contact/record | CRM, email tools | Mailchimp |
| Per transaction | Payments, marketplaces | Stripe |
| Flat fee | Simple products | Basecamp |

### Choosing Your Value Metric

Ask: "As a customer uses more of [metric], do they get more value?"
- If yes → good value metric
- If no → price doesn't align with value

### Pricing AI features

When a feature's cost to serve scales with model usage, flat per-seat pricing can turn heavy users unprofitable. Common structures:
- **Hybrid:** a seat or platform fee with included usage, plus credits or overage beyond it.
- **Credits:** one currency across AI actions, priced so the most expensive action still clears margin. Publish what a credit buys in plain words.
- **Outcome-based:** charge per resolved ticket, qualified lead, or completed task, when the outcome is countable and attributable.

For each, model margin at the 90th-percentile user, state included limits on the pricing page, and give buyers a usage view before the bill surprises them.

### Defaults to Beat

These are the answers a model reaches for unprompted. Each is allowed, but only
once you state why it beats the alternative for this product: never by default:
**$9/$29/$99** (or any flat 3x ladder); **Starter/Pro/Enterprise** names that
carry no product meaning; **exactly three tiers** when the buyer set is two or
four; **20% off annual** as the reflex discount; **"Contact us"** on the top
tier, which hides price from buyers and from the agents that now shortlist tools
(see Pricing Page Teardown); **per-seat** when usage, records, or transactions
track value better.

---

## Tier Structure Overview

### Good-Better-Best Framework

**Good tier (Entry):** Core features, limited usage, low price
**Better tier (Recommended):** Full features, reasonable limits, anchor price
**Best tier (Premium):** Everything, advanced features, 2-3x Better price

### Tier Differentiation

- **Feature gating**: Basic vs. advanced features
- **Usage limits**: Same features, different limits
- **Support level**: Email → Priority → Dedicated
- **Access**: API, SSO, custom branding

From JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills, MIT.

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