Pricing power is not a finance trick. It is the outcome of positioning that reduces substitutes, execution that builds familiarity and regard, and experiences that make your brand feel like the only credible choice. In episode three of our Brand Builder’s Playbook, Jim Stengel, Ryan Barker, and Wharton’s Cait Lamberton put simple language to a complex idea, then Tapestry International’s Sandeep Seth showed how it works in the wild.
What pricing power actually is
Cait Lamberton framed it clearly by saying “building pricing power has to do with making sure that nobody thinks there’s a substitute for you.” Pricing power means you can raise prices without losing customers because people do not see an equal alternative. You do that through clear meaning, credible proof, and an experience that fits a real moment in someone’s life. That sounds lofty, but the test is practical. If someone trades down, what do they give up that only your brand can provide?
This is where purpose, emotional connection, functional benefits, and experiential cues work together. Purpose and emotion carry more of the long arc, while functional and experiential elements need regular tuning to keep pace with culture. Get that balance right, and you shift the demand curve in your favor.
Measure the trade-offs, not just the click-throughs
If you want to quantify the premium your name earns, use research that mirrors real choices. Conjoint analysis still does that job. Give people attribute bundles with brand, features, and price, then read the dollars they will trade to keep your logo, or to hold a key feature. As Lamberton put it, you can “back out the weights,” translate them into willingness to pay, and see which combinations move people, and which ones do not. Tie that to funnel reads for awareness, familiarity, regard, meaningfulness, and uniqueness, and you have a live view of whether your positioning can support a premium.
Positioning comes first
Ryan Barker pulled the focus back to the upstream control. Positioning across purpose, emotional, functional, and experiential drivers determines how much price pressure you can take. Too many brands over-rotate to features, then lose altitude when competitors catch up. The durable pattern anchors purpose and emotion, then refreshes features, service, and channel experience to maintain uniqueness and meaningfulness. That is why pricing power is not just for luxury. Value brands can earn it when the emotional and experiential promise is strong, and the offer stays current.
Point of Market Entry: where habits and premiums form
Sandeep Seth returned to a principle many of us learn early and forget too often: point of market entry. Identify the first moment when someone becomes a buyer in your category, then design the product, price, and presence for that life stage. For Coach, that was the move from backpacks to handbags at age 18. “The consumer sets the price,” he said, which means you earn the right to charge a premium by showing up where a new habit forms, with something that feels made for the moment.
This is also why discount-led habits are risky. Tapestry saw how constant promotion can create a “deselection barrier,” signaling lower brand value even before someone considers the tag. The fix was not a clever offer. It was renewed desirability through product, purpose, and experience, which made price an outcome rather than a crutch.
Three live playbooks that prove the point
- e.l.f. Cosmetics
A one-dollar list price move can be bold for a value brand, yet e.l.f.’s broad base, high meaningfulness, and a culture of accessible experimentation give it permission. Love reduces price sensitivity when people believe they will not be let down, can try new things, and can still stay on budget. - Chanel
Regular price moves have become part of the brand’s signal. When craft, creative direction, and distribution control align, price supports positioning, and scarcity remains credible. Consistent, not static, is the path. - American Express
A classic badge brand where service depth and a clear identity sustain the premium. People pay more because the product stands for something they want to signal, and the ecosystem delivers everyday proof.
Together, these examples show the same mechanism from different angles. Reduce substitutes, meet people at the right moments, and keep the offer fresh enough to defend the edge you earned.
What to run next quarter
- Quantify fit, then quantify price.
Before creative, score your next product or partnership against your purpose, emotional promise, functional proof, and experiential delivery. Follow with a quick conjoint to size your brand premium and the trade-offs that kill it. - Own one point of market entry.
Pick a life stage you can credibly lead. Build a hero SKU, an entry price, and a simple path to trade up. Track new-to-brand share, six-month retention, and second purchase category mix. - Refresh the right layers on the right cadence.
Keep purpose and emotional territory steady, and set a quarterly or seasonal operating rhythm for functional and experiential updates. Watch uniqueness, meaningfulness, and familiarity together so you do not chase awareness without depth. - Treat discounting as a brand message.
Use price promotions with intention, not as default fuel. If a discount attracts the wrong cohort, it can deter ten right-fit buyers before they ever browse. - Close the loop with cohort economics.
Report CAC, payback, and LTV by acquisition source, and show how pricing tests affect repeat behavior, basket expansion, and advocacy. Price is not a slide. It is a system.
The line to remember
Pricing power is earned upstream. Choose moves that reduce substitutes, align with a real life moment, and reinforce your core meaning. Make the creative feel inevitable to your audience, then prove the lift in uniqueness, meaningfulness, and LTV. Do that consistently, and price becomes a stair-step up in compounding brand equity, not a short-term spike.
