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I'm running into a weird paradox when it comes to marketing - providing a service more cheaply than your competitors doesn't make it easier to reach customers, it makes it harder. It is a meritocracy of sorts, but one optimizing the value extracted FROM customers, not the value provided TO customers. By having thinner margins, you are also able to pay less to have others promote your product, and that's what the digital ad market is optimizing for.

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You’re right that cheaper services could affect customer outreach budgets and it does limit your options on what you can do (I.e. incentivized channels) but it also forces you to focus on other channels that suit your budget (I.e. content marketing, building relationships in forums, etc.) Also, price may not necessarily have to be fixed for all customer segments, you can use pricing as a strategy lever.

> providing a service more cheaply than your competitors doesn't make it easier to reach customers, it makes it harder.

It can also make customers value your product less

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