Should I change my prices
Pricing… the number one mindset barrier when it comes to running a biz.
Seriously, why does it have to be so hard to come up with a price?
And then when you finally set one, next you end up continuously wondering if it’s too high.
“Is that why people aren’t buying?”
So we get onto Facebook Groups and ask. Or we ask family and friends. And then we get a mix of answers…. but only focus on the ones that say they would only pay so much.
It is an endless cycle which I admit I struggle with regularly also. But then my “marketing brain” switches on, and I go into logic mode.
You see, there are 100’s of reasons you might not be getting the sales you want. And only one of them is price!
Here are 5 things I want you to look at before you ask Should I change my prices?
no. 1 : have i effectively communicated the value of my offering?
When I say Value, I am talking about the benefit that your product or service gives that person.
What need it solves
What desires it fulfills
How it can improve your target audience’s life.
NOT the features: not it’s size or the bells & whistles. That’s not the reason why people buy things in most scenarios.
They buy it for the reason behind it. They have some emotional reason or sometimes they have some sort of real desire to solve a problem, or they really want to have some sort of outcome.
The way you do this is that you have to really know your target audience, you have to know what makes them tick.
Don’t just think that you’ve got to pitch this or that feature, think about talking to your audience, figure out what they want, figure out why they really are buying and use that language instead to communicate the value of what you offer.
no. 2 : Have i used consistent & professional branding?
So many people think that the product speaks for itself, that’s not true.
You have to style it in some way. You have to bring across a certain feeling and emotion, and that is what branding is all about.
If you are just putting up random pictures on Instagram of your products, plus a couple of quotes here and there, it doesn’t invoke that professional feel.
It makes people think, it may be a hobby. Instead, you want people to think that you really, really know what you are talking about. Then they know you are serious.
Going back to what your audience wants, you need to bring that mood and that personality through your branding.
Make sure it’s consistent.
Make sure it’s really clean and professional.
The other element, in particular for those of you who sell products, is making sure your photos make your products shine. Don’t have bad lighting with shadows. Don’t have something in the background.
A great method is to present it in a way that it’s in use. Someone’s wearing the dress that you’ve got, so you’ve got some model shots, or you’ve got a styled desk flat lay with your items on that. Whatever you need to do to make your product look like it is in an environment that your audience wants.
Another method is to show some behind the scenes of you actually creating your products with your hands. This reinforces that your product is handmade and made with love. Not mass produced. This will help them to see the person behind the product.
For services, get some great head shots. Don’t just have some random photo of you that you took on your phone. You are the face of your business, so it is worth getting some really nice photos. Even if it is just you outside with some great light when you’ve just got back from the hairdressers.
This will make you more approachable and lift your branding as well.
So before you question your pricing, I want you to have a look. Step back and look at the brand and what you are presenting to the world.
If you are not putting your best foot forward, if you’re not wearing your best outfit and looking your greatest: Why would people want to buy from you at your “worth”?
no. 3 : is my purchasing process simple?
This is the real practical stuff. This is where I recommend you actually get a couple of outside people to come in and go through the buying process.
If you are the one to set it up, you are really close to it. You know all the ins and outs and how things work but people might find, “Oh, I found the sizing really confusing,” or “I couldn’t figure out the shipping,” or “you’ve got these three different packages, but I’m not really sure what the difference is between them”. You have to think about how simple that is from an outsider’s perspective.
But others may find some things confusing. Whether it’s to do with your sizing, or your shipping, or you just have too many package offerings.
Another thing along those lines is making it distraction less. If once you get people to the pages where your products or your services are, or your sales pages, remove all the other things that they could click away to.
Keep it focused on what you want them to buy, and then make it really simple. You click this button and it takes them there. They put in their credit card details or their PayPal, they could select their options, but it has to be super simple. Not throwing them any random surprises either that might put them off.
Then of course there is the technical process of actually purchasing. So I highly recommend you have someone run through it with you.
no. 4 : am i retargeting?
A big misconception is that we expect people to buy on their first visit to our website. But unless someone desperately needs what you’re offering now, or they’ve been looking for it for awhile, they’re likely not necessarily in the frame of mind to buy at that minute.
They might think, her stuff is lovely, I really love it. I might want that one day, but they’re not right now.
It is your job to keep reminding them that you exist, and reminding them of the reasons why they might want to buy.
So stop playing the big numbers game of trying to get more and more people in and only converting a lower amount if you can retarget those who are already showing at least some level of interest.
You can do this in a couple of ways:
- Getting them onto an email list, by having an opt-in incentive, like a little PDF or a free shipping voucher. Then you can retarget them with a series of a few emails to start, and then every month, when you send out your newsletter, you’re reminding them that you exist. You’re at the top of their minds when they are at a point to buy.
- Ads Retargeting through Facebook. Get the Pixel installed on your website and then you can retarget those same visitors with an ad. (Check out this post for more details)
People say that someone needs to see something at least seven times before buying. I’ve even heard more recently that it’s 14.
It is your job as a marketer, as a business owner, to use the tools you have at your disposal to keep reminding them.
no. 5 : am i adding value?
The wonderful thing, especially if you’re offering something premium, is that you have more time and money and all that stuff to put into the experience, or into the product, to make it feel premium, to make it feel good.
And you can add value without decreasing the price!
You can add value by adding in a few little bonuses, a few little freebies.
This can be great if you’re a service. You might have some small things you can add in. Like a workshop video or some technical tutorials. Things that are leverageable.
One thing I’m doing with my services is putting together a tutorial library on how to setup a lot of the marketing systems or do some basic designs. It saves me time explaining it to everyone individually, but it also offers my client extra value.
For products, you could look at packaging. How are you making people feel when they receive it? Is it just a basic envelope, or basic cardboard box with a little business card in it, or have you gone all out with your wrapping and are making them feel really special when they get your goods? You can think about adding in some simple little extras that don’t necessarily cost a fortune but can significantly increase the perceived value of what you offer.
closing thoughts
These are just a few of the questions you should ask yourself before you think about changing your pricing.
I hope that puts things in a slightly different light for you and gives you that extra confidence in what you have to offer.
As with anything, it all comes back to knowing your target audience and connecting in a way that is meaningful to them.
