Over the years, various businesses have faced challenges that have led to some changes in the industry. Due to the inflation and economic downturn occurring since the year started, companies are resorting to various means.
Businesses are increasing the prices of their goods because they are experiencing inflation, Covid-19 complications, and volatile markets. Some businesses are losing customers due to price inflation; however, that should only sometimes happen.
Explaining the value of your business’s services to your customers’ lives is a way to retain customers. Educating the customers and letting them understand they are not paying more for reduced quality or resources. The following are some of the tips that help to retain customers when increasing the prices of goods and services.
Be Transparent
Communication and transparency are vital when a business wants to increase the prices of its goods and services. It is best to let your customers know about a possible price increase before the increase.
You can create and send out a letter about an increase in the prices of the goods the business provides. Notifying the customers early will give them room for time to address the customer’s concerns. Ensure to understand the major factors that led to the increase in price before communicating it to the customers.
The notification or communication about the price increase should be in the form of a marketing campaign. Also, include a distinct rationale for the new price and when the new price will become effective. Use the necessary channels to raise awareness about the price increase to reach your target audience. Also, make it possible and easy for the customers to respond through various means such as an e-mail address.
Promptly Address Customer Concerns
Customers will always have their concerns and questions during a price increase, so ensure to address them. As a business, there is still a risk of losing clients whenever prices increase; however, addressing the customers can reduce the risk. Considering how the price increase can offset the customer base and lead to a potential customer loss is vital.
You can establish dedicated customer support, enabling the customers to contact you with any concerns or queries. Have a target for the response times to answer those concerns and questions. Stress the need for a price increase and the importance of good product quality. It is also vital to inform the customers that the increase will ensure the quality remains the same or higher.
Also, ensure that the customers know about the increase in price in advance so they can come to terms with it. The customers may need time to consider and assess their budgets hence the need to make them aware of the situation.
Ensure the customers receive all the necessary information because a lack of adequate information will turn them away. Addressing the customers’ concerns promptly helps reduce or mitigate some of the possible customer loss.
Don’t Neglect Franchise Marketing
Franchise marketing is one of the strategies to put in place to retain or attract customers during a price increase. It is the process involved in creating and executing a marketing tactic to promote a franchise business to increase awareness. Franchise-focused marketing helps businesses attract new customers both at scale and collectively as an organization with multiple locations.
This form of marketing is vital in businesses because it actively helps grow the industry. It enables the company to build and maintain its brand reputation. The price increase will affect businesses in various ways based on the size and structure of the business. Adding franchises to a business is an efficient way to boost the company’s growth if well planned and targeted to a high potential market.
Consider Adding Features and Benefits
When increasing prices, consider adding some benefits and features to the new products. The customers may be willing to accept the price increase if there will be extras in return for the increase. Adding benefits or increasing the value of your products helps to increase the palatability of the price increase.
If there is an increase in the price of a product, it is advisable for the value of that product also to increase. The increase in the product’s value will enable easy price acceptability by the customers. There could be low-cost add-ons available for the customers, and they are:
- Lower fees
- Free newsletters
- Exclusive online content such as forums, blogs, and tutorials.
- Additional services
- Expanded customer service hours.
Retain your Customers While Increasing Rates
When businesses increase the price of their goods or services, there is a potential risk of customer loss. The price increase often leads to a range of reactions from customers. Most customers will have concerns and queries about the new price hence the need to listen to and address their concerns.
You can use franchise marketing to attract more customers and revenue to the business. Also, ensure that the customers know about the price increase in advance so they can reassess their budget. There can