{"slug":"strategy/business-strategy/31-packaging-strategy","title":"31 — Packaging Strategy","section":"strategy","sectionLabel":"Strategy","status":"unclassified","type":"document","path":"strategy/business-strategy/31-packaging-strategy.mdx","bytes":6749,"description":null,"updated":null,"source":"integratewise/Integratewise-docs-wiki","content":"\nStatus: CANONICAL · Commercial OS\nOwner: Founder + Product Marketing\nLast verified: 2026-07-21\n\n---\n\n## Purpose\n\nWhat goes in which box and why — the feature-gating logic behind the price book ([30](30-pricing-strategy.md)), the upgrade paths it creates, and the fences that keep them honest.\n\n**Target audience:** Product (gate implementation), sales (upgrade motions), marketing (pricing page).\n\n---\n\n## 1. Packaging Logic: the Trust Ladder\n\nThe tiers are not \"small/medium/large.\" They are stages of the trust journey — each tier's headline capability is the _next step of trust_ a team takes with AI:\n\n```\nStarter   \"Show me the truth.\"        → Assembled state, no AI judgment. The show-me moment.\nGrowth    \"Prepare things for me.\"    → Twin observes/explains/prepares/suggests. Trust builds on evidence.\nCommand   \"Act — with my approval.\"   → PROPOSE + governed execution + TruthLayer memory. Trust pays off.\nEnterprise \"Govern it at scale.\"      → Policy customization, SSO/SCIM, SLA, data residency.\n```\n\nThis ladder mirrors the intervention grammar (NOTICE→PROPOSE) and the control grammar — the packaging _is_ the product philosophy, which makes the pricing page a teaching asset, not a feature matrix.\n\n**Design rule:** each tier must have exactly one headline answer to \"what do I get by upgrading?\" — Starter→Growth: _your Twin joins the bench_ · Growth→Command: _approved actions execute + memory compounds_ · Command→Enterprise: _your policies, your scale, your compliance_.\n\n## 2. Fence Design (what gates, what never gates)\n\n**Never gated (any paid tier):** number of connected _departments' data_ into the Spine (truth is whole or it's not truth) · provenance/audit visibility · export (leaving is always possible — doctrine) · security fundamentals (tenant isolation, encryption). We do not sell trust back to customers at higher tiers.\n\n**Gated by tier (the honest fences):**\n\n| Fence                                                    | Why it's the fence                                                                                     |\n| -------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| Twin capability depth (none → prepare → propose+execute) | The trust ladder itself; also tracks our AI COGS ($0 / ~$0.80 / ~$1.20 per seat)                       |\n| Workbench count (1 → 3 → unlimited)                      | Maps to department expansion — the growth path ([46](../08-customer-success/46-expansion-strategy.md)) |\n| Connector count (3 → 10 → 25+)                           | Correlates with stack complexity = value; generous enough to never block the wedge (CS needs 4–6)      |\n| Entity volume (5K → 50K → 250K)                          | Company-size proxy, rarely binding in-tier by design                                                   |\n| Sync frequency (4h → 1h → 15min)                         | Operational urgency premium; infra-cost aligned                                                        |\n| TruthLayer governed memory                               | Command's crown jewel — memory that compounds is the switching cost, priced accordingly                |\n| SSO/SCIM, custom policy, SLA, residency                  | Enterprise-cost realities, standard enterprise fence                                                   |\n\n**Fence integrity test (run quarterly):** a fence fails if support tickets show users _hacking around_ it (fence too tight) or if <5% of upgrades cite it (fence irrelevant). Failed fences get redesigned, not enforced harder.\n\n## 3. Add-ons (deliberately minimal)\n\n| Add-on                           | Price                                         | Rule                                                                   |\n| -------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| Custom connector development     | $2,500 one-time + maintenance in subscription | Enterprise only; roadmap-eligible connectors done free on our schedule |\n| Additional entity volume         | $99/mo per +50K                               | All tiers                                                              |\n| Premium support (Growth/Command) | $500/mo                                       | Enterprise includes it                                                 |\n\nNothing else. Add-on sprawl is how pricing pages die; new monetization enters as _tier value_ first, add-on only if truly orthogonal.\n\n## 4. Upgrade Motions (how packaging sells)\n\n| Trigger observed                                                   | Motion                                                                                        | Owner                                                      |\n| ------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |\n| Starter team views signals daily but acts manually                 | \"Your team is doing the Twin's prep by hand — turn it on\": Growth trial 14 days               | Product-led prompt + CS                                    |\n| Growth account's suggestions frequently executed manually in tools | \"You're approving in spirit — get the approval gate + execution\": Command POV on one workflow | CS ([46](../08-customer-success/46-expansion-strategy.md)) |\n| Second department asks for access                                  | Workbench expansion → tier or seat growth                                                     | Sales + CS                                                 |\n| Security review requests SSO/policy                                | Enterprise conversation                                                                       | Sales                                                      |\n\nPackaging KPI targets: Starter→Growth ≥ 30% in 6 mo · Growth→Command ≥ 40% in 12 mo · add-on revenue ≤ 10% of ARR (if higher, packaging is leaking value into add-ons).\n\n**KPIs:** upgrade rates by path; fence-integrity findings; pricing-page → signup conversion by tier ([73](../13-operations/73-marketing-metrics.md)); expansion ARR share of NRR ([72](../13-operations/72-revenue-metrics.md)).\n\n---\n\n**Related:** [30 Pricing](30-pricing-strategy.md) · [32 Licensing](32-licensing-strategy.md) · [46 Expansion Strategy](../08-customer-success/46-expansion-strategy.md) · [53 Website Copy — pricing page](../10-website/53-website-copy.md)\n"}