SKILL.md
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Model
Use
Subscription
Recurring; monthly/annual; most SaaS
Freemium
Free tier + paid; adoption then conversion
Usage-based
Pay per use; API, credits
One-time
Perpetual license; some tools
Hybrid
Base + usage; tiered + overage
Variable-cost products (compute, API, AI): When per-user cost varies widely (heavy users cost 10×+ light users), uniform subscription often fails. Use usage-based, credits, or tiered-by-usage; align price to cost structure.
Tier Design
- 2–4 tiers typical; avoid too many options
- Differentiation: Clear "best for" per tier; feature gates
- Anchoring: Lead with mid-tier or annual; make target option obvious
- Value metric: Align price to value (seats, projects, API calls)
Anchoring & Presentation
- Annual discount: 15–25% for annual prepay; improves cash flow
- Decoy: Higher tier makes mid-tier look better
- Most popular: Highlight recommended plan
- Price display: Monthly vs annual; show savings
When to Use Discounts
Discounts apply on top of base pricing. See discount-marketing-strategy for:
- Annual commitment discounts
- First-time / new customer promotions
- Lifetime deals (LTD)
- Seasonal (BFCM)
- Referral, contest, affiliate codes
Principle: Set base price for long-term value; use discounts tactically for acquisition, retention, or cash flow.
Output Format
- Pricing model recommendation
- Tier structure (plans, features, price points)
- Anchoring approach
- Discount fit (when to use; reference discount-marketing-strategy)
- pricing-page-generator (page execution)
Related Skills
- discount-marketing-strategy: Promotional pricing; when and how to discount
- pricing-page-generator: Pricing page content, structure, conversion
- landing-page-generator: Click-through to pricing
- localization-strategy: Pricing by market (true localization vs cosmetic); see Pricing Strategies section