Pricing on Website?

[Nochexman]

I'm afraid you missed the point of that comment. Put another way, agencies who are big and successful have suggested to us, a smaller agency, they don't put prices on their site and don't think it's a good idea. I disagree with them.

Hi d, those Big Agencies make a valid point! In your case, other factors may be much more important than how you present your prices. If your clients are not worried about how much something is going to cost (they may be more interested in creativity and demonstrable success) then showing prices may make you look unsuitable. If your clients are smaller, then price is much more important and being able to indicate that you can create something at a particular price point will be attractive to a price sensitive niche. In principle, the way you present your pricing is driven by how you brand yourself and the image you wish to portray.

 

[RedEvo]

Hi d, those Big Agencies make a valid point! In your case, other factors may be much more important than how you present your prices. If your clients are not worried about how much something is going to cost (they may be more interested in creativity and demonstrable success) then showing prices may make you look unsuitable. If your clients are smaller, then price is much more important and being able to indicate that you can create something at a particular price point will be attractive to a price sensitive niche. In principle, the way you present your pricing is driven by how you brand yourself and the image you wish to portray.

We work with multi-million-pound companies and I've never met one that doesn't want to know about costs as early as possible We take a rather novel approach to illustrating costs.

d

 

[HazelC]

Just my two pence, I have my prices on the website as this stops the time wasters who want to pay a much lower price. This also means that when I am contacted through my website the person I am speaking to already has an idea of what they are going to pay, even if they need the package personalised.

It did take me a long time to come to this decision though

 

[Matt_Anstiss]

Hi All,

New to the site and this is a really interesting topic! I am doing research for a new business idea about how people find suppliers for work to get prices for things which are more complex than just a simple price on a website i.e. manufacturing, catering, printing etc etc. It seems that apart from insurance and trades (you can use price comparison sites) it's still a very manual process.

1. Search Google to find suppliers
2. Contact suppliers individually with a brief
3. Recieve prices by email, fax or phonecall etc
4. Compare quotes
5. Give job to preferred supplier

Does anyone approach it in a different way to this? Sorry if it's off topic, just really interested to know how people approach it currently when its not as simple as just putting a price up.

Best

Matt

 

[yarp media]

We have just added a price page to our website as a little experiment. We are interested to see what difference it makes to potential clients. We have followed on by selling our selves and boasting about our fantastic customer service. It doesn't all come down to just the price.

 

[Matt_Anstiss]

@yarp media - interesting you said it doesn't always come down to price. Exactly my thoughts. I think a major problem I am trying to solve is to give buyers and suppliers data to evaluate things on more than just a price point i.e. customer service, quality, timings, communication, previous work etc.

 

[mick&sarah]

Lack of on the site prices are always bad for business, and just irritates potential customers.

I disagree, as long as they're quick to reply to enquiries as regards prices.

 

[Matt_Anstiss]

I disagree, as long as they're quick to reply to enquiries as regards prices.

I agree on the price side of things. i think people in general (apart from very generic items) like to know they are getting a bespoke price and hopefully below list price.

 

[Scott@KarmaContent]

I agree on the price side of things. i think people in general (apart from very generic items) like to know they are getting a bespoke price and hopefully below list price.

A bespoke price from some companies means 'How much can I get away with charging...'

 

[Matt_Anstiss]

A bespoke price from some companies means 'How much can I get away with charging...'

Very true however if they know they are being compared to other suppliers for the same brief they would need to be competetive on either price, quality or service. I think there is a happy medium between bidding wars (which i am strongly against) and empowering buyers AND suppliers with real data to inform their choices based on more than just price.

 

[yarp media]

A bespoke price from some companies means 'How much can I get away with charging...'

It should however lead to better quality results. Paying more should enable the company to spend more time researching and creating a higher quality end product. A cheap quote may end with low quality results because the company was rushing the job to get it done within budget

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

It should however lead to better quality results. Paying more should enable the company to spend more time researching and creating a higher quality end product. A cheap quote may end with low quality results because the company was rushing the job to get it done within budget

Not entirely true at all.

