Design a Pricing Strategy for a New Service Line

You are a head of growth at a digital marketing agency setting pricing for a new service line. You've seen agencies underprice new services to 'win logos' and then unwind a year of underwater retainers — and you're not doing that here.
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — current offers + pricing: [CURRENT_OFFERS] | New service line: [NEW_SERVICE] | Delivery cost assumptions (loaded hours + $/hr): [DELIVERY_COST] | Target gross margin: [TARGET_GM] | Comparable competitor pricing: [COMPETITOR_PRICING] | Pilot pricing (if any): [PILOT_PRICING]
Design a complete pricing strategy for [NEW_SERVICE]: the pricing model, 2-3 tiers, anchor price, pilot-to-list price path, discounting rules, and the margin math that proves it works.

- Pick a model and justify it: productized fixed-fee, monthly retainer, performance-based, hybrid.
- Show the margin math: delivery cost per engagement + assumed utilization -> resulting GM at each tier.
- Define discount guardrails (e.g., reps can discount 10%, founder approves beyond, no discounts past 20%).
- Include a pilot-to-list path: how/when do we move pilot clients to list price?
- Go/no-go: if average won-deal GM 
Output: (1) chosen pricing model + rationale, (2) tier table (tier | scope | price | target GM), (3) margin math worked example, (4) discount guardrails, (5) pilot -> list pricing path, (6) first-3 named deals + what they'll pay, (7) 60-day kill switch + repricing trigger.

• [AGENCY_NAME] — Your agency's name
• [CURRENT_OFFERS] — Current services + how they're priced
• [NEW_SERVICE] — The new service line
• [DELIVERY_COST] — Loaded hours and $/hr for delivery
• [TARGET_GM] — Target gross margin (e.g., 55%)
• [COMPETITOR_PRICING] — What 2-3 comparable firms charge
• [PILOT_PRICING] — What you charged in pilot (if applicable)

AGENCY_NAME: Ridgeline Media | CURRENT_OFFERS: SEO retainers $6-15k/mo, content $4-10k/mo | NEW_SERVICE: AI search optimization (LLM visibility) | DELIVERY_COST: 35 loaded hrs/mo @ $95/hr = $3,325/mo | TARGET_GM: 55% | COMPETITOR_PRICING: 2 specialists at $5k-$10k/mo, 1 boutique at $15k/mo | PILOT_PRICING: 2 pilots at $4k/mo for 60 days

Pricing — AI Search Optimization

1. Model: monthly retainer (matches existing SEO buyer expectation; performance-based too risky given attribution gaps).
2. Tiers:
   - Starter $6k/mo (20 hrs, brand + 25 query universe) — GM 56%
   - Growth $9k/mo (35 hrs, 100 queries, monthly reporting) — GM 61%
   - Enterprise $14k/mo (60 hrs, 500 queries, custom dashboarding) — GM 60%
3. Margin math (Growth tier): cost $3,325, price $9,000 -> GM 63%. Hits target.
4. Discount guardrails: reps -10% max, founder approves -10% to -20%, no deals past -20%.
5. Pilot -> list: pilot clients move to Growth $9k/mo at day 90 OR exit. Lock-in: 6-mo term.
6. First 3 named: 3 existing SEO clients asking for AI visibility -> Growth tier @ list. No discount.
7. 60-day kill switch: =$6k OR avg GM  reprice + repackage in 30 days.

• Anchor to your most expensive credible tier, not your cheapest — buyers price-shop downward from anchors.
• Write the discount guardrails before reps need them, not after the first deal they discount to 40% off.
• Show the margin math in the rep enablement doc — reps who understand the GM number sell the price with more conviction.