A willingness-to-pay survey should include two or three screening questions to identify each respondent's segment, a clear description of the offer and how it's billed, four Van Westendorp price questions (too cheap, bargain, getting expensive, too expensive) or a Gabor-Granger price ladder, one purchase-intent question at your likely price, and one open question about what would make it worth more.
Key takeaways
- Describe the offer precisely, including billing period and whether prices include GST, before asking any price question.
- Use the four Van Westendorp questions for an acceptable price range, or a Gabor-Granger ladder to compare specific prices.
- Let people type a number. Don't show a list of prices, because it anchors them.
- Survey prospects as well as customers, and analyze each segment separately.
- Treat answers as direction, not a forecast. Confirm with a live test.
My first marketing campaign was a Yellow Pages ad for my DJ service.
The ad cost $1,000. I was charging $250 a gig. So I worked out I needed four gigs to break even. Easy math.
The ad went to press and the phone rang straight away.
"What's your price?"
"$250."
"Okay. Here's the details of the party..."
No pause. No haggling. I ended up doing hundreds of gigs through university off that ad.
Was $250 the right price? I had no way of knowing. I'd picked it the way most small businesses pick prices: a guess, a glance at what others charged, and a gut feel for what sounded reasonable.
A willingness-to-pay survey is how you stop guessing. Here's one, ready to copy. For the theory behind it, read willingness to pay: how to measure it.
How to use this template
- Fill in the offer description (Part B) first. It's the part that makes or breaks the results.
- Choose either Van Westendorp (Part C) or the Gabor-Granger ladder (Part D). Not both in one survey.
- Send it to prospects and customers, and tag each answer with a segment.
- Analyze each segment separately.
It takes respondents about four minutes.
The invitation email
Subject: Help us set a fair price (4 minutes)
Hi [First name],
We're getting ready to launch [Offer name], and before we set the price, we'd like your honest view.
It's a short survey, about 4 minutes. There are no right answers, and we won't try to sell you anything.
[Take the survey]
[As a thank-you, everyone who finishes goes into a draw for a A$[X] gift card. Terms: [Link]]
Thanks,
[Your name]
Part A: Screening (3 questions)
1. Which best describes you? (choose one: [Segment 1, e.g. Sole trader] / [Segment 2, e.g. Business with 2–19 staff] / [Segment 3, e.g. 20+ staff] / Other)
2. How do you handle [the problem] today? (choose one: [Competitor or tool] / Spreadsheet or manual / Someone does it for me / I don't do it / Other)
3. Roughly how much do you spend on [the problem] today, per month? (Nothing / Under A$20 / A$20–49 / A$50–99 / A$100–249 / A$250 or more / Not sure)
Part B: The offer description (fill this in)
Show this text before any price question:
[Offer name] is a [what it is] for [who it's for].
It includes:
- [Feature or outcome 1]
- [Feature or outcome 2]
- [Feature or outcome 3]
It's billed [monthly], and you can cancel anytime. Prices in this survey are in Australian dollars and [include GST / exclude GST].
Be specific. "An online bookkeeping tool for tradies, including bank feeds and GST reports, billed monthly" gets you cleaner answers than "accounting software." If you want to check your description reads clearly before real people see it, run it past the Synthetic Customer Panel.
Part C: Van Westendorp (4 questions)
Let people type any number. Don't offer a list.
4. At what price per month would you consider [Offer name] to be priced so low that you would feel the quality couldn't be very good? (A$ ___)
5. At what price per month would you consider [Offer name] to be a bargain, a great buy for the money? (A$ ___)
6. At what price per month would you consider [Offer name] to be starting to get expensive, so that it's not out of the question, but you'd have to give some thought to buying it? (A$ ___)
7. At what price per month would you consider [Offer name] to be so expensive that you would not consider buying it? (A$ ___)
Get your price range from the answers
Paste your four columns of Van Westendorp answers into the free calculator and get the curves and your acceptable price range.
Part D (alternative): Gabor-Granger price ladder
Use this instead of Part C when you've already narrowed it to a few prices. Start in the middle; go up after a "yes," down after a "no."