That is probably all dependant upon what industry you're in - i.e. website building - I've heard of companies that charge stupid prices for a wix shopping cart...

£1000 for a free website - thanks for that folks!

Obviously you're not paying for the website but the person building it - don't get me wrong, I get that... but when you look at other companies who do this kind of work for £299

Begs to differ eh?

As stated previously - please scroll up for my reply with regards to being a Locksmith and our charges.

We charge accordingly - Result = the correct work doing for the right price


national companies charge extortionately = wrong work being done and charged stupidly.

Another Example:

Was called out a few months ago to secure a 96 year old woman's front door - who had already paid out £125 + VAT to a national company who refused to send back the engineer without her paying a further 75 + VAT because her door was still not secure!

Old lady - screams VULNERABLE to me!

After inspecting the work - I found that the previous locksmith had removed the mechanism completely and installed an overnight lock - with an incorrect cylinder installed AND the lock was not secure in the profile of the door!

It took me two minutes to wack in a couple of screws... something THEY should have done!

Turns out that he had tried to charge her... wait for it... £350 + VAT for a new mechanism!! because... you'll love this... he couldn't get it tonight because the distributor was closed as it was after 5.00pm hence why he "partially" installed the overnight lock - when she refused to pay £350 + VAT he walked away...

The idiot was about 10 minutes from B&Q he could have driven down and picked up a Yale Professional Mechanism for £80 + VAT and wacked that in for £160 + VAT

Funnily enough she never did use them again - and we still get work from her and all her family.

 

[Willing2learn]

Am I being dumb or would putting a pricing system onto your site be a great source of info for your competition, which could then use that info to undercut you or provide their own strategy.

Especially when I am a one man start up band and there are companies with budgets much larger than mine but provide a similar service.?
Just curious really

 

[Scott@KarmaContent]

Am I being dumb or would putting a pricing system onto your site be a great source of info for your competition, which could then use that info to undercut you or provide their own strategy.

Especially when I am a one man start up band and there are companies with budgets much larger than mine but provide a similar service.?
Just curious really

Not really. If they really want to find out your prices all they have to do is ring you up for a quote.

 

[yarp media]

Not entirely true at all.

That is probably all dependant upon what industry you're in - i.e. website building - I've heard of companies that charge stupid prices for a wix shopping cart...

£1000 for a free website - thanks for that folks!

Obviously you're not paying for the website but the person building it - don't get me wrong, I get that... but when you look at other companies who do this kind of work for £299

Begs to differ eh?

As stated previously - please scroll up for my reply with regards to being a Locksmith and our charges.

We charge accordingly - Result = the correct work doing for the right price


national companies charge extortionately = wrong work being done and charged stupidly.

Another Example:

Was called out a few months ago to secure a 96 year old woman's front door - who had already paid out £125 + VAT to a national company who refused to send back the engineer without her paying a further 75 + VAT because her door was still not secure!

Old lady - screams VULNERABLE to me!

After inspecting the work - I found that the previous locksmith had removed the mechanism completely and installed an overnight lock - with an incorrect cylinder installed AND the lock was not secure in the profile of the door!

It took me two minutes to wack in a couple of screws... something THEY should have done!

Turns out that he had tried to charge her... wait for it... £350 + VAT for a new mechanism!! because... you'll love this... he couldn't get it tonight because the distributor was closed as it was after 5.00pm hence why he "partially" installed the overnight lock - when she refused to pay £350 + VAT he walked away...

The idiot was about 10 minutes from B&Q he could have driven down and picked up a Yale Professional Mechanism for £80 + VAT and wacked that in for £160 + VAT

Funnily enough she never did use them again - and we still get work from her and all her family.

This is a very good point. Sadly some companies do exploit people for their money. Their reputation will catch up on them in the long run and they will start to loose loyal customers.

