How To Increase Your Prices Today

Published June 22, 2010

Here in the UK we are about to face a fairly impacting tax increase (January 2011) with our VAT being increased from 17.5% to 20%. This may not seem like a massive leap but in real terms it is a 14% increase in the actual tax being paid at the checkout.

While I appreciate that this will have everyone up in arms (and I’m one who isn’t too chuffed about it – we will all feel it in one way or another), and it is frustrating how the Government can increase their ‘prices’ whenever they need to raise a little more cash for the Jags and the 2nd homes with a little bit left over for straightening out the NHS, it’s not the first time businesses have been hit where it hurts and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

That’s my five minutes on the soap box for today – moving on…

Any business can increase prices.

How? I can hear you shouting at me that your customers won’t pay more than they do and how hard it is to keep the wolf from the door already in these purse string tightening times that we’re in.

Easy:

Do more than the other ‘guy’! Simple.

Think about it. You’re earning X for doing what you do now. What if you doubled the amount you offered without it hitting your back pocket and only taking an extra few minutes of your time?

What ‘extras’ could you do that means your customer / client could do away with some other overhead? What other service could you tag onto what you already do that adds real value to the already valuable service you provide?

There are many ways to add value.

A gardener could remove all the rubbish rather than leave it for the customer to remove. Yes, it costs a few quid to do that but you’re saving the customer a couple of hours.

A mechanic could include a full valet service and bring the car back to the customer with a showroom shine – what a helpful gesture that would be and it adds value.

A computer repair service could include downloading and installing all the latest drivers while repairing a customer’s computer – bringing it back to the customer in tip-top condition. There’s extra value there.

A double glazing company could throw in a 3 months check to ensure all locks and hinges are perfectly adjusted and lubricated – the customer would most likely forget to squirt the WD40 anyway.

A tyre installer could invite the customer to pop in after a week or so in order for the installer to check the tyres and the wheel nuts. Include it as an extra safety check – it’s much better than dropping a not on the invoice advising the customer to check wheel nuts after 50 miles. Who reads that anyway?

A website designer could offer a six-monthly review with his/her client to discuss how many leads the site is generating and offer advice (not a sales pitch) about the sort of content they could consider adding. Maybe even do a random analysis of one or two competitors and drop it in the post as a gesture of your ‘helpfulness’.

It’s not about shouting about all the extras – it’s about doing them.

In every type of business there are little things we can do that take just a few minutes of our time and yet add a huge value to the overall service our customers / clients receive.

Add Value to Every Customer Experience

Don’t make it a ‘new customers only’ type of thing, either. Spread the word by giving your existing customers a taste of the added value. All too often the ‘add ons’ are used as part of the ‘sales pitch’ and any smart customer will see it as such.

Rather than do use it as a sales pitch, let your existing customers experience the ‘added value’ and they will tell others that your service is better ‘because’…

So while we can all sit around and find reason after reason for not being over impressed with higher taxes – ultimately because we seem to be constantly asked (oops, I mean ‘demanded’) to pay more for less; we can raise our prices in a much better way – ask for a little bit more by providing a great deal – real, genuine value – consistently and proudly.

Increase the genuine value of your offering, and you can increase your prices. Even the most seasoned bargain hunters will pay that little bit more for a much greater value in return.

Martin Koss – thinking out loud…

I don't mean to be so opinionated and argumentative, it's just me…