Balancing Innovation and Client Needs | Kyle Westra (Maxar Intelligence)

What if changing one simple metric could revolutionize your company's pricing strategy?

Marcos is joined by Kyle Westra, Senior Director of Strategic Pricing at Maxar Technologies, who shares his expertise in pricing strategy spanning consulting, SaaS, and B2B technology. Kyle recounts transforming Bloomreach's pricing model from per page view to per API, highlighting the critical choice of metrics for simplicity, transparency, and value alignment in pricing strategies.

Next, we delve into implementing new SaaS pricing models, stressing collaboration between customer success and sales teams for smooth transitions. By segmenting customers and preparing thoroughly, teams can effectively communicate changes, enhance customer relationships, and ensure successful rollouts.

Explore the complexities of pricing at Maxar, including strategies for balancing innovation with client needs in government and military sectors. Kyle discusses navigating budget constraints and evolving pricing models, offering insights into hybrid approaches and the future of pricing strategies. Join us to hear how to refine your pricing strategy and foster continuous growth.

In this episode:
(00:00) Guest intro of Kyle Westra, Maxar history and business divisions.

(04:11) Kyle discusses his extensive experience in pricing within consulting, SaaS, and B2B technology sectors. He shares a significant pricing change he implemented at Bloomreach, transitioning from a per-page view to a per-API model. He highlights the importance of selecting the right pricing metric and the key characteristics ensuring it aligns with sales goals and customer satisfaction.

(14:20) This segment delves into the complexities of implementing new pricing models for SaaS companies. Kyle emphasizes the critical role of collaboration between customer success and sales teams. He discusses practical strategies like open office hours and joint game planning to prepare sales teams for communicating changes to customers.

(25:05) The conversation explores the unique challenges of pricing and packaging strategies within Maxar, particularly in the context of serving government and military clients. He highlights the balance between innovation and meeting the needs of existing customers as technology evolves.

(34:32) The focus shifts to the future of pricing models, comparing subscription-based and usage-based approaches. Kyle discusses the importance of building a robust pricing organization with clear roles, responsibilities, processes, and tools. The pros and cons of both pricing models are analyzed, noting the simplicity and predictability of subscription models versus the value alignment and operational effort required by usage-based models.

(40:31) The episode concludes with a summary of the key insights shared throughout the episode. Kyle and Marcos emphasize the importance of leveraging these lessons to eliminate guesswork in professional environments.

(41:31) Favorite jams growing up as a musician, writing the song “The Price Gouging Blues”

Welcome to Street Pricing, the only show where proven SaaS (Software as a Service) leaders share their mindset and mistakes in pricing so we can all stop guessing and start growing. Street Pricing is hosted by Pricing I/O CEO and Pricing Coach, Marcos Rivera, sought after slayer of bad pricing. With 20 years of pricing expertise, he has helped price over 200 SaaS products and coached over 100 SaaS CEOs and counting! From the streets of the Bronx to CEO, Marcos wants to take the guessing out of pricing.