Customer Value in Pricing Strategy (Coursera)

Customer Value in Pricing Strategy (Coursera)

The traditional approach to pricing based on costs works to pay the bills, but it leaves revenue on the table. You can, in fact, price your products in a way that increases sales--if you know what your customers are willing to pay and can leverage psychology to create better deal and discount plans. In this course, we'll show you how to price a product based on how your customers value it and the psychology behind their purchase decisions.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Developed at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, and led by top-ranked Darden faculty and Boston Consulting Group global pricing experts, this course provides an in-depth understanding of value-based pricing and how to use it to capture more revenue.
By the end of this course, you'll be able to...
-- Apply knowledge of customer value to price products
-- Leverage core value-based pricing techniques to inform pricing decisions
-- Measure customer willingness to pay using models (surveys, conjoint analysis, other data)
-- Use knowledge of consumer psychology to set prices beneficial to both consumers and sellers
Course 2 of 4 in the Pricing Strategy Optimization Specialization.

What You Will Learn

  • Customer value applications in pricing products
  • How to leverage core value-based pricing techniques to inform pricing decisions
  • How to measure customer willingness to pay using models (surveys, conjoint analysis, other data)
  • Consumer psychology applications in setting prices beneficial to both consumers and sellers

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Understanding Customer Value
Welcome to Week 1! We kick off the week with an overview of the course so that you'll know what to expect with an optional review of the specialization and three pricing lenses (watch these if you want a refresher). Then we'll dive into the content! This week, you'll learn about customer value--what it is and its relevance to pricing. You'll see how consumers make decisions--and why knowing consumers' willingness to pay is so important when setting a product's price. Next, we'll take a look at customer value in developing economies and how and why companies succeed (or not!) with value-based pricing in these markets. You'll finish the week with a solid understanding of "customer value" and how that impacts pricing strategy.

WEEK 2
Implementing Value-based Pricing
Now that you have an understanding of customer value, let's dive into value-based pricing in greater depth. This week, we'll show you how to price to the demand curve using three tools: the price piano, the price ladder, and incentive curves. We'll take a look at customer value drivers in a B2B context and walk through a process to price a new product. Then Ron and Thomas will show you how price elasticity plays into value-based pricing. Implementing value-based pricing requires detailed analysis. Let's get started!

WEEK 3
Measuring Customer Preferences
As you learned in Week 1, understanding customer willingness to pay (WTP) is critical for effective pricing. This week, we'll show you two ways to measure willingness to pay: surveys and conjoint analysis. You'll see how one company, Adios Junk Mail, used surveys to better understand WTP. Conjoint is a terrific tool, and we'll walk you through how it's used to determine product preferences and prices. You'll finish the week with a solid understanding of how to measure customer preferences and use this information in your pricing strategy.

WEEK 4
Considering the Human Nature of Customers
Last week you considered pricing using a rational utility model. But humans are not always rational beings--and your pricing strategy needs to consider other behavioral drivers. We'll look at the psychology behind consumer purchase decisions and the mental accounting that impacts those decisions. Next we'll consider consumer price perceptions and ways to frame prices and create better deals and discount plans that work for both the consumer and the seller. Then, we'll take a look at two real-world cases, the Portland Trailblazers and Fidelity Investments so that you can practice using tools from throughout the course in a real-world case. You'll finish the course with fresh insights into value-based pricing and its applications.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Les partenariats qui changent le monde : alliances innovantes entre entreprises et associations (Coursera) Coursera
ESSEC Business School

Les partenariats qui changent le monde : alliances innovantes entre entreprises et associations (Coursera)

Ce MOOC, crée en partenariat avec Le RAMEAU, a pour vocation de vous aider à mieux appréhender la dynamique des partenariats entre entreprises et associations. Que vous soyez une entreprise responsable, soucieuse d’avoir un impact positif sur votre communauté, une association désireuse d’augmenter votre impact, ou si vous êtes tout simplement curieux de comprendre pourquoi est-ce que secteur privé lucratif et structures d’intérêt général travaillent ensemble, ce MOOC est fait pour vous !

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Estadística aplicada a los negocios (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad Austral

Estadística aplicada a los negocios (Coursera)

La toma de decisiones está en la esencia de los negocios. Gerenciar es tomar decisiones, muchas veces bajo presión, con información desordenada y en un contexto de incertidumbre. Un aspecto básico es entender y analizar la información, organizar los datos de forma de facilitar su posterior uso y la toma de decisiones.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Psychology of Popularity (Coursera) Coursera
University of North Carolina

Psychology of Popularity (Coursera)

The level of popularity you experienced in childhood and adolescence is still affecting you today in ways that you may not even realize. Learn about how psychologists study popularity and how these same concepts can be used in adulthood to be more successful at work, become better parents, and have a happier life.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Psychology of Thrill Seekers (Coursera) Coursera
Emory University

The Psychology of Thrill Seekers (Coursera)

Sensation seeking is a trait we all have and includes the search for complex and new experiences. Thrill Seekers, people with high-sensation seeking personalities, crave exotic and intense experiences even when physical or social risks are involved. This course helps learners examine the remarkable world of the high-sensation seeking personality and explores the lifestyle, psychology, and neuroscience behind thrill seekers.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
International Business I (Coursera) Coursera
University of New Mexico

International Business I (Coursera)

We live in a world of intensifying global relationships, one in which international business has become the key determinant of economic development and prosperity. This course, Global Business Environment, Part I, introduces students to a fundamental understanding of the socioeconomic political, cultural, and linguistic environment in which international businesses operate.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Customer Insights: Quantitative Techniques (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Customer Insights: Quantitative Techniques (Coursera)

This course will highlight the potential of quantitative marketing research for assessing new product opportunities. In addition to focusing on the skills and practices for a successful New Product Development (NPD), the course will illustrate the multi-faceted challenges of NPD using authentic business situations.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Influencer Marketing Strategy (Coursera) Coursera
Rutgers University

Influencer Marketing Strategy (Coursera)

Influencer marketing is the practice of engaging internal and industry experts with active networks to help achieve measurable business goals. This course is about strategy. Although there is no all-purpose, one-size-fits-all influencer marketing strategy template, you will learn how to tailor one for a wide variety of B2B, B2C, and nonprofit organizations using the two-step flow model of communication.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Intellectual Humility: Science (Coursera) Coursera
University of Edinburgh

Intellectual Humility: Science (Coursera)

It’s clear that the world needs more intellectual humility. But how do we develop this virtue? And why do so many people still end up so arrogant? Do our own biases hold us back from becoming as intellectually humble as we could be—and are there some biases that actually make us more likely to be humble? Which cognitive dispositions and personality traits give people an edge at being more intellectually humble - and are they stable from birth, learned habits, or something in between? And what can contemporary research on the emotions tell us about encouraging intellectual humility in ourselves and others?

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks