The Pricing Guys Podcast Episodes

Tariffs are back in the headlines and pricing teams are caught in the middle. Michael and Avy break down what smart businesses are doing to protect margins right now.Click to watch S1E1: Will Tariffs Impact My Business?

Michael and Avy take a hard look at whether AI is making pricing professionals smarter or just more dependent on the tool. They question whether AI has reached its “Excel moment” in the industry. Watch now to decide if AI is helping or hurting your pricing edge.

Tariffs have arrived, and Avy and Michael break down who actually pays the price between manufacturers and consumers. They cover reactions from Target, Walmart, and the broader supply chain. Watch now to see who bears the burden of new tariffs.

Luigi Mangione’s case becomes an unexpected lens for Avy and Michael to discuss what happens when the unexpected disrupts a business’s pricing formula. They explain why relying too heavily on past behavior can leave companies exposed. Watch now for a timely lesson on staying agile.

Pepsi’s nearly $2 billion acquisition of gut-health soda brand Poppi raises the question of whether big companies can preserve what made a smaller brand work. Michael and Avy explore how acquisitions often dilute brand essence through overexpansion. Watch now to see if Poppi keeps its fizz under Pepsi.

A special anniversary episode has Michael and Avy reflecting on ten years of building Revenue Management Labs, including some rough early slide decks. They share what’s changed and what’s stayed constant about the company’s approach. Watch now to celebrate ten years of RML.

The rise and fall of 23andMe, from a $6B valuation to bankruptcy risk, gives Avy and Michael a cautionary tale about weak subscription logic and monetizing personal data. They break down what went wrong with the company’s value proposition. Watch now for the pricing lessons buried in 23andMe’s collapse.

Michael and Avy go head-to-head on one of pricing’s most debated questions: where the pricing function should sit inside an organization. They explore how company maturity and leadership style shape the right answer. Watch now to settle the pricing unicorn debate.

Avy and Michael shift from structure to people, breaking down the personality types that show up on pricing teams, from the hyper-analytical deep diver to the indecisive order taker. They explain what it takes to spot a true pricing unicorn. Watch now to find your team’s pricing unicorn.

Mega sports contracts like Shohei Ohtani’s give Avy and Michael a lens for exploring anchoring, deferred value, and portfolio thinking in B2B pricing. They explain why the headline price is rarely the real price. Watch now for locker room lessons that apply to your pricing team.

Tariff-driven uncertainty is pushing some companies to abandon forecasting altogether, and Avy and Michael debate whether that’s a smart pause or a costly mistake. They explain why pricing should be the first lever pulled in a downturn. Watch now to see how to plan pricing through chaos.

A frustrating Airbnb booking experience sparks a broader conversation about pricing transparency, from short-term rentals to software contracts. Avy and Michael argue that clear pricing can be a strategic asset rather than a threat. Watch now to see why pricing clarity matters everywhere.

McDonald’s recent slump raises the question of whether rising prices are pushing customers to fast casual and grocery alternatives. Avy and Michael dig into price perception and value trade-offs behind the shift. Watch now to see what’s really behind the McSticker shock.

Falling oil costs don’t always reach the end customer, and Avy and Michael explore why discounts get lost between suppliers, distributors, and sales teams. They dig into what it actually takes to tie a discount to real behavior change. Watch now to see where your discounts are leaking margin.

A listener question about whether every company needs a Chief Pricing Officer leads Avy and Michael to argue that mindset and alignment matter more than titles. They explain why structure alone won’t fix a struggling pricing team. Watch now to see if you really need a CPO.

This is a same-day republish of the Tom Gunter interview with a different publish timestamp and URL. The content matches the episode above. Watch now, or use the other listing, since both point to the same conversation.

A deep dive into discounting and why it’s one of the most dangerous tactics in pricing. Michael and Avy share B2C and B2B stories showing how discount cycles are hard to escape once they start. Watch now to break free from the discount trap.

Avy and Michael unpack the myth that Gen Z is uniformly price sensitive, showing how sensitivity actually shifts by category. They explain why younger buyers hunt discounts on some purchases but pay a premium for convenience. Watch now to see what Gen Z will and won’t pay for.

A debate over the best chicken sandwich turns into a deep dive on why Raising Cane’s simplified menu is a strategic advantage. Avy and Michael connect a single core input to stronger supplier leverage and pricing power. Watch now to see why simplicity scales.

Michael and Avy share early results from RML’s 2026 Executive Pricing Benchmark survey of over 330 executive leaders. The data points to volume pressure and shifting buyer behavior forcing a rethink of 2026 pricing plans. Watch now and download the full benchmark report.

A debate over the best chicken sandwich turns into a deep dive on why Raising Cane’s simplified menu is a strategic advantage. Avy and Michael connect a single core input to stronger supplier leverage and pricing power. Watch now to see why simplicity scales.

