Pricing Strategy & Product Development (2025)

“How do I set my prices?” “Which numbers are best (should it end in a 9, 5, 7 or 0)?” “Does it matter which product, service or package you mention first?” And, of course, “Why aren’t people buying when I know they should?”

People in business from around the world (from global corporations to small businesses in every industry imaginable) constantly struggle with questions like these around pricing strategy and properly creating and presenting products that people will be excited to buy.

Confidence in this area is key to increased sales and behavioral economics unlocks the mysteries of this for all kinds of businesses. This 10-week course will help students understand the brain and how to work with it to create and present pricing and products they and their business can be confident in, increasing sales, ROI, and engagement with customers.

The Truth About Pricing, by Melina Palmer, is required reading for the course. The price of the class is adjusted to allow you to purchase that book as it is required for the course. 

The course instructor is Melina Palmer, founder and CEO of The Brainy Business, which provides behavioral economics consulting to businesses of all sizes from around the world. Her podcast, The Brainy Business, has over 1.5 million downloads in over 170 countries. Melina worked in corporate marketing and brand strategy for over a decade before earning her master’s in behavioral economics. She has contributed research to the Association for Consumer Research, Filene Research Institute, and runs the Behavioral Economics & Business column for Inc Magazine. Check out her award-winning books, What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You (2021), What Your Employees Need and Can't Tell You (2022), and The Truth About Pricing (2024) on sale now.

Curriculum Outline (subject to change)

In this class, students can expect to learn about: 

·         An introduction to pricing strategy and product development

·         Priming (how to set the stage before you even get to the price – i.e. finding your scent of the cookies)

·         Developing product/service packages (thoughtful strategy and understanding of the brain makes a huge difference)

·         Relativity (how to showcase products/services together to make the one with the best value shines)

·         Know Your Numbers (what to think through to ensure your prices are profitable)

·         Discounting (when to do it, when not to, and how to decide what’s right for you)

·         Framing (making that star product/service irresistible to your customers)

·         Anchoring (how to showcase your pricing/products in various scenarios, including a chart, list and when speaking)

·         5, 7, 9 or 0 (it’s time to finalize those prices with confidence)

FAQs

• Does it matter that I'm not in Texas?
  • Not one bit--I'm not either! All the courses in our certificate program are virtual with lots of time to complete the materials on your own and via a discussion board with the class.
    
    
• Do I need to be on calls at any specific time?
  • No, there are no required calls or meetings. Lectures are prerecorded and provided far in advance so you can complete your discussion posts and tasks by their due dates. Students can ask me questions throughout the course which I answer as we go, and I will periodically hold live office hours over Zoom which are encouraged, but not required.
    
    
• When does the class start and end?
  • The 10-week, virtual class opens Friday, September 5 for anyone who wants to begin working over the weekend. The first discussion post (other than introducing yourself by Tuesday) is due Thursday, September 11 and the final day of class is November 16. 
• How much time should I expect to spend?
  • Short answer: This course is designed to take an average of 3 hours each week.
  • Long answer: This course includes a lot of time for you to reflect on your own, so you can spend as much time with your own brain as is needed as you think through your pricing and product development projects and opportunities. I always encourage students to include time for reflection and thoughtfulness (surprising, I know 😂 ) as they go through any of my courses. This is an opportunity to ask questions, try new things, and learn from others from around the world. Even if you have a background in behavioral economics, even if you have read my book or taken other courses where you have a general understanding of the concepts mentioned, this is applying them specifically to pricing and product development, so it will be different and there is always as much opportunity to learn and grow as you are willing to invest.

Got more questions? Please email melinap@tamu.edu and I will be happy to help.