Offer contents, costs per sale, customer reactions and trials: prepare an evidence-based pricing decision before expanding your own brand.
Building your own brand brings a practical question: what will the customer pay, and what will they actually receive? A price chosen because it looks attractive on a label is not enough. It needs to match a clear offer and a way of delivering it that your business can sustain. In Morocco, as with future international expansion, this consistency should be established before multiplying products or outlets.
The aim is not to find a magic number. It is to develop a hypothesis, test it and keep a record of the reasons for your decision. This approach concerns your own brand's offer, not the entry fee for a franchise.
Define exactly what the price includes
Before discussing an amount, describe the sale in one sentence: what size of product, delivered how, with what preparation and service? Personalisation, special packaging or an advice appointment can change the work required without appearing in the offer's name.
Separate the core offer, optional extras and exclusions. Then check that the salesperson, website and invoice describe the same thing. If each customer receives a different additional service, you are no longer testing the same product at the same price. The work of structuring your range helps clarify this boundary.
Build an economic worksheet for each sale
Start with your own information: dated quotations, preparation time, consumables, payment fees, packaging, any delivery you cover and observed losses. Separate costs that change with each sale from those that support the business. Do not divide every expense by an imagined sales volume and present the resulting unit cost as certain.
A useful first view subtracts variable costs from the revenue the business retains on a sale, using a consistent tax and accounting basis. The remainder contributes towards fixed costs; it is not profit. Rent, support functions, pay not already included in variable costs and investment still need separate consideration.
Entirely fictional example: a desk-organiser brand retains DH200 of comparable revenue on a product and incurs DH120 of variable costs. The remaining DH80 is not net earnings. A DH20 discount, with no cost change, reduces that contribution to DH60. This example explains a mechanism; it describes neither an MFV client nor a recommended price. Have your accounting professional validate the calculation basis suitable for your business.
Understand the customer's choice, not just their opinion
Show a specific offer to people who match your target audience. Ask what they recently bought for the same purpose, which alternatives they considered and what determined their choice. An enthusiastic reaction to a photograph is not the same as a purchasing decision.
Identify the differences people actually understand: a material, a lead time, ease of use or an included service. If nobody perceives your difference, calling it “premium” will not create one. Revisit your brand promise and positioning before defending a higher price. Keep useful observations in aggregate form rather than accumulating unnecessary contact details.
Prepare a pricing trial you can interpret
Write a short brief before the trial: the exact offer, audience, channel, period, displayed price, cost assumptions and the condition that would make you reconsider. In-store and online sales may have different conditions; do not combine them as though price alone explains the difference.
Avoid changing the price, photographs, offer contents and sales explanation at the same time. Otherwise, you will not know what produced the reaction. Explain the conditions you genuinely offer, without invented former prices, false scarcity or a promise you will not fulfil.
| What to observe | Evidence to keep | Possible decision |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding the offer | Recurring questions before purchase | Clarify the contents before changing the price |
| Acceptance | Purchases and refusals under comparable conditions | Reconsider the offer, audience or amount |
| Contribution per sale | Retained revenue and actual variable costs | Review an included service or underestimated cost |
| Delivery | Time, returns, rework and team workload | Correct operations before extending the offer |
Read the reaction before offering a discount
“It is too expensive” can mean several things. The customer may not understand the service, may not yet trust you, may want a simpler version or may genuinely have a different budget. These situations call for different responses. Record the reason expressed and what actually happened, not an explanation you assume.
A promotion also attracts a particular audience. Sales during that offer do not establish that the same volume will continue at the regular price. Review returns, additional preparation and repeat purchases before extending it. When observations are limited, keep the uncertainty visible rather than announcing a validated price.
Prepare for expansion without fixing the model too soon
As the offer becomes clearer, give its worksheet a version number. Keep the tested price, inclusions, cost assumptions and decision. A new team should understand why one extra is charged separately while another belongs to the customer promise.
Before replicating your concept, check that its economics do not depend on an exceptional location, unpaid work by the founder or an unconfirmed supplier discount. Recalculate using the conditions of the next format. Do not turn a trial of your own offer into a pricing policy imposed on independent businesses without having the applicable framework reviewed.
Your pricing decision file
- One definition of the offer for customers and the team.
- Sourced costs, with dates and uncertainties.
- Comparable observations, separated from promotional activity.
- A contribution calculation that is not confused with net profit.
- A written decision to continue, change the scope or stop the trial, with a review date.
Frequently asked questions
Should you start cheaper than competitors?
Not automatically. A lower price can attract customers without paying for the promised service. You need to explain who the offer serves and check the economics of delivering it.
Is a questionnaire enough to choose a price?
No. It helps develop hypotheses. Someone may express an intention without subsequently buying. Add observations of real decisions under clearly explained conditions.
When should you review the price?
When something important changes: costs, contents, channel, capacity or customer use. Separate that review from a rushed response to one refusal. Plan the review date and required evidence when designing the trial.
Maroc Franchise Value supports business-model development and preparation for expansion. To connect your offer, operations and economics, explore our support from concept to franchise network.
Further reference: Bpifrance Création's pricing resource. This is French methodological guidance, not Moroccan regulation. The illustrative amounts above are not a profitability forecast.