Table of Contents
- Why are you Raising your Prices?
- Is there Another Option Besides Raising your Prices?
- How to Announce a Price Increase to Clients?
- Price Increase Letter Examples
- What Mistakes Should you Avoid in your Price Increase Letter?
- Winding-up
Every business will eventually reach a point where raising prices is the only option. At the very least, your pricing must keep up with inflation; however, you may discover that your ongoing efforts to provide a better product and customer service have finally earned you the right to charge a bit more.
When prices are raised, price-sensitive customers are bound to be irritated, and some may even decide not to purchase your product in the future. And that's fine! In fact, if you don't have a slew of angry customers calling after a price increase, it's probably because your price is still far too low, and you're losing a lot of money.
Customers who are unwilling to pay a price higher than your current one cannot be retained. There are, however, ways to soften the blow for those price-sensitive customers and avoid customers abandoning you out of rage and frustration.
Why are you Raising your Prices?
Unless you are certain that none of your bills or expenses will increase in the coming year, you will need some sort of rate increase just to keep up.
Furthermore, if you invest in your skills through training, reading industry blogs, or attending conferences, you will most likely be getting better at what you do all the time. That means your clients are getting more value from you, so if you don't raise your prices at some point, you're probably selling yourself short.
Is there Another Option Besides Raising your Prices?
Despite what I've mentioned thus far, there is a solution to avoid boosting your pricing for some people: increased efficiency. As you gain experience, you may be able to save a lot of time on projects by systemizing your processes and workflow and maybe generating SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures).
Assume you design websites and make $5,000 each job on average. If you can cut the time it takes to develop each site by 20%, you'll be able to take on more projects at the same time and earn more money. As long as you really locate more work, a 20% increase in your rates is practically the same as a 20% rise in your rates.
However, you may eventually reach a point where you are unable to boost your efficiency any further. I'd also consider adjusting your rates anyway, because if you're disciplined enough to save money, you deserve to profit from it.
How to Announce a Price Increase to Clients?
Before you can communicate this message to customers, you must first comprehend the Gain Principle, which applies to all customers.
Gain = Cost – Value
What your customer gets out of your goods in the end is the whole value minus the cost. As a result, the rationale becomes straightforward. If you want to keep your consumer, show and prove that you can provide them with more benefits.
This is accomplished by demonstrating that the added value is far greater than the additional expense. If your price rises by x percent, your value rises by 2x, 3x, or 5 percent.
It's up to you to figure out how to provide them greater value from your goods in this scenario. The four methods of notifying clients about price increases are listed below.
1. First, Inform your Employees of the Change
Make sure that everyone on your team is informed of the change. Increasing your costs will have an impact on all of your business's teams, whether directly or indirectly. Your customer support team will need to know how to address inquiries, but your marketing and sales teams will need to know how to explain the new prices to new consumers and sell it to them.
2. Make Direct Contact with Them
This hardly requires explanation. If you've been blinded by rising membership fees (look at you, Boston Sports Club), you know it's not cool. Apply the golden rule here. And make it abundantly clear – in the subject line as well as the first few sentences of the letter or email.
3. Get Right to the Point
Let's be honest: this letter or email is all about one thing: a price increase. It's best to get right to the point – tell them how much their prices will rise, what they'll be after that, and when it all goes into effect. If they want to read the entire letter and learn more, they will, and they don't want to have to contact you because the prices were unclear.
If you spend too much time on preamble and fluff, your client will see right through it. They'll be thinking to themselves, "come on, what's the bad news?" as they read it. As a result, they will be grateful to you for getting to the point.
4. Make it Brief
Nobody enjoys a long email. More importantly, no one enjoys interruptions. So, keep in mind that you are not writing a novel and that you have a genuine respect for your clients' time. If you followed the first two suggestions, you should have already gotten your recipient's attention. Now, make sure you say what you need to say in a concise manner.
5. Countless Times
Depending on your relationship with your consumers, you can communicate with them via direct mail or even telephone, albeit you should prefer the communication channel they are used to.
I propose using the same brand template for every other company message, such as a product update, a fundraising announcement, an event invitation, or a special offer. It's well-known and doesn't get caught in spam filters.
If you're sending by email, keep these copying email ideas in mind, such as maintaining on track.
6. Personalize the Email
It's not 2003, and calling people by their first names in an email isn't an Aladdin's lamp for making them feel special. You can do this in a variety of ways; for example, you can personalize emails depending on a customer's geography or demographics. 66 percent of marketers, on the other hand, use age data to customize their communications.
Naturally, the level of personalization will be determined by the size of your customer base - you may have ten major clients or 100,000. Even if you're automating your emails, letters to the former should be individually prepared and hyper-personalized.
If your consumer base is too large to take a personalized approach, concentrate on making your email appear simple. “Easy” signifies unforced, easy-to-understand, and genuine. This is easier to accomplish if the emails are sent from a personal account (such as the CEO's) rather than a nameless and faceless "team" account.
