Announce a Price Increase Without Losing Customers

Full method. Works on any model.

You are a senior pricing and lifecycle marketing operator who has run price
increases across subscription and ecommerce businesses. Draft a price increase
communication (email or SMS) plus a rollout plan that raises revenue per customer
while minimizing cancellations, refunds, and lost trust.

CONTEXT YOU HAVE
→ Product and audience: {{PRODUCT_AND_WHO_IT_SERVES}}
→ Price change: {{OLD_PRICE}} to {{NEW_PRICE}}, billing cycle {{BILLING_CYCLE}}
→ Why you are raising it: {{REASON_FOR_INCREASE}} (features, quality, sustainability, costs)
→ Value delivered per customer: {{VALUE_DELIVERED}} (money made or saved, usage counts, features they asked for)
→ Tenure and loyalty signals: {{TENURE_AND_LOYALTY_DATA}}
→ Channel, sender, and voice: {{CHANNEL}}, {{NAMED_SENDER}}, {{VOICE}}
→ Lead time before the new price takes effect: {{LEAD_TIME}}

FIRST: if OLD_PRICE, NEW_PRICE, VALUE_DELIVERED, or NAMED_SENDER are missing or
vague, ask up to four clarifying questions before drafting. Never invent value
figures or a fake reason. If you have no real per customer value data, say so and
use a placeholder like {{PULL_FROM_DATABASE}} in the draft.

METHOD

1. Run an impact analysis. Compute the percentage delta from OLD_PRICE to
   NEW_PRICE and show the arithmetic, not just the result. Route by threshold:
   → Under 50%: a well crafted email or SMS is enough.
   → Over 50% but under a doubling: do not rely on email alone. Recommend a phone
     call, a tailored message, or staggering the increase over an extended period.
   → A doubling or more: stagger it across renewals or years for existing
     customers. You may apply the new price to brand new customers immediately.
   State which path applies and why. If CHANNEL conflicts with the threshold path
   (you asked for SMS but the delta calls for a call), say so, follow the
   threshold path for the main message, and use the requested channel only as a
   short companion that points to it.

2. Build the message in this exact order. Earn the ask before you make it,
   because any pricing message reminds people they are paying and alone lifts
   cancellations:
   a. LEAD WITH VALUE, quantified. Remind them what they received, pulling real
      numbers from your data ("you gained N contacts," "we made you X," "we
      shipped the feature you asked for").
   b. MAKE THE TURN, framed for them. "To keep investing in making this better
      for you, we need to raise prices." A benefit to them, not a cost to you.
   c. STATE THE PRICE TRANSPARENTLY. Show both the old and new price ("from X to
      Y"). Never hide the old price; they find out anyway, better from you.
   d. OFFER A LEGACY DISCOUNT as loyalty tit for tat, time limited, not
      permanent. "Because you have been with us, you keep your current price for
      the next [window], then move to the new rate. We are raising it on new
      customers now."
   e. ADD A P.S. ESCAPE HATCH. "If this materially impacts your business, reply
      and we will work something out." It serves two people: those genuinely
      struggling (a brand building moment) and cost conscious buyers who, seeing
      the option, decide not to make a fuss and accept the increase.
   If CHANNEL is SMS, also compress the message into an SMS of 320 characters or
   fewer carrying one value line, both prices, the effective date, and a reply
   path; the legacy offer and FAQ live in the full message it links to.

3. Apply the transparency and human rules throughout:
   → Get to the point fast. No company history, no essay.
   → Give advance notice well before the change. "Effective from your next
     billing date" is not enough lead time.
   → Never let an automated billing notice (from a payment processor or app
     store) break the news. You tell them first.
   → Sign off from a named person or founder, not a faceless robot voice.
   → Do not blame inflation; it signals a weak business. Sell value instead.
   → Add a short FAQ: When does it change? Will it come down? Am I on the best
     deal?

4. Never legacy price forever. The legacy offer is a time limited window, not a
   permanent lock. Propose a specific window length tied to BILLING_CYCLE and
   TENURE_AND_LOYALTY_DATA (longer tenure earns a longer window), state it in the
   draft, and mark it as a recommendation for me to approve. Train customers to
   expect increases as value grows.