4. Would you buy [Offer name] at A$[Middle price] a month? (Definitely would / Probably would / Might or might not / Probably not / Definitely not)
- If "Definitely" or "Probably would": ask again at A$[Higher price], then A$[Highest price].
- Otherwise: ask again at A$[Lower price], then A$[Lowest price].
Use four or five price points, spaced evenly, for example A$19, A$29, A$39, A$49.
Part E: Intent, billing and value (7 questions)
8. If [Offer name] were available today at A$[Your likely price] a month, how likely would you be to buy it? (Definitely would / Probably would / Might or might not / Probably not / Definitely not)
9. Which billing would you prefer? (Monthly / Annual, paid upfront, if it saved [X]% / No preference)
10. Which three of these matter most to you? (choose up to 3: [Feature 1] / [Feature 2] / [Feature 3] / [Feature 4] / [Feature 5] / [Feature 6])
11. Which of these would you be happy to go without for a lower price? (choose any: same feature list)
12. What would make [Offer name] worth more to you? (free text)
13. What, if anything, would stop you from buying it? (free text)
14. Can we contact you about your answers, or when it launches? (Yes, my email is ___ / No thanks)
How to read the results
- Van Westendorp: clean the data first. Drop rows where the four prices aren't in order (too cheap ≤ bargain ≤ expensive ≤ too expensive) and obvious jokes. Then paste the four columns into the Van Westendorp Calculator for each segment. The full method is in the Van Westendorp guide.
- Gabor-Granger: count the share who'd "definitely" or "probably" buy at each price, multiply by the price to get revenue per 100 prospects, then subtract your cost per customer. The revenue peak and the profit peak are often different prices.
- Questions 10 and 11 tell you how to build tiers: the "must-haves" go in every plan, the "happy to go without" items belong in a higher tier.
Surveys overstate buying
People are more generous in a survey than at a checkout. Treat the numbers as relative, then confirm with a live test on new customers before you change prices for everyone.
When not to use a survey
If you have a handful of big clients, a survey won't give you enough answers. Talk to them instead using the willingness-to-pay interview script, or quote your next ten proposals at a higher price and track your win rate.
What to do next
- Write the offer description and get one customer to read it back to you.
- Build the survey with Parts A, B, C (or D) and E.
- Send it to at least two segments.
- Run the answers through the calculator, pick two prices inside the range, and test them.
Then turn the range into a full price and plan structure with how to price a subscription.
Frequently asked questions
How many responses do I need for a willingness-to-pay survey?
There's no magic number, but more is better, especially per segment. A few dozen answers from one well-defined segment gives you a rough range; 100 to 200 gives you smoother curves. The worked example in our Van Westendorp guide uses 200. If you can't reach that, combine a smaller survey with customer interviews rather than trusting thin data.
Where can I find people to take a pricing survey?
Start with your email list, recent trial users, lost deals and social followers, then add a short panel from a research provider if you need non-customers. Industry associations, communities and LinkedIn groups can help for B2B. Avoid friends and family. They'll be kind, and kind answers make terrible pricing data.
Should I tell respondents the survey is about pricing?
You don't need to hide it, but don't open with it. Lead with the screening questions and the offer description so people think about the product first, then ask about price. Saying 'we're working out what to charge' can actually help, because it signals you want honest numbers rather than a sales pitch.
Can I run this survey for a physical product or local service?
Yes. Describe exactly what's included, how often it's delivered or used, and how billing works, for example 'a fortnightly dog wash at your home, billed monthly'. Local services usually have smaller audiences, so survey your customer list and nearby prospects, and back the results up by testing a price on new customers for a month.
Should I pay people to take the survey?
A small incentive can lift response rates, especially from busy business owners, but keep it modest and unrelated to your product, such as a gift card draw. Offering a discount on your own product biases answers, because respondents start thinking about the deal rather than the value. Make the terms of any draw clear.
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Robert Coorey, MBA
Robert is the author of The Subscription Playbook and Feed a Starving Crowd and a Director at BPAG Accountants in Sydney. More about Robert.
Sources
- Van Westendorp's Price Sensitivity Meter (Wikipedia)
- Gabor-Granger method (Wikipedia)
- Feed a Starving Crowd, Robert Coorey (2013), the DJ ad
Facts and prices checked 27 October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.