7. Allow Customers to Reach out with Further Questions or Concerns
You want to make certain that your customers get all of the information they need. They may churn to a competitor with lower prices due to a lack of information. Assure them that they can contact anyone in your firm, including high-level officials, if they have any more questions or reservations about the price rise.
8.Segments and Personalize
You want to make certain that your customers get all of the information they need. They may churn to a competitor with lower prices due to a lack of information. Assure them that they can contact anyone in your firm, including high-level officials, if they have any more questions or reservations about the price rise.
Price Increase Letter Examples
It's critical to inform your clients of an impending price hike, but doing so might be difficult at times.
If you're stuck, look at the examples below for inspiration on how to communicate with customers.
Example 1: General Price Increase
Dear [Name],
Please be informed that [Company Name] will increase prices on all [product type] by up to [Value] as of [Date].
[Include any logistical information that is required.]
We remain devoted to providing you with high-quality products and service, and we value your business and continuous support.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
Example 2: Loyal Customers
Hello, [Name],
We're pleased to learn that [Product/Service name] has [achieved particular results]. Your success is also our success, and we're delighted our product/service is helping you achieve your objectives.
We'll be raising our rates somewhat owing to [reason] and altering our membership costs to reflect the services our clients need the most starting on [date] to assure outstanding results for customers like you. The updated plans and pricing can be found here: link
We also wanted to extend our present pricing to you until [date] because you are one of our most fantastic customers.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time via [email address] or live chat if you have any issues about the price increase or anything else. Our customer service representatives will be more than delighted to assist you.
Thank you for your patronage; we greatly appreciate it!
[YOUR SIGNIFICANCE]
Example 3: Free Users
Hello [Name],
For your information, beginning [date], we'll be launching new price options that better represent our customers' demands while also allowing us to continue enhancing [Product name] and adding new features.
As a free plan user, you will be unaffected by the changes, but I thought you would be interested to know that if you purchase any paid plan by [date], you will be able to keep the current pricing indefinitely (as long as you stay subscribed).
This must be the sign you've been seeking for to [accomplish whatever your product does].
SELECT A PLAN
If you have any queries or concerns, please comment and I will try my best to assist you!
Have a wonderful day,
[YOUR NAME]
Example 4: Benefit-Focused
Hello [Name],
Thank you for deciding on [Product name] and putting your faith in [Company name]. I'm writing to inform you that certain pricing changes will be implemented soon.
Because of [reason], we had to reconsider our pricing strategy. We aim to make [Product name] as useful and efficient as possible for our consumers, which is why adding [new feature 1] and [new feature 2] is currently our top priority.
To make this possible, we're raising the subscription prices by 10%. It also implies that [Product name] will offer even more benefits for [customer's intended use of the product], such as:
Benefit 1
Benefit 2
Benefit 3
You have the option to take some time to consider whether you wish to commit to the new pricing plan. You can utilise [Product namestandard ]'s rate for the next [period of time]. The revised plans will be unveiled on [date].
If you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.
Thanks,
[YOUR NAME]
Example 5: Increase in Cost of Materials
Hello[Customer Name],
This is a notice that our [Product Type] pricing will be increased by [Value] beginning on [Date].
Since [Date or Circumstance], [Company Name] has experienced ever-increasing costs for [Relevant Aspect of Business], which has impacted the cost of providing service to our customers.
The increase helps us maintain our commitment to providing the best products and services to our customers.
If you have any questions about the above changes, please contact [Details].
We appreciate your patronage and continued patronage.
Sincerely,
[Your's Name]
What Mistakes Should you Avoid in your Price Increase Letter?
- The super robotic or computerized tone is one of the many things that a customer despises from a company. To begin with, they do not want to be given a mundane script. They want a more personal tone. While announcing these price increases, please ensure that your tone is friendly and appropriate.
- Explain your reasoning for increasing the price. Provide your customers with sufficient information about your decision and how it will benefit them as well.
- No customer wants to be greeted abruptly by your "little surprise." Make sure you give them enough time (at least one month) before implementing the price increase. It would not come out as an indigestible shock to resist this way.
- It should not be as if you sent an email announcing your price increase and then you're done for the month. A customer would expect frequent follow-ups and to be notified if they have any questions. However, make sure that these follow-ups aren't too frequent.
- Always express gratitude to the customer for taking the time to do business with you. Thank them for choosing you and express your appreciation for their worth, efforts, and, most importantly, loyalty.
Winding-up
Price increases are an unavoidable part of the business journey, for both customers and vendors. Announcing price increases to customers is a skill that you will need to learn at some point. It is the time when all customer success strategies are put to the test.
If you've been working hard to help your clients succeed and have built a strong relationship with them, your price increase will be seen as nothing more than a minor hiccup.
Consider doing something unique to make them appreciate the value of your product, especially on this occasion. By highlighting value over cost, you can help them perceive more gain, which is the ultimate way to increase their loyalty.
LeadMine : Find your next customer in minutes, not months.
LeadMine is a lead generation platform used by all types of businesses. From over 200 million contacts, you may identify your target b2b leads as well as their email addresses.
Start your Lead Generation for free today!
- 30 days free trial
- No credit card
- Cancel any time
