When you’re developing a new product, is pricing the last step on your to-do list?

Or do you have a proven New Product Development (NPD) process that incorporates value and pricing and sets you up for a successful, profitable launch?

Many manufacturing companies don't have a structured New Product Introduction (NPI) process.

Often, what happens is this:
🔸 Sales hears from a few customers about a much-needed product
🔸 Resources are quickly committed to develop it
🔸 Pricing decisions come last, with businesses often defaulting to cost-plus pricing or matching competitor prices

The result? Low demand and disappointing sales — a great product idea that doesn’t deliver revenue or profitable growth.

𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 £𝟯,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗣𝘂𝗺𝗽
I was working with a manufacturer who had decided to develop a new chemical pump.

The situation was this:
▶️𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸: A few customers had mentioned wanting a specific type of pump
▶️𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: went straight to design
▶️𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Similar competitor pumps sold for £1,800, but there was a belief internally that they couldn’t justify a similar price, so they targeted a cost-plus price of £1,500 that would result in a fairly low margin

Sound familiar?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁: 𝗔 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰, 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗡𝗣𝗗 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵
Instead, I proposed a structured approach to uncover true customer needs and develop a differentiated product. The Managing Director agreed to adopt and test this more customer-focused process.

Here’s how we shifted the focus:
📍 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 to validate market demand
📍 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 to identify real pain points and unmet needs
📍 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 to understand our edge
📍 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 to add economic value for customers

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲?
✔️ A pump that solved target customers’ problems better than the next best competitive alternative
✔️ Added quantifiable financial benefits to customers worth an additional £1,800 over competitors’ pumps
✔️ Positioned the pump at a value-based price of £3,000 and communicated the economic benefits to the target customers — and it sold!
✔️ Sales teams found it far easier to sell based on 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲

This simple shift from reactive to strategic product development made all the difference.

𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗡𝗣𝗗 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆?