Why You Should Show Your Prices On Your Website
One of the biggest questions that business owners argue over all the time is this: should you show your prices on your website.
There is so much uncertainty in this area because business owners both want to serve their customers well but also want to build a relationship with their customers before scaring them with high prices.
Anyone else feel this way? I know I totally have. I have gone back and forth on my business websites, some months including my prices and other months just putting a general price range — so I somewhat help my customers out but also make sure that they aren't overwhelmed by a large price tag!
What should you do for your business? Here are a few ways to determine if you should show your prices on your website.
Determine the types of packages that you want offer
Before even going into showing or not showing your prices on your website, you should first consider which packages you want for your business. Packages are extremely important because they show your organization and structure to a potential customer and helps guide them through purchasing from you.
Many business leaders and also psychologists recommend having three main packages that your customers can choose from. 3 is an odd number which helps with visual placement and easy memorization. If you have a large number of packages, customers will often get overwhelmed from reading and also from the amount of choices they have — causing them to go with a competitor that has a simpler package structure.
Make sure when you're building your packages that they are fully descriptive and informational in order to answer any questions that your client may have for the package.
Having packages doesn’t mean that you can't provide custom packages or solutions for clients! If you are someone that wants to offer this, make sure somewhere in your offerings that you include a statement that you provide custom packages for the client and that they should inquire about them.
Determine What your potential customer needs to know about pricing
Every business is completely different, so your approach to pricing and showing pricing on your website will be different as well. One thing to keep in mind is what your potential customer will need to know for your specific business when they are accessing your site.
Let me give an example: let's say you are a wedding photographer. When you have a potential bride accessing your site, she probably already has somewhat of a photography budget in mind. If your business customers already have a budget in mind, it would be good to either include the exact amount of your package or provide a range of your package prices. This allows you to filter through customers that won't be able to afford your packages, even if they do fall in love with you and your business.
Now, how about an example where you don't show your prices at all? This could be the case if you provide packages for different services or businesses and actually have variable pricing based on what the needs of the business are and what services you will people . An example of this is a Pinterest manager that has three packages that all provide custom amount of posts for a business. you don't need to put package pricing here because it's going to be specific to each business.
Event with this example, I would still recommend trying to put somewhat of a price range/average price range for your clients so that customers have somewhat of an idea of how much working with you will cost.
Ask Your customers directly what they would prefer
Honestly one of the best ways to understand why your customer needs as far as seeing package prices is asking them directly.
There a few ways you can do this. You can email your email marketing list, which exists your most loyal customers, and ask them either directly or through a survey with a couple other questions as well. You can also just throw it up on Facebook or Instagram as a poll and see what your followers most prefer.
Also look to close competitors in your area! If they are posting their prices, chances are the customer will go with them over you if you don't post your prices. This is because the customer can easily access the information they need since it's already on your competitor’s site, and they would have to go through extra steps in order to get pricing directly from you.
There isn't a right answer when it comes to showing your prices on your website! Use these tips to guide your decision on what you do for your business. The main point to keep in mind is what is going to make your customer’s experience better as well as help your business continue running without scaring away customers.
