How to raise prices without scaring your customers

At some point, a business must increase the prices of its products and services. On the business owner’s part, he or she might be hesitant to make the move because customers might leave and look for a lower priced alternative. Raising prices is inevitable but there is a way to lessen the impact on your customers.

Why are your raising prices?

You must have a good reason to raise prices. Don’t just raise prices because you want to make more money. If your raw materials have raised prices then you must raise the prices of your end products as well. Another reason to raise prices is your product support. If you are seeing that you are no longer profiting from these added costs, then you must start to raise prices. Always have a credible reason to raise prices so that your customers will be able to understand the move.

Warn your customers

Facebook, Twitter and your blog are good avenues to start communicating with your customers. Inform them of what’s going on with the company, its processes, etc. and start readying them for an increase in prices. Inform your customers several months beforehand, if you can, about the change in prices. Explain what’s going on in your company and encourage your customers to give their opinions about the issue.

Appreciate your existing customers

Give your loyal customers something. Don’t forget that they helped you get where you are. Give them special discounts and special offers to show them that you appreciate their loyalty. You can just charge the difference to your new customers so you only have to raise the price slightly for the old ones. Give them time to adjust. If you have explained your side well, your old customers will appreciate the gesture and support you even after the offer expires; this helps keep sales forecasts strong.

Provide more value

Surely there are other areas in your business that you can improve on such as customer service. If it takes you a day or two to answer queries, try to improve your system and make it within 24 hours. You can also provide your customers with more useful information through your blogs. It doesn’t always have to be about your company or products. For example, if your product is a cleaning product, write blog posts about how to remove tough stains or tough dirt or how to make cleaning easier or how to get kids involved in the cleaning process.

Increasing prices is a natural thing that every business must go through. The main point is to get your customers ready for the big change.

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