Below is a sample “We’re Raising Our Prices” letter that you can adapt for use in your business. Look at the reasons given for raising prices. Of course, I just made them up, but the point is to use valid reasons that could apply to your business. Insurance premiums, wage increases, transportation costs, fuel costs, rising Australian dollar or currency exchange rates, additional security measures, skills shortages, land taxes, decreasing profit margins, having to moving to new facilities and dozens of others are all valid reasons. that you can use to increase your prices.
Can you see how they have made a limited offer to entice business owners to buy now? And with cash in advance? So not only do they get the majority of companies to pay the highest prices, but they get an immediate boost from the cash flow of the 10 companies that pay upfront. And that they clearly explain the additional products and services they offer. So even though they have to raise their prices, they are offering extras to sweeten the deal. You will see that a specific dollar amount was mentioned at the beginning. That is to get the attention of the owners. If that was hidden at the bottom of the letter, they probably wouldn’t even have read that far. Would you read a letter that said “Save yourself $ 4,975 if you buy now”? I think you would. So keep in mind that you need to get their attention right from the start. Then tell them that you don’t want to raise your prices, but because of (insert your business reasons), you must. It really is that simple. I mean, would you be offended if you received a letter like that?
Add a few extras to sweeten the deal
After you’ve explained how you just have to increase your prices, add in a few additional products and services and you’ll see that no one really notices. If they are satisfied with your product or service, they will continue to use it. You can include additional value from your own business, as we have seen in this chapter. Or add something of value from other businesses like the free “Insurance Consultant” consultation in the letter. In this case they have done both. They will provide some additional services and some gifts from another company.
Your action plan to increase your prices and add value
- Think of a valid USP for your business, something that makes your customers say “Wow, this woman really knows what she’s doing, what a great deal.” Involve your entire staff; make it something everyone is a part of. Remember that a good USP formula is … “You know when (insert a common problem or frustration for your industry or profession here), well what we do is (show how you solve this problem better, everyone faster, more easy or even cheaper than the others) “.
- Stop competing on price, don’t be a discount, if you have a price advantage over the competition, that’s fine. But don’t be a discount. Compete on the basis of your USP and the enormous extra value you offer to your customers.
- Add Value and Increase Your Prices – Add lots of extra value to your product or service. Make your business stand out so much that price becomes irrelevant to your customers.
- Contact companies that are related but not competing in your local area; Explain that it costs them money to get a new customer. They should know this anyway. You will send them new clients for free, they will only have to give away some of their time, or a free meal, or 3 hours of free gardening, etc. If you know that it costs you $ 200 to get a new customer, it is nothing to give away a small sample of your product or service to get that customer. Particularly when explaining how that person can become a customer for life.
- Give away vouchers, discounts, gifts, extras, etc. with every sale you make; Once you’ve accepted the other deals, give away some of your vouchers, discount coupons, giveaways, etc. with every purchase.
- Add extra value from within your business – little things like extra service, thank you letters and calls, follow-up calls, clean-up after follow-up visits, birthday cards or phone calls, being on time, making sure your customers understand what’s about to happen next, alerting your customers to helpful information that could help them, sending flowers and gifts or lottery tickets, etc., can make a big difference in how your customers perceive you. And it’s about perception. You see, you might be the most honest person to ever walk this earth. But if you are a used car salesman, people will have a certain perception of you. It is not true, but it is true in their minds. And what you want is your customer’s mind to say “Wow, this guy is the best and most trusted car dealer I’ve ever seen.” By doing some or all of the little things above, your clients will perceive you as special, unique, different, and caring.
- Offer an Outrageous Guarantee, Better Than Risk-Free – When you take any risk out of doing business with you, your sales can’t help but increase. Even if it is much more expensive than your competitors, the fact that dealing with you is a “no risk” situation will mean that more people will choose you. Most business owners seem too scared to offer an outrageous guarantee. They believe that people will agree to take advantage of them. The simple fact is, they won’t. You’ll probably find that maybe I out of 100 or I out of 1,000 people take unfair advantage of your guarantee. And who really cares? Because, when you offer a better risk-free guarantee, you will soon be making a lot more sales at a much higher price than now, which you certainly won’t care if 1% or more of people try to rip you off.
