Confidence Without Capability
Zilliant’s survey uncovers a striking inconsistency that should alarm every executive: sky-high confidence, contrasted with the persistent challenges of putting it into practice. While most companies are confident in their pricing abilities, only 25-39% have formal methodologies in place.
Even as companies invest heavily in digital transformation across sales, marketing, finance, and operations, pricing often remains trapped in a disjointed network of unorganized spreadsheets. These files are frequently managed without a dedicated team, leading to inconsistent data, manual errors, and lost time.
This outdated approach slows down pricing teams, making it difficult to adjust prices quickly when the market changes. Without modern tools to streamline pricing, companies miss opportunities to grow and let money slip through the cracks.
Why Pricing Initiatives Stall
The gap between pricing strategy and execution stems from a few fundamental challenges. Inefficiencies within their pricing strategies lead to frequent delay and errors. In today’s markets, a delay in implementing price changes leads to missed opportunities and reduced competitiveness.
However, these operational gaps are not the only obstacles hindering adoption. Company culture is just as critical and can be challenging to alter. Nearly a third of companies report that employees either resist change or fail to see the value of pricing as a strategic function. In fact, mindset and people-related challenges were cited more than technical barriers, with 34% of respondents saying pricing is seen as non-strategic and 35% resisting change.
These cultural and structural barriers make it difficult for companies to implement their full pricing strategy. Technology alone won’t close this gap. In order to build a modern and high-impact pricing framework, companies need strong internal alignment, especially at the C-suite level. When pricing is treated as high-priority and has support from the top down, the results are measurable, and the strategy is more likely to be implemented.
Strategies of Leading Companies
There is a divide between companies that have modernized and adjusted their pricing methods to match the technological advancements and those that still rely on manual strategies. Companies using technology-driven pricing report 20% higher profit performance and 5% greater revenue growth than those still managing pricing manually.
Three traits stand out for companies prioritizing pricing as a business function:
- Formal Pricing Governance: These companies establish clear ownership of pricing; it is not handed off to a random department. They have a dedicated pricing council that ensures alignment across the organization and consistency in execution.
- Specialized Pricing Tools: Instead of relying on spreadsheets or generic systems, they invest in purpose-built pricing software to support the current market landscape and optimize pricing.
- Performance Measurement: Competitive companies track pricing effectiveness, using this data to learn from past mistakes and adjust accordingly for the future. This is crucial for companies wanting to gain a competitive edge, as it prepares you for the next quick market change and allows the company to act quickly when a price increase or decrease is needed.
From Insight to Action
Organizations looking to elevate their pricing capabilities should take a structured, strategic approach to unlock lasting value.
The first and most immediate priority is to conduct a clear assessment of your current process. This means asking the tough but fundamental questions: Who owns pricing? How long does implementation actually take? Where are the failure points? Many organizations are surprised to discover it is difficult to answer these basic questions, which can contribute to underwhelming performance.
In the medium term, companies should invest in modern pricing technology platforms that support the entire pricing lifecycle. This isn’t about upgrading Excel, it’s about reimagining pricing as a dynamic capability.
Ultimately, achieving strategic transformation requires embedding pricing into the organization’s core operating model. That means establishing clear pricing governance with C-suite accountability, creating dedicated pricing councils and consistently measuring and rewarding pricing performance. When approached in this way, pricing evolves from a tactical function to a true strategic advantage.
The long-term goal isn’t just better pricing, it’s transforming pricing from a painful cost center into a profitable growth engine. The most successful companies treat pricing as a core competency that drives revenue growth, customer loyalty, and competitive advantage.
Modern Pricing Starts Here
The evidence from hundreds of pricing professionals makes the case clear: the gap between pricing confidence and pricing performance represents a significant untapped revenue source. The choice is often binary: modernize your pricing capabilities or risk watching competitors capture the value you’re leaving behind.
As pricing becomes more dynamic and competitive pressure intensifies, more companies are beginning to modernize, investing in pricing technology and building the capabilities needed to move faster and smarter. Organizations that take pricing seriously today are positioning themselves not just for success, but for long-term leadership in their markets.
Author: Stephan Liozu, Chief Value Officer at Zilliant
