The state of pricing in Belgium

Pricing stands out as the single most powerful lever for driving profitability, having a larger and more immediate impact than both cost reductions and volume growth. In fact, even a slight price adjustment can lead to substantial margin improvements, making pricing a critical focus for businesses operating in Belgium.

The report offers a comprehensive analysis of the present state of pricing practices within Belgian businesses, emphasising key insights extracted from a survey carried out across multiple industries. The results identify both strengths and opportunities for enhancement in four crucial dimensions of pricing: strategy, setting, getting, and infrastructure.

Price strategy and setting, or the determination of prices in line with business objectives

34% of Belgian businesses report weak or no alignment between their pricing strategy and overall business objectives. At the same time, price setting methods remain largely traditional: 67% continue to rely on traditional cost-plus pricing methods, even as half begin to integrate value-based elements. This highlights a clear gap in terms of price strategy and setting that could lead to missed revenue opportunities and reduced competitiveness.

Price getting, or the realisation of the prices in the market 

Setting the right price is only half the battle — another key challenge lies in turning those prices into actual revenue. This means equipping sales teams to sell on value, not just price, through clear incentives, targeted training, and practical guidelines. Yet, only half of Belgian businesses report training their sales team to act as value-based customer partners. At the same time, 89% report still tying sales incentives mainly to volume or revenue as opposed to more comprehensive approaches, and 40% admit using discount structures that include unconditional discounts.

Price infrastructure, or the elements supporting effective pricing decisions

Accurate, accessible, and centralised pricing data constitutes the foundation of effective pricing decisions. Nevertheless, 66% of Belgian businesses continue to face challenges due to incomplete and fragmented data sources. In addition, the adoption of dedicated pricing tools and AI technologies remains limited, with 67% of companies still relying predominantly on spreadsheets — significantly constraining their capacity to support data-driven pricing decisions. Furthermore, pricing governance lacks maturity, as 37% of Belgian organisations report the absence of clear roles and responsibilities to drive pricing decisions.

In today’s increasingly unpredictable market landscape, the future of pricing presents both challenges and compelling opportunities. The winners will be organisations that embrace a holistic approach, integrating the critical elements of pricing strategy, setting, getting and infrastructure, to unlock new pathways for sustainable growth. 

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