About
The tool we went without for more than ten years.
Market Sonar started at Etincelle Coworking in Toulouse: a coworking space that set and revised its prices for years without really knowing what its competitors did. Here is how, and what we took from it.
The story
What happened · what was missing- 2014
Etincelle Coworking opens, and looks for its prices
We try several offers, inspired by what we see on the market. We keep the one that sounds best, even though no major player offers it. It lasts a few months, without success.
We switch to a more classic offer. That one works.
What was missingKnowing why nobody offered that plan, before launching it.
- Every two years
A few percent up, by feel
Roughly every two years, we raise our prices by a few percent. Without ever checking what the competitors around us do.
What was missingThe market median, looked at before each rise.
- Over the years
Competitors noted, then forgotten
When the team finds a competitor, it shares it on Slack, later on Notion. The notes go cold: nobody comes back to check them.
What was missingA watch that re-reads itself, and dates every change.
- 2020
Covid: rethink everything, fast
The crisis hits hard. The whole price grid has to be reworked, without knowing where the others stand.
What was missingA complete view of every competitor’s offers and positioning. At that moment, a tool like Market Sonar would have been worth its weight in gold.
- 2022
The war in Ukraine, and inflation
The war in Ukraine sends inflation soaring. Our rent and property costs climb, and our margins shrink. Our prices have to be revisited, without driving our members away.
What was missingKnowing whether our competitors were passing the rise on, and by how much, before passing on ours.
- 2025
Catalyz, in a market on the move
We create Catalyz to sell our accounting and financial management software. Its prices have to be set in a crowded market, busy ahead of France’s e-invoicing reform on 1 September 2026.
What was missingFollowing, in a market that moves every week, each competitor’s plans and prices.
- Today
Building the tool
The economy gets tougher, and both our markets move fast. Rather than one more spreadsheet, we invest in a tool to work our prices better, know our competitors better, and follow their changes over time.
It is first called Price Sonar, when it only follows prices. It becomes Market Sonar as it opens to websites, reviews and social media.
At Etincelle Coworking, it changed how we see our market. Competitors we thought were less active had simply closed. We have a precise map of each competitor, its offers and its features, across our four segments: coworking, managed offices, meeting rooms and business addresses. For each, the competitors that really count, their offers, and a simulator to see the effect of a price change.
We finally see how our competitors address the market, and the gaps we have.
Market Sonar is bornWhat we see now- Competitors that close, and those that open
- Four segments mapped, offer by offer
- The effect of a price change, simulated
- Our gaps against the market, and new opportunities
What this story taught us
Measure before changing
A price is decided against the median of its market, not by feel. Each plan is placed against its competitors’.
Re-read, don’t just note
A note on a competitor goes cold the next day. Their pages, reviews and posts are re-read for you, regularly.
Date every change
In a crisis, you need to know what moved, and when. Every change is dated and kept, and reaches your briefing.
Stop setting your prices by feel.
Or request a demo.
14 days of Pro, briefing included, no credit card. After that, Free keeps your offers, website watching and a light briefing, for 3 competitors.