Four Reasons Why You Should List Your Pricing on Your Website

Why List Your Pricing on Your Website?

Ahhh, pricing. The bane of every biz owner's existence - especially if you have a service-based biz. Do you list the pricing on your website? Do you do a "starting at" price? Do you leave it off altogether?

Well, it kinda depends on your business. But there are quite a few reasons why listing pricing, or at least a "starting at" price, is a good idea.

Give The People What They Want

If someone loves your services and they have to email you to get pricing, you might never hear from them. Why? Well, first of all, it means they need to take an action that they might not take. If they're scrolling through your site and don't see prices, they might not want to find your email, open up their gmail, write a draft, shoot it over, and wait for a response.

Also, people are scared of a sales pitch. One potential hazard of emailing someone for a price is that they'll try to pitch you, so sometimes people don't bother asking. This has happened to me before - I email for pricing, and the biz owner tries to pitch me with a "consultation call." I didn't want to get stuck on a sales call - I just wanted a damn dollar amount!

Some people think that it's better to have people email you for pricing, so you can show your value in your response. This might work for some people! But I think that your website, web copy, and portfolio should showcase your value. For example, if my target customer sees my brand design portfolio and reads my website copy, they're going to know what I bring to the table. If my prices fit in their budget, they're gonna email me, because they know I provide what they're looking for.

Save Yourself Time

If your pricing isn't on your site and people keep emailing you for a quote, responding to those emails is gonna take a ton of time. Having your pricing on there allows potential clients to figure out what your services will cost them without you having to respond to every single email inquiry.

Weeding Out THE NOT-IDEAL CLIENTS.

Let's face it: not every person is going to value your services or be able to afford your prices - and that's okay. Different strokes for different folks!

But in the same vein as saving yourself time, listing your prices on your site allows you to weed out those people who aren't your target customer for budget reasons.

If someone has a $35 budget for a logo, they can look at my price list and know that I'm out of their budget range.

Let's say that you're a wedding coordinator and a bride has a $250 budget for day-of coordination. Your pricing starts at $2500 for this service. If your pricing isn't on your website, this person will email you a ton of questions, and you'll have to do a back and forth until you realize that she's definitely not your target customer, budget-wise. This is a waste of time for both of you!

Listing your pricing on your site makes it easier to immediately weed out people that are far out of your price range, instead of wasting time on an email back-and-forth.

Know Your Value

I decided to list my a la carte pricing on my site a few weeks ago. I've worked really hard to refine my service list, build my portfolio, and hone my craft. My prices are at a level with which I feel comfortable. I know that they're fair but that I'm also charging what I'm worth. By making them "public," I'm making it clear what my value is.

In my first year of business, I worked with some clients that questioned my value because a) they were bad clients and b) my pricing was too low. Raising your prices raises the caliber of clients you can get. I'm proud of the work I put out there. If someone looks at my work portfolio, sees what I offer, and learns how I take care of my clients, then looks at my prices and thinks, "Psh. She's not worth that?" Boy, bye. I know my worth, and if someone doesn't value it - that's their problem, not mine.

Remember - if someone wants your services, they'll find a way to pay for it. I scrimped and saved to cover the cost of my SEO person and my accountant. I never questioned their pricing - I paid what they were asking for, because they're worth it.

What If Your Pricing Varies?

Sometimes, pricing varies. This is especially true for people in the wedding industry. Even my pricing varies for certain packages!

If you're listing your services and it seems like your price list is getting really long and complicated - take a step back. Maybe it's best to do a shorter, more concise "starting at" price list. This allows you to give a ballpark range, while still giving tons of wiggle room for different options.

For example - let's go back to the wedding planner example. Don't put all the nitty gritty details in your service menu. Instead, try something like:

Day of Coordination: We take care of all the setup at your venue, so you can sit back and sip mimosas with your bridesmaids. STARTING AT: $2500.00
Full Wedding Planning & Design: You tell us your ideas. We take care of all the details, coordination, and stress. You can skip the DIY and still get to attend a cake tasting - the best of both worlds! STARTING AT: $8500.00
Secondary Events: Want the bridal shower, bachelorette weekend, engagement party, post-wedding brunch, or rehearsal dinner of your dreams? We do that too. (We think every aspect of your wedding should be perfect, not just the main event). STARTING AT: $2000.00

If you need help strategizing your service menu, shoot me an email!

Reasons to NOT List Your Pricing?

I've also included a few reasons to not list your pricing on your site.

First? As business owners, let's be real. Sometimes our pricing changes. Sometimes you'd charge a lot more for a huge corporation than you'd charge a friendly acquaintance. Sometimes, depending on your industry and the client, you need to throw in what we sometimes call a "PITA surcharge." If your pricing changes a lot depending on the situation, it might be best to not list your prices on your site. But you better make damn sure your website, web copy, photography, and portfolio are KILLER, with really strong calls-to-action.

Second? Get your pricing down pat before listing it. If you just started your biz and are experimenting with price levels, leave it off till you're comfortable with a consistent price level.