WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
- How to align your pricing model with customer value (and why that’s harder than it sounds).
- Why introducing familiar metrics is crucial to pricing adoption.
- How to validate pricing changes through low-tech, non-scalable methods before launching.
Pricing in SaaS is often seen as a balancing act—between aligning value with cost and finding models that serve both customers and companies. Marcie Cheung, from Snyk, explains how her team approaches pricing not just as a growth driver but as a comprehensive strategy that considers customer value, operational needs, and internal alignment. In this playbook, you’ll discover how pricing and monetization experiments work at Snyk and how to bring that approach to your own team.
THE EXPERT
Marcie Cheung is a seasoned product leader at Snyk, currently focused on driving pricing and monetization strategies. With a rich background in AI/ML, e-commerce, and healthcare, Marcie has led product innovation at companies like Jet.com, where she was part of the early team that led to the Walmart acquisition. At Snyk, she is driving initiatives to secure software development with state-of-the-art DevOps integration, while also leading the Women in Product Boston Chapter.
THE INSIGHTS
1 - Align pricing with customer value
Marcie believes that successful pricing models should align with the value customers see in your product. It’s not about making the pricing strategy complex—it’s about making sure customers can clearly see how your product delivers value. For Snyk, they focus on understanding what their customers find most valuable, whether it’s the number of vulnerabilities found or the fixes recommended.
"If you can think of it, you can probably price on it. The idea is to align the value of our product with the price. We want our pricing to reflect the real impact we deliver, so we’ve structured it around a contributing developer model."
2 - Growth isn’t the only North Star
While growth is important, Marcie emphasizes that it’s not the only metric to focus on when thinking about pricing. A great pricing strategy should support growth, but it should also drive long-term customer value and satisfaction. The goal isn’t just to scale fast—it’s to grow sustainably by building value that customers are willing to pay for.
"We’re definitely focused on growth, but it’s not the only North Star. We wouldn’t want to implement a strategy that decreases customers or ARR to grow. It has to be about creating value that customers are willing to pay for."
3 - From pitch to validation
At Snyk, pricing changes go through several stages. It starts with a pitch—where teams align around an idea. If the pitch gains momentum, it moves forward into an MVP phase, where a small experiment or customer conversation validates the idea. By running experiments with a select group of customers, Snyk can test how they react to potential pricing changes before rolling them out.
"We start with a pitch to align internally, and if we gain enough momentum, we test it. We run small experiments, see how customers react, and validate it in the market. It’s a step-by-step process to ensure we’re not just creating change but creating meaningful value for our customers."
4 - Keep metrics simple and familiar
One key takeaway from Marcie’s experiments is that introducing new metrics for pricing can be a challenge—especially if they aren’t part of the company’s or customers' regular vocabulary. Even if a new metric aligns closely with customer value, if no one understands it, you’ll face an uphill battle in getting it adopted.
"When we introduced a new metric for fixes, we realized that if it’s not part of the common language we use at Snyk, it’s going to be a challenge to get people on board. Even if it’s the right metric, customers have to understand it and see the value, otherwise, it’s a tough sell."
5 - Get internal alignment early
SaaS pricing isn’t just about what works for customers—it’s also about educating and enabling your field teams. From sales to marketing, internal teams need to understand the new pricing models, as they’re the ones who will communicate it to customers. Ensuring early buy-in from internal stakeholders avoids confusion down the line.
"In B2B, pricing is not just about the customer. You also have to educate and enable your field teams—sales, marketing, SEs—to make sure they understand and can clearly communicate the pricing models to the customers. It's a crucial part of the process."