- Use testimonials to prove what you’re saying is true – testimonials from satisfied customers in the past also help reduce any risk a customer may feel doing business with you.
- Send a letter to all of your customers telling them that you are raising your prices, but before you do, there is a 1 month window of opportunity to buy at the above prices. Use the sample letter as a template. That way, you’ll get a cash flow boost from customers who come in to buy at the old price, and when they all start paying the new, higher prices a month from now. As you do so, include a customer survey with the letter and ask your customers to tell you what they liked best about doing business with you, what they liked least, if they are happy with your service or product, what could you do? better and so on. You can offer a prize, a giveaway, or an incentive for additional responses. When you get them, pay close attention to what your customers are telling you. Do a lot more of what they like, and cut out everything they didn’t like. Then you can easily justify the price increase.
- Over time, make sure all of your marketing efforts clearly explain why your business is different – focus on the benefits your customers will reap when they do business with you. However, tell them about the disaster they will avoid doing business with you. Emphasize your risk-free warranty, customer service, reliability, proven track record, twice as long warranty, cheaper running costs, and more.
This is a form letter that you can modify and use …….
Dear Customer,
Save $ 4,975 when you buy now
This is your last chance to buy at our previous prices – we don’t want to, but we simply have to increase our prices
First of all, don’t worry, if you renew your security contract with us in the next 30 days, not only will you save on our new prices, but you will also get an additional 10% discount that will save you a whopping $ 4,975 on your contract. current. .
We really don’t want to, but we will have to raise our prices. The rising cost of insurance premiums, recent industrial action that resulted in wage increases for the security industry, rising fuel costs, and land taxes mean we simply have to raise our prices or we will close.
We just want to take this opportunity to say “Thank you” for your business, we have enjoyed helping you protect your business and property.
We want you to be assured that you will continue to receive the same excellent service from us; in fact, we will introduce the following new services for your benefit, all at no additional cost.
- Double the patrols – We will now inspect your property every 20 minutes, instead of 40. Your facilities will now be safer than ever.
- Free nightly security escorts for your staff. We know that from time to time some of your staff work late into the night and, as you know, “you can’t be too careful these days.” From now on, we will be there to escort you safely to your cars, and we will provide this service free of charge. Call us 10 minutes before you want to leave and we will be there.
- $ 500 Free “Insurance Consultation” – In the last three years we have been serving over 50 local businesses. None have been stolen in that time. And because of our great track record, the companies that use us may be eligible for a significant discount on insurance. So we’ve arranged a “free consultation” with our friends at “Jakes Business Insurance” to see if you can save more money.
- $ 1,000 Free “Property Security Audit” – We want to maintain our 100% “no theft” record. Therefore, we will offer you a free “property security audit”. We will spend a day reviewing every inch of your business facilities and provide you with a comprehensive written report. This will cover areas such as fire safety, alarms, personnel safety, “weak spots”, blind spots, etc.
So while we are going to increase our prices, we are offering a higher level of service and you may be able to save $ 1,000 on your insurance policy by using us. Hurry up …
We must make it clear that this offer is strictly limited to the first 10 companies that renew their security contract with us and pay the first two months in advance.
Feel free to call us at 1.800.000.000 to discuss any of these changes. Our goal is to provide you with an even better level of service and protection than in the past. We have enclosed a complete list of our new prices and services with this letter, as well as the contract forms.
Remember, on your current contract you will save $ 4,975 if you accept this offer. So pick up the phone and give us a call right now, as we can only extend this offer to the first 10 companies that accept it.
Yours sincerely
Company owner
Business Name
P.S. This offer is strictly limited to the first 10 companies that renew their security contract with us and pay the first two months in advance.
So you can see that by using this type of form letter explaining and justifying your price increase, you can retain your customer’s loyalty.
The above is just an example of what you can create with a little imagination.
Article written by
PETER TONKS MARKETING
www.plustenmarketing.com
Peter Tonks Marketing.