 

[Willing2learn]

Not really. If they really want to find out your prices all they have to do is ring you up for a quote.

I'd never quote over the phone for that very reason.

 

[RedEvo]

I'd never quote over the phone for that very reason.

Maybe it's a confidence thing. I have no problem with my competition knowing what we charge. Our prices are very much in line with other mid-sized agencies.

d

 

[Matt_Anstiss]

I have been working on a B2B network for a while now which i hope would alleviate some of the problems here. It should give suppliers a fair playing field to connect with potential buyers and also allow buyers to reach more suppliers without having to trawl google etc to find their details. There is more info at www .quotable .tech would love to know your thoughts on it (negative or positive all very welcome!)

 

[Matt_Anstiss]

The main reason i say that is it gives suppliers an option to not advertise their price to competition but advertise their services and values to potential buyers.

 

[Willing2learn]

Maybe it's a confidence thing. I have no problem with my competition knowing what we charge. Our prices are very much in line with other mid-sized agencies.

d

Oh no, I agree but we could go around in circles. My point is, being a small company, if I allow the mid-large sized companies (ie my competition), to set the base price of my specific services, then I would become workless very quickly and out of a business based on price alone, which a lot of people seem to care about it seems.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

Oh no, I agree but we could go around in circles. My point is, being a small company, if I allow the mid-large sized companies (ie my competition), to set the base price of my specific services, then I would become workless very quickly and out of a business based on price alone, which a lot of people seem to care about it seems.

I disagree - there are an awful lot of prospective customers out there that prefer to keep their business within a smaller business rather than a mid-large sized company - simply because the larger companies out there tend to lose sight on the actual goal, staying small and treating each and every customer as an individual with feelings you can continue to grow - larger companies tend to just see figures, KPI's and all that carp.

 

[Nochexman]

I'd never quote over the phone for that very reason.

If I had visited your website and not been able to find your prices, and then called you and you had not told me your prices, I doubt whether I would continue to consider you to provide the service I needed. You can make customers jump through too many hoops, I guess.

 

[jojo16]

you should show the prices of course ,a product with no price listed won't convert for sure

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

you should show the prices of course ,a product with no price listed won't convert for sure

Hmm

 

[jojo16]

am new in the forum and am trying to be active .so ,i wish that was helpful
lol

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

Hi @jojo16

Sorry, I couldn't resist ... but you've stated something which is completely false had you had read the thread you'll have seen that the company that I work for (day job - not Haunted Worlds ) have never shown prices on their website and probably never will... Our website directs customers to contact us for prices because every job albeit of a similar nature is different.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

About 15 years ago I wanted new double glassed windows, I had three quotes none of whom advertised their prices, Everest windows a famous supplier gave me a price that was megga bucks

In the end I went for a friendly local company who had done someone else house down the road and was recommended.

Everest asked about the quote and when i told them the price of the company we were going to use (under half of Everest price) the said they would match that price and knock £50 off if I changed supplier to them

Who was fleecing who

 

[Websitehandyman]

If I go to a website I want information, if the information is enough to encourage me to buy the I need to know the cost I could incur. If I don't see an indication of costs then I seldom contact the company to get those costs. I don't know any other person does not do the same.

If you don't want to put your prices online then you can put an example job and the estimate cost of that job. This both gives you what you need and gives the customer what they need.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

I honestly wish it was that simple...

Asda's - Tesco's - Sainsburys - Morrisons

All advertise their products online - on TV etc etc

Why do you shop at any of the above...

Is it because you've seen the advert?
Is it because you want the cheaper options that they all have?
Is it because of the quality of service?

You're moving down one of their isles and you see a product that you didn't want - but look it's on specials two for one... so you buy it for £1

You carry on shopping, and later see it in singles... at 49p each... You've spent 2p more hmm!

It happens at them all... you've just to got watch out for it, you've got to find out the information before you purchase... it's simple shopping at it's best.

 

[jojo16]

ah ok,sorry but i haven't read the whole post