Test Your Pricing Strategy Through Conference Conversations
A conference can act as a compact, high-quality market research environment. Instead of relying only on online surveys or internal assumptions, you can place a proposed price in front of founders, managers, investors and potential partners, then observe how they respond.
The BYU Management Society Asia Pacific Conference in Mongolia offered this kind of setting through its speakers, breakout sessions and “Believe & Achieve” business plan competition. For an Australian business, the event could be especially useful for testing whether a price feels credible across different markets before investing in a full launch.
Define The Pricing Hypothesis
Start with a specific commercial question rather than asking whether people “like” your product. You might be testing whether Australian customers will pay A$49 per month, whether an enterprise buyer prefers an annual contract, or whether a lower entry price would improve adoption in Mongolia or another Asian market.
Write down the assumptions behind the price. Include your target customer, expected usage, competing alternatives, gross margin and the result you need from each sale. A clear hypothesis makes conference conversations easier to compare and prevents one enthusiastic response from changing your entire pricing model.
Australian conditions should be part of the calculation. Include GST where relevant, display prices in Australian dollars for local prospects and account for common concerns about card fees, subscriptions and cancellation terms. A price that works for a Sydney professional may need a different package for a smaller regional business or a cost-sensitive buyer in Ulaanbaatar.
Use The Audience As A Market Sample
Conference attendees are not a statistically perfect customer panel, but they can provide informed reactions from several commercial perspectives. A speaker may challenge your positioning, a competitor may reveal a common price range and a business owner may explain what would make approval easier.
Keep the conversation natural. Explain the problem your offer solves before mentioning the figure, then ask what the person expected it to cost and what they would compare it with. This reveals perceived value, reference prices and the language buyers use when they justify spending.
The conference’s international mix also helps expose assumptions that are easy to miss in an Australian office. A service designed around Brisbane or Melbourne operating costs may need different delivery promises, payment options or support levels for customers in Asian markets.
Compare Pricing Options In Real Time
Prepare two or three viable versions before arriving. These might be a basic self-service plan, a professional package with support and an enterprise option with custom implementation. Present the alternatives consistently so that you test the structure rather than improvising a discount for every person.
| Pricing approach | What to test | Useful conference signal |
|---|---|---|
| Single fixed price | Immediate willingness to pay | Few objections to the amount |
| Three-tier package | Preference and upgrade triggers | Clear movement towards one tier |
| Usage-based fee | Perceived fairness and predictability | Questions about budgeting and limits |
| Annual contract discount | Commitment and cash flow | Interest in prepayment |
| Pilot or paid trial | Risk reduction | Requests for a defined test period |
Record exact reactions immediately after each discussion. Note the person’s role, market, quoted alternative and whether the concern involved price, trust, timing or unclear value. A request for a discount does not always mean the price is too high; it may indicate that the buyer needs evidence, flexibility or a simpler purchasing process.
Learn From Speakers And Breakout Sessions
Speakers can help you test the reasoning behind your pricing, especially when they describe how companies made decisions under pressure. Specific examples are more useful than broad claims, so pay attention to memorable case studies that explain customer objections, packaging changes or the results of a pricing experiment.
Use breakout sessions to examine the commercial context around a proposed price. A negotiation discussion may reveal that buyers care more about implementation risk, payment timing or local relationships than the headline fee. The conference resource on negotiation tactics can help frame these conversations with greater cultural awareness.
Avoid treating a speaker’s example as a universal rule. A multinational contract may have little relevance to a small Australian consultancy selling to local retailers. Use each insight as a prompt for a testable question, then compare it with direct feedback from people who resemble your intended customers.
Build A Compact Testing Script
A short script keeps your research consistent while leaving room for genuine conversation. Introduce the customer problem, describe the outcome, present the price and ask what would make the decision easier. Do not defend the figure too quickly; silence often encourages a more useful response.
Use these prompts during networking and sessions:
- “What would you compare this with?”
- “Which part of the offer feels most valuable?”
- “Would you prefer monthly, annual or usage-based billing?”
- “What would stop your organisation from buying?”
Then classify the response before changing the price:
- Price is too high for the perceived outcome
- Value is unclear or poorly explained
- Payment terms create friction
- The buyer is not the correct decision-maker
This distinction matters for Australian businesses operating across time zones and markets. A customer in Perth may value local support hours, while a customer in Singapore or Mongolia may prioritise implementation speed and a trusted regional partner.
Turn Feedback Into A Pricing Decision
After the conference, group findings by customer type rather than counting every comment equally. Give more weight to feedback from people who resemble your target buyer, control a budget or have recently purchased a comparable service.
Look for patterns in willingness to pay, package preference and objections. If several buyers accept the price but ask for proof, create a pilot or case study. If they understand the value but reject the payment schedule, test quarterly billing or a smaller initial commitment. If they consistently compare you with a cheaper substitute, revisit differentiation before cutting the fee.
The “Believe & Achieve” competition provides a useful model for presenting a business clearly: define the problem, show the commercial logic and explain how the plan can grow. Apply the same discipline to your pricing evidence. A conference does not replace a proper market trial, but it can reveal which version deserves to be tested with real customers first.