Amazon made news when the e-commerce giant announced plans to increase the price of its annual prime membership to $ 119, compared to $ 99 at that time (since then it has been collected at $ 139). An annual increase of $ 20 corresponds to less than $ 2 per month, which is certainly not much, especially if you believe that you entitle members to stream the free two-day shipping and streaming access to many television programs, films, music and even sport. Nevertheless, the Internet was fulfilled of outrage and complaints from angry prime members (and non-members).
This type of counter -reaction is sufficient to prevent a small company, increase prices – even if you may consider it. The increasing costs for work, energy and borrowing have forced many small business owners to reduce the corners to make rounds.
But you don’t have to go on like this. Here you will find five tactics to increase your prices:
1. Be honest
Many consumers and companies are equally willing to pay more for services they are worth for the costs. For example, the clothing dealer Everlane has achieved success with a thousand -year -old consumers by promoting his commitment to using ethical factories and sustainable substances. As a result of this transparency about what flows into its prices, Everlane can ask for more for his clothes than for the “fast fashion” dealer.
If you increase the prices for your car shop’s services, hope that customers don’t notice? You will – and you will probably accept the change more if you let you know that the price increase should give your employees higher wages and a better standard of living.
2. Increase the prices gradually
An easy way to increase your prices without alienating long -time customers is to increase prices only for new customers. However, this is a risk of alienating new customers as soon as they are informed about the price difference. Instead, take a note from Amazon that extended existing Prime members for a few months to renew their membership with the annual price of 99 US dollars. Then they paid $ 119 just like everyone else. (Your long -term goal should be that all customers pay the higher price.)
3. Time right
Have you recently had a wave of customer complaints, a bad online assessment that received a lot of attention or a kind of negative advertising? The time to increase prices is not if you only had to remember your product, but when the majority of your customers are very satisfied. Surveying customers before their price increase can confirm that what they offer is worth value for them and that they do a good job. If you find that a significant part of your customers are dissatisfied, you have to fix it before you charge more.
4. Increase the prices through add-ons
Have you ever bought an electronic device and asked to buy an extended guarantee or service contract, batteries or accessories together? Small amounts can quickly add up if you have additional products or services that address your target market. The current madness for adapting purchases makes add-ons an easier sale than ever before.
For example, I noticed more and more restaurants that offer “extras” like Avocado on a sandwich or chicken on a salad – for an additional fee. If you have a Caesar salad of $ 10.95 on the menu, do you replace it with a Caesar salad of 9.95 USD and the option to add chicken for 2 US dollars, shrimp for $ 3 or salmon for 4 US dollars? Now you calculate 11.95 US dollars for the same salad and possibly even $ 12.95 or $ 13.95, depending on the choice of customers.
Another option: Keep the price of your core services or products the same and increase the price of your add-ons. Instead of increasing the price of your ancestors, increase the price of your drinks that only a few customers will notice.
5. Remove unprofitable products, services or customers
Technically speaking, this is not a way to increase prices, but it can have the same effect. Pay attention to your financial data and follow which products and services have the lowest profit margins. If they are not losses that customers bring into the door (where they also buy Hochmarge articles), you can make these offers more productive and profitable with little margins by having more time to concentrate on the high mark parts of your business.
Do you have a customer who pays less than you want but demand more time and effort? This can often be done by service companies that their first customers end up with low balls of their prices. When your company grows, these customers withdraw their energy with a high level of effective return, without contributing a lot to their bank account. See whether you can increase the customer’s prices – but if you do not agree, be ready to get rid of you.
Relatives: How to be paid for everything you do, what you do
