Pricing can be quite a sensitive subject for many business owners. There are many who do not want to display their prices for a number of reasons:
- Fear of competitors seeing it - the truth however, is that your competitors probably already know your prices. It's very easy to get a friend or a relative to call, and to be honest, you should also know your competitors pricing as well! If you're afraid that competitor will undercut you, don't be. Stop focusing on your competitors, as that takes up way too much energy. Instead concentrate on your own business and create the best product/service that you can.
- Nothing we make is standard, everything is custom designed for our clients - Yes, clients are all different, but you should have an idea of the average cost of a design, and therefore you should be able to have a DESIGNS FROM price that you can show. You can still give your clients flexibility - for example, by swapping balloons and accessories in and out of similar value, or adding in additional balloons at an extra cost.
- You're afraid that your prices will put customers off buying from you. Most customers already have a budget in mind. Being honest about prices on your website will actually help you attract prospective customers/clients. Most people research prices before they consider buying a product or service. If you’re the only person talking about prices on your website, you will be likely to get more traffic to your site than your competitors, which will mean more leads and sales. Having no price looks even more expensive than actually having high ones. Imagine walking into a high-end fashion retailer that had no prices - most of us would think: If you need to worry about the price you’re not welcome here.
Price is an important decision-making criteria, so if publishing your price on your website makes it easier and faster for them to decide in your favour, why would you get in the way?
So what is the best way to show your pricing structure?
Here are two completely different ideas:
Blenda Hughes Berrier of Balloon & Event Construction Company in Florida, USA, uses online catalogues to inspire her clients with categorised decor types. Each catalogue has a theme, and when a customer opens a catalogue, they will find detailed information to help them to make a choice, as well as a fabulous range of design ideas and guide pricing. This is a very simple way for a client to navigate and choose what they want!
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| This is a sample page from one of Balloon & Events Construction Company catalogues. |
The great thing about creating this type of price list is that you can update and add new ideas on a regular basis.
The second idea comes from David Mahoney of Balloons Everyday in Texas, USA. This is what he says about pricing on his website:
"One of the best things I did on any of my websites was to add lots of additional information for clients to access to make their lives easier.
By doing this, it helped potential or current clients find answers to questions that they may have had regardless of the hour of the day. This saved me a ton of time and money and built better relationships with clients. If I was having a particularly busy day, I could easily send links to information on the website or communicate to clients that they could find that info on the site.
One area of our website that gets explicitly used a lot is our 'common decor guide.' This simple little pricing guide with illustrations of common decor work has helped us save time explaining what a specific design looks like but also allowed clients to use the guide to help budget or figure out their needs for their event.
A secondary benefit to having the decor guide on the site is that it helps prequalify potential clients. You see, if a client has a limited budget and wishes for a complicated or expensive request, the guided helps by showing them a baseline of pricing, which eliminates a lot of these frivolous requests. You know the ones I am talking about - Can we do an 80-foot organic wall for $100? - LOL!!!! 🤣
We are excited about working on our new website because not only have I updated the decor guide to have a more of a contemporary look but I also added a new backside for trending balloon designs.
I have to thank Rachel Porter and Blake Engel both for having Esty Sites that have a lot of pre-made clipart. Those resources have saved me a ton of time in updating my decor guide because I did not have to build everything from scratch. So if you have not added things like the decor guide to your website or considered adding more information to help clients access regardless of the time of day or how busy you are, consider the many benefits it may have not only for them but for your company too. The internet is open 24/7. Let it work for you whiles you sleep or busy working. I know it has made an enormous difference in our company and clients love the easy."
A huge thank you to both Belinda and David for very generously sharing their on-line pricing ideas.
Happy Ballooning!
Sue
www.suebowler.com
#suebowler
"One of the best things I did on any of my websites was to add lots of additional information for clients to access to make their lives easier.
By doing this, it helped potential or current clients find answers to questions that they may have had regardless of the hour of the day. This saved me a ton of time and money and built better relationships with clients. If I was having a particularly busy day, I could easily send links to information on the website or communicate to clients that they could find that info on the site.
One area of our website that gets explicitly used a lot is our 'common decor guide.' This simple little pricing guide with illustrations of common decor work has helped us save time explaining what a specific design looks like but also allowed clients to use the guide to help budget or figure out their needs for their event.
A secondary benefit to having the decor guide on the site is that it helps prequalify potential clients. You see, if a client has a limited budget and wishes for a complicated or expensive request, the guided helps by showing them a baseline of pricing, which eliminates a lot of these frivolous requests. You know the ones I am talking about - Can we do an 80-foot organic wall for $100? - LOL!!!! 🤣A huge thank you to both Belinda and David for very generously sharing their on-line pricing ideas.
We are excited about working on our new website because not only have I updated the decor guide to have a more of a contemporary look but I also added a new backside for trending balloon designs.
I have to thank Rachel Porter and Blake Engel both for having Esty Sites that have a lot of pre-made clipart. Those resources have saved me a ton of time in updating my decor guide because I did not have to build everything from scratch. So if you have not added things like the decor guide to your website or considered adding more information to help clients access regardless of the time of day or how busy you are, consider the many benefits it may have not only for them but for your company too. The internet is open 24/7. Let it work for you whiles you sleep or busy working. I know it has made an enormous difference in our company and clients love the easy."
Happy Ballooning!
Sue
www.suebowler.com
#suebowler