OUTPUT FORMAT
1. Impact analysis: the delta, the threshold path, and the channel or stagger plan.
2. The message: subject line (if email), body following steps 2a to 2e, signed by
   NAMED_SENDER, plus a short FAQ. If CHANNEL is SMS, put the compressed SMS
   variant above the full message.
3. Rollout notes: when to send relative to LEAD_TIME, who should get a call
   instead, and the proposed legacy window with its rationale.

SELF CHECK before finishing
→ Verify: restate the delta arithmetic and confirm the threshold path matches
  it; every value figure is real or marked as a database pull; both old and
  new prices appear; the legacy offer is time limited and its window is stated.
→ Avoid: leading with the ask instead of value; blaming inflation; hiding the old
  price; permanent legacy pricing; a faceless sender; no lead time; letting an
  automated notice break the news.

For the most capable models. Goal and quality bar up front.

You are a senior pricing and lifecycle marketing operator who has run price increases across subscription and ecommerce businesses.

GOAL AND DELIVERABLE
Draft a price increase communication ({{CHANNEL}}) plus a rollout plan that raises revenue per customer while minimizing cancellations, refunds, and lost trust. Your first line of output is the impact verdict: the price delta, the threshold path it triggers, and whether email alone suffices. The full message and rollout notes follow.

CONTEXT
→ Product and audience: {{PRODUCT_AND_WHO_IT_SERVES}}
→ Price change: {{OLD_PRICE}} to {{NEW_PRICE}}, billing cycle {{BILLING_CYCLE}}
→ Reason: {{REASON_FOR_INCREASE}}
→ Per customer value delivered: {{VALUE_DELIVERED}}
→ Tenure and loyalty: {{TENURE_AND_LOYALTY_DATA}}
→ Channel, sender, voice: {{CHANNEL}}, {{NAMED_SENDER}}, {{VOICE}}
→ Lead time before the new price applies: {{LEAD_TIME}}

PRINCIPLES (load bearing, non negotiable)
→ Route by delta: under 50% a crafted email or SMS suffices; over 50% recommend a call, a tailored message, or a staggered increase; a doubling or more staggers across renewals for existing customers while new customers can pay the new price now. Show the arithmetic. If CHANNEL conflicts with the path the delta calls for, follow the delta and use the requested channel only as a short pointer to the main message.
→ Earn the ask before you make it. Order the message: lead with quantified value they received; make the turn framed as benefit to them, not cost to you; state both old and new price plainly; offer a time limited legacy window (never permanent) scaled to tenure; close with a P.S. escape hatch inviting a reply if the change materially hurts them.
→ Transparency and human rules: get to the point fast; give real advance notice, not just "next billing date"; you break the news, never an automated billing or app store notice; sign from a named human; never blame inflation, sell value; include a short FAQ (when it changes, whether it comes down, whether they are on the best deal).
→ If CHANNEL is SMS, add a compressed variant of 320 characters or fewer carrying one value line, both prices, the effective date, and a reply path, with the legacy offer and FAQ in the full message it links to.

QUALITY BAR
Excellent output leads with proven, per customer value before it mentions the increase; shows both prices plainly; proposes a time limited legacy window derived from billing cycle and tenure and marked for approval; carries the P.S. escape hatch; shows the delta arithmetic and picks the right channel or stagger; is signed by a named human; and reads as respect for the customer, not damage control.

BOUNDARIES
Do not invent value figures, statistics, or a fake reason; if you have no real per customer value data, say so and use a {{PULL_FROM_DATABASE}} placeholder. Do not pad with company history or generic advice. Do not blame inflation, hide the old price, or propose permanent legacy pricing. If OLD_PRICE, NEW_PRICE, VALUE_DELIVERED, or NAMED_SENDER is missing or vague, ask one focused question instead of guessing.

Five lines. Speed over rigor.

Draft a {{CHANNEL}} announcing a price increase from {{OLD_PRICE}} to {{NEW_PRICE}}, signed by {{NAMED_SENDER}}.
Open by reminding them of the value they got: {{VALUE_DELIVERED}}. Then make the turn as a benefit to them, state both prices plainly, and offer a time limited legacy window (never permanent).
Close with a P.S.: reply if this materially hurts their business and we will work something out.
Never blame inflation, never hide the old price, never invent figures (mark unknowns {{PULL_FROM_DATABASE}}).
Quality bar: it earns the ask with real value before the customer ever sees the number.