Every business sets prices. Almost none of them know if those prices are right.
After reviewing hundreds of P&Ls across Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, and Oman, the same three mistakes appear again and again. Each one is quietly costing margin — not because the business is failing, but because no one has looked at the pricing structure with the right lens.
Here are the three mistakes, what they cost, and how to fix them.
Mistake 1: Cost-Plus Pricing
You add up your costs, apply a margin, and set a price. It feels logical. The problem is that it has nothing to do with what the customer is willing to pay.
Cost-plus pricing covers your costs. It does not capture your value. If a customer would have paid 30% more, you have permanently left that margin on the table — and you will never know.
The fix: understand what your best customers are actually buying. Is it the product, or the outcome it delivers? Price the outcome.
Mistake 2: Competitor Pricing
You look at what your competitors charge and price accordingly — slightly below to win on price, or slightly above to signal premium.
The problem: your competitor might be wrong. They set their price the same way you did — by looking at someone else. Competitor pricing is a chain of assumptions with no anchor in value.
The fix: treat competitor pricing as a reference point, not a ceiling. If your value is demonstrably higher, your price should reflect that.
Mistake 3: Set-and-Forget
You set a price two years ago. Your costs have changed. Your market has changed. Your customers have changed. Your price has not.
This is the most common mistake I see in mature businesses. The pricing structure was right once. It is no longer right — but because nothing broke visibly, no one reviewed it.
The fix: build a pricing review into your calendar. Once a year minimum. Every time your cost structure changes. Every time you enter a new segment.
The Pattern
These three mistakes share something in common: they treat pricing as a one-time decision rather than a commercial lever. Pricing is not a line on a spreadsheet. It is the most direct connection between the value you deliver and the revenue you capture.
Most businesses I work with have at least one of these three mistakes in their pricing structure. The good news: they are fixable — and the margin impact is usually visible within a quarter.
If you recognised your business in any of these, a free 30-minute session is the fastest way to find out where your specific gap is.
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