Pricing & Willingness-to-Pay Research
Price with Confidence. Capture Maximum Value.
Determine the optimal price point for your products and services with research that reveals what customers are truly willing to pay and why.
Pricing is one of the most powerful levers in business—yet it is often set based on cost-plus calculations, competitor matching, or gut feel rather than genuine customer insight. The result? Either money left on the table through under-pricing, or volume sacrificed through over-pricing.
Mansfield’s pricing research reveals what your customers are truly willing to pay, how they trade off price against features, and what pricing model best aligns with their preferences and your revenue objectives. Our methodologies range from simple direct questioning to sophisticated conjoint analysis—always chosen to match the complexity of your decision and the reliability you need.
What We Research
Willingness-to-Pay (WTP)
Price Elasticity
Value Perception
Pricing Model Optimisation
Competitive Pricing Intelligence
Our Methodology
Gabor-Granger
Direct questioning method to estimate demand at different price points. Fast and cost-effective.
Van Westendorp
Price sensitivity meter identifying acceptable price ranges and optimal price points.
Conjoint Analysis
Sophisticated trade-off analysis revealing how customers value different product features and price.
Choice-Based Modelling
Simulates real purchase decisions to predict market share at different price points.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is pricing and willingness-to-pay research?
Pricing and willingness-to-pay research is a specialized form of market research that determines what customers are truly willing to pay for your products or services. It goes beyond simple direct questioning to explore the psychological, contextual, and competitive factors that shape purchase decisions. This research reveals maximum acceptable prices, price sensitivity across customer segments, and the value customers assign to specific features or brand associations. The goal is to provide evidence-based recommendations for pricing strategies that maximize revenue while maintaining competitive positioning.
What is the difference between Gabor-Granger, Van Westendorp, and conjoint analysis?
These are three distinct pricing research methodologies, each suited to different objectives: Gabor-Granger is a direct questioning approach that asks respondents whether they would buy at various price points, providing a clear demand curve and revenue-maximising price. It's fast, cost-effective, and best for simple pricing decisions. Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter uses a series of four questions probing at what price a product is 'too expensive,' 'too cheap,' 'expensive but still worth considering,' and 'a bargain,' yielding a range of acceptable prices and the optimal price point. Conjoint Analysis is a sophisticated trade-off analysis that measures how customers value different product features alongside price, making it particularly powerful for product development and portfolio optimisation. At Mansfield, we select the methodology (or combination) that best matches the complexity of your decision and the reliability you need.
How can pricing research help my business?
Pricing research provides the evidence base to set prices that capture the full value you deliver while remaining attractive and competitive. Specifically, it helps you: identify the optimal price point for each product, service tier, and customer segment; understand price elasticity and how volume changes when price moves up or down; quantify feature value and which attributes drive willingness-to-pay most strongly; assess competitive positioning and how your pricing compares to competitors; and design pricing models including subscription vs. one-time, bundle pricing, tiered structures, and promotional strategies.
What is price elasticity and why does it matter?
Price elasticity measures how sensitive customer demand is to changes in price. If demand drops significantly when you raise prices, your product is 'elastic.' If demand remains stable despite price increases, it is 'inelastic.' Understanding elasticity is critical because it helps you predict the volume impact of pricing changes, identify the revenue-maximising price point, segment customers by their sensitivity to price, and avoid costly pricing mistakes that sacrifice either margin or volume. Mansfield's pricing research quantifies elasticity for your specific product and customer segments, enabling data-driven pricing decisions.
How does willingness-to-pay vary across different customer segments?
Willingness-to-pay (WTP) rarely looks the same across all customers. It varies by demographics, usage intensity, purchase context, and perceived value. For example, business customers may be willing to pay more for time-saving features, while individual consumers may prioritise cost. Premium segments may value brand associations, while price-sensitive segments focus on core functionality. Our research explicitly identifies these differences, enabling you to implement tiered pricing, dynamic pricing, or segment-specific strategies that capture maximum value from each customer group without alienating price-sensitive segments.
What is conjoint analysis and when should I use it?
Conjoint analysis is a statistical technique that measures how customers make trade-offs between different product attributes-including price. Respondents are shown a series of product profiles with varying features and prices, and their choices reveal which features drive the most perceived value, how much customers are willing to pay for specific features, and the impact of price changes on overall preference and purchase intent. You should use conjoint analysis when your product has multiple features or service levels, you need to understand feature-value trade-offs for product development, you are designing a complex pricing model (e.g., tiered or bundle pricing), or you need to forecast market share at different price points. Conjoint analysis is the most sophisticated pricing methodology and is ideal for complex offerings with multiple value drivers.
How do you account for 'hypothetical bias' in pricing research?
Hypothetical bias occurs when customers say one thing in a research setting but behave differently in real life-often overstating their willingness to pay to appear sophisticated or understating it to bargain. Mansfield counters this bias through: Multi-method triangulation combining stated preferences with revealed behaviour; Realistic questioning incorporating anchoring, framing, and other cognitive effects that mimic real purchase environments; Competitive context including competitor alternatives in choice exercises to simulate actual market conditions; and Behavioural realism designing research that minimises hypothetical bias by making scenarios as true-to-life as possible. This approach ensures our pricing recommendations are analytically defensible and grounded in genuine customer psychology.
How does pricing research help with competitive positioning?
Pricing research provides critical intelligence on your competitive landscape. We analyse: competitor price positioning and how your prices compare to key competitors; price gap analysis where you are above or below competitor pricing and what that means for market share; differentiation opportunities whether you can command a premium based on product features, service levels, or brand equity; and reaction scenario planning how competitors might respond to your pricing changes. This intelligence helps you position your pricing strategically-not just to match competitors, but to capture value while maintaining defensible differentiation.
How long does a typical pricing research project take?
The timeline depends on the methodology, sample size, and complexity of your product. As a general guide: Gabor-Granger or Van Westendorp surveys take 2-3 weeks, including questionnaire design, fieldwork, and analysis; Conjoint analysis takes 3-5 weeks, allowing for more complex survey design and advanced statistical modelling; and Full pricing strategy research takes 4-6 weeks, combining multiple methodologies, qualitative depth, and competitive benchmarking. We work within your timeline and provide clear project milestones from start to delivery.
What will I receive from a pricing research study?
Our pricing research deliverables are designed to be immediately actionable for your commercial and product teams. You will receive: Optimal price recommendations with clear, data-backed price points for each product, service tier, and customer segment; Demand curves and elasticity models showing how volume and revenue change with price; Feature-value maps revealing which attributes drive the most perceived value; Competitive pricing analysis comparing your suggested pricing against competitors; Segmented guidance with tailored pricing strategies for different customer groups; and Scenario and risk assessment with sensitivity analyses showing how changes in costs, competitor moves, or macroeconomic conditions would affect your optimal pricing. All findings are presented in clear, visually engaging reports with transparent explanations of assumptions, so you can implement with confidence.
Ready to Turn Insights into Action?
Contact us to get a customized research or training solution that drives your business and team growth.