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How Smart Companies Design Products Around Price Not the Other Way Around

Most companies build a product first and then scramble to figure out how to price it. In Monetizing Innovation, pricing expert Madhavan Ramanujam flips that formula on its head. His bold thesis: don’t just design for functionality design for monetization.

Based on decades of pricing strategy work with some of the world’s leading companies, the book offers a clear, actionable blueprint for turning product ideas into profitable, market-ready offerings. Ramanujam argues that far too many businesses pour resources into building features customers never asked for or worse, price their innovations too low to sustain growth. The solution? Involve pricing in the innovation process from day one.

Backed by real case studies and research across industries, Monetizing Innovation reveals how aligning product design, customer value, and pricing strategy can unlock exponential returns and how ignoring that connection can lead to costly failure. Whether you’re launching a startup or scaling a product team, this book is a masterclass in turning bold ideas into bankable results.

Top 10 Lessons from Monetizing Innovation

1. Start With Willingness to Pay

Before writing a single line of code, ask: will customers pay for this? Understanding willingness to pay early helps validate the concept and prioritize what truly matters.

2. Build Products Around Price, Not Vice Versa

Great companies don’t treat pricing as an afterthought. They use it as a guiding constraint designing features, packaging, and value delivery based on monetization goals.

3. Customers Don’t Buy Features They Buy Value

Don’t overwhelm users with options. Focus on what drives measurable outcomes for them, and tie your pricing strategy directly to that value.

4. Innovation Without Monetization Is Just R&D

Building cool things doesn’t guarantee business success. Innovation only matters when it drives revenue, margins, or market expansion.

5. Pricing Should Be a Team Sport

Sales, product, finance, and marketing all need to collaborate on pricing. Treating it like a siloed task leads to misalignment and revenue leakage.

6. Avoid the “Feature-Function” Trap

Adding more features doesn’t necessarily increase value and can make pricing more difficult. Simplicity and focus often sell better than complexity.

7. Test Monetization Early Not at Launch

Run pricing experiments, customer interviews, and simulations before you finalize development. Pricing validation should be part of the innovation lifecycle.

8. Different Customers, Different Prices

Segment your audience by value perception and price sensitivity. Tiered offerings, versions, or usage based pricing can unlock larger markets.

9. Don’t Be Afraid to Walk Away

If customers aren’t willing to pay enough for your idea, that’s a signal not a failure. Kill bad ideas early to focus on scalable winners.

10. Pricing Is Strategic, Not Just Financial

Price isn’t just a number it’s a reflection of your product’s position, brand, and promise. Done right, it communicates value before your product is ever used.