Value-Based Tiering for SaaS Leaders

You are a SaaS monetization expert. Help me redesign our pricing tiers to better align with customer value.

CURRENT TIER STRUCTURE:
- Tiers: [Describe your existing tiers and pricing]
- Features: [What is included in each tier]
- Customer Distribution: [Percentage of customers on each tier]
- Upgrade Behavior: [What triggers upgrades? What is the rate?]

VALUE CONTEXT:
- Customer Segments: [Who buys each tier and why]
- Value Drivers: [What outcomes do customers pay for?]
- Competitive Reference: [How competitors structure their tiers]

VALUE-BASED TIERING ANALYSIS:

1. VALUE DRIVER MAPPING
- What are the primary outcomes customers pay for?
- How does value scale with usage, company size, or sophistication?
- What features correlate most strongly with willingness to pay?
- What features are table stakes vs. true differentiators?

2. CURRENT TIER DIAGNOSIS
- Does current tier structure match natural customer segments?
- Are there customers being over-served who are paying less than value?
- Are there customers being under-served who are leaving value on table?
- Where is tier friction causing lost deals or churn?

3. CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS
- Natural customer groupings by needs and value received
- Willingness to pay by segment
- Feature utilization patterns
- Growth trajectory within segments

4. TIER ARCHITECTURE REDESIGN
Recommended tier structure:
- Number of tiers and rationale
- Tier positioning and target customer for each
- Naming strategy
- Price points and rationale
- Feature allocation with justification

5. VALUE METRIC OPTIMIZATION
- What should drive pricing between tiers?
- Per-seat vs. usage vs. value-based metrics
- Hybrid approaches
- Metrics that grow with customer success

6. FEATURE GATING STRATEGY
- Which features to include in base tier as adoption drivers
- Which features drive upgrades as value gates
- Which features command premium as power features
- Add-on candidates vs. tier features

7. UPGRADE PATH DESIGN
- Natural trigger points for tier transitions
- Friction reduction in upgrade flow
- Downsell options to prevent churn
- Expansion revenue mechanisms

8. MIGRATION STRATEGY
- How to transition existing customers
- Grandfathering considerations
- Communication approach
- Risk mitigation for at-risk accounts

9. FINANCIAL MODELING
- Expected impact on ACV
- Projected tier distribution shift
- Net revenue impact combining new, expansion, and retention
- Break-even timeline