Host Jonathan Cristopoulous puts Avy and Michael in the hot seat for a rapid-fire Q&A on what’s really worth paying for, from AppleCare to business class flights. It’s a fast, candid look at everyday pricing psychology. Watch now for the Pricing Guys Q&A special.

A viral “price apology” from Japanese dairy brand Akagi Nyugyo gives Avy and Michael a real example of communicating price increases well. They break down the fairness, value, and negotiation lenses every price message needs. Watch now to learn how to apologize for a price hike the right way.

John Shulman of Alignor joins Avy and Michael to explain why pricing success is 30% numbers and 70% people. They share practical tools for aligning pricing and sales teams to reduce resistance. Watch now to fix the gap between pricing strategy and sales execution.

Tareq Hadhad, founder of Peace by Chocolate, joins to explain why purpose is an investment in pricing power rather than a cost. He and the hosts explore how Gen Z rewards brands that act with authenticity. Watch now for a story about purpose-driven premium pricing.

A London barbershop’s haircut subscription sparks a bigger question about whether subscription pricing has stretched too far. Michael and Avy break down churn signals, capacity limits, and subscription fatigue across industries. Watch now to see if subscriptions fit every business.

To close out Season 2, Avy and Michael name the four pricing trends set to define 2026, including hybrid models and outcome-based pricing. It’s a practical outlook for anyone planning next year’s revenue strategy. Watch now to get ahead of 2026’s pricing trends.

Michael and Avy kick off Season 3 with a rapid-fire guessing game on the real prices of everyday products, from hotel water bottles to baby formula. It’s a fun gut-check on how well pricing pros actually know price perception. Watch now to see who wins the price guess challenge.

Seat-based SaaS pricing built the software boom, but Michael and Avy explain why AI-driven headcount reductions are cracking that model. They dig into usage-based alternatives and the risk of overcomplicating your pricing metric. Watch now to see if seat-based SaaS is really dying.

Apple held iPhone pricing flat while adding value, and Avy and Michael unpack why that’s a more strategic move than it looks. They explore whether it signals softer demand or a maturing, replacement-driven market. Watch now to see what Apple’s pricing restraint really means.

Target quietly removed prices from some clothing tags, and Michael and Avy dig into the tariff-driven reasoning and what it signals to shoppers. They connect it to B2B pricing opacity and the future of digital price tags. Watch now to see what hiding your price really costs you.

Michael and Avy call out a victim mentality trending in the pricing community and argue that being ignored by stakeholders is often a change management problem, not a respect problem. They share the “seven times rule” and real consulting lessons on building trust. Watch now to become a pricing change agent.

Michael and Avy skip the near-term AI hype and fast-forward a decade to ask what “price” even means in an AI-run world. They debate whether promotions become obsolete and whether B2B pricing goes underground. Watch now for a bold look at the long game of AI pricing.

Surveillance pricing on grocery apps is drawing political attention, and Avy and Michael break down why it feels different from the dynamic pricing airlines have used for years. They weigh the free market case against the call for regulation. Watch now to see where they land on grocery pricing.

Michael and Avy ask what a brand is really worth once you strip away the logo and packaging, using the Heinz Turkey story as the jumping off point. They dig into slotting fee traps, base velocity, and why the brand is the product. Watch now to rethink how you justify your premium.

Michael and Avy use a New York City dollar slice to explore real pricing dynamics like the volume game, atmosphere-based price gaps, and brand identity commitment. It’s a fun, food-driven lens on pricing strategy. Watch now to see what pizza can teach you about pricing.

Kevin Mitchell, President of the Professional Pricing Society, joins Avy and Michael for a wide-ranging look at where pricing has been and where it’s headed. They cover the 1% pricing rule, the risks of BOGO promotions, and where AI fits into the pricing toolkit. Watch now for a masterclass from the head of PPS.

Michael sits down with CJ Gustafson of Mostly Metrics to unpack the pricing strategy hiding inside the Disney experience. They cover loss leader tickets, wristband payments, and dynamic lightning lane pricing, with clear parallels to SaaS. Watch now for the Disney pricing playbook.

Ferrari’s $640K+ electric Luce EV tanked the stock 8%, and Michael and Avy break down why even research-backed innovation can backfire when it alienates core customers. They connect the dots to Post Malone’s brand pivot and a cautionary CPG story about SKU sprawl. Watch now to see what Ferrari’s EV bet really cost them.

AI pricing is finally within reach, but most companies are chasing the algorithm before fixing the data and sales training underneath it. At the same time buyers are demanding more transparency, and the FIFA ticket pricing backlash shows what happens when the model outruns the explanation. Click to see full podcast: The 2 Biggest Pricing Trends Right Now

Gustavo Mendonça joins RML as Partner to lead the new build function, and this episode explores what that means for pricing in an AI world. Learn why asking ChatGPT for your elasticity numbers is a lot like tiling your bathroom after one YouTube video. Listen to the podcast here.