Five levels describe how a company sets, defends and improves its prices. The compass does two jobs: it shows where you stand, and it prices the road ahead, level by level.
Scattered data, deal-by-deal decisions, margin leaking silently.
Facts replace instinct. Costs, discounts and margins are transparent, and disciplined cost-based rules govern prices.
Pricing turns outward: competitive intelligence and market position shape every price.
Prices reflect the value each customer segment actually receives, with proof.
Fast, nimble, and right every time: an AI-powered commercial and pricing platform proposes the right price, learns from every deal, and keeps improving.
Based on the Takuven Pricing Excellence Model — indicative ranges from Takuven's benchmark experience.
Pricing happens under fire: deal by deal, from history and instinct. Cost increases get passed on late, discounts go undefended, and margin leaks in small, invisible decisions. Escaping firefighting means one thing first: facts. This first transition is the largest single step on the ladder, typically worth 4 to 10% of profit.
Costs, discounts and margins are finally transparent, and disciplined cost-based rules govern prices. Solid, but the market is missing from the equation: prices are built from the inside out. Turning the view outward, toward competitors and market position, typically adds another 3.5 to 7% of profit.
Competitive intelligence and market position now shape every price. The next question is harder and worth more: what is your offer actually worth to each customer segment? Pricing on proven customer value rather than on the competitor next door typically adds 3 to 5% of profit.
Prices reflect the value each segment receives, with proof behind them. What remains is speed and precision at scale: every quote, every product, every day. Moving to precision typically adds a further 2.5 to 4% of profit, and it compounds with everything already won.
Fast, nimble, and right every time. An AI-powered commercial and pricing platform proposes the right price for every quote, learns from every deal, and keeps improving. Pricing runs like cash: one owner, a weekly look at the numbers, analytics doing the heavy work. The task now is defending the position.
Each transition to the next level carries a profit uplift range, in percent of profit, and the transitions compound. The ranges are Takuven working ranges from benchmark experience: deliberately conservative, and progressively replaced by measured evidence from Takuven SME diagnostics.
In Takuven's benchmark experience most SMEs operate at the first two levels. The prize is not jumping to level five. It is advancing one level, banking the profit, and letting the next step justify itself.
Where you land inside a range depends on complexity. Every customer times product times deal is a price point: a decision where money is captured or leaks. More price points mean more places where pricing discipline pays.
Four parameters, weighted: product differentiation (30%), invoiced customers (25%), active products or SKUs (25%), salespeople (20%). Each scores 1 to 3 points. The weighted score maps to a band: up to 1.69 low, 1.70 to 2.30 medium, above 2.30 high. The band selects the bottom, middle or top third of each transition range.
| Parameter | 1 point · Low | 2 points · Medium | 3 points · High | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product differentiation vs key competitors | Commoditized / generic | Me-too, some differentiation | Strongly differentiated / patented | 30% |
| Invoiced (billed-to) customers | 1 – 40 | 41 – 100 | More than 100 | 25% |
| Active products / SKUs | 1 – 50 | 51 – 150 | More than 150 | 25% |
| Salespeople in the sales team | 1 – 10 | 11 – 50 | More than 50 | 20% |
| Band | Weighted score | Position inside each transition range |
|---|---|---|
| Low complexity | up to 1.69 | Bottom third: fewer price points, fastest to capture |
| Medium complexity | 1.70 – 2.30 | Middle third: a solid base of pricing decisions |
| High complexity | above 2.30 | Top third: more price points, more money on the table |
Based on the Takuven Pricing Excellence Model — indicative ranges from Takuven's benchmark experience.
The self-assessment places you on this scale in 11 questions and shows what your next transition is typically worth. The calculator turns it into your currency.
