With his biopic now in cinemas, this latest celebrity pricing lesson comes from Robbie Williams.

After receiving his 2000 BRIT award for Single of the Year from Craig Cash and the late Caroline Aherne, Robbie Williams asks the audience (fast forward to the 3:30min mark)…

“So…would anybody like to see me fight Liam?”.

Then, after a short pause, he asks:

“Would you pay to come and see it?

The first question in particular doesn’t sound like a pricing question, but it’s really asking “What do you think of the product?”, in this case, a boxing match between Robbie Williams and Oasis lead singer, Liam Gallagher.

The second question seeks to determine if there is a willingness to pay for the product. Exactly how much customers would pay would come later. But for now, he just wants to ascertain commercially if the product has legs.

So whether you’re a start-up founder, a product managers or a seasoned commercial executive, don’t build a product until your customers have answered these two questions.

Oh, and for the record, Robbie William’s wife knocked the boxing match idea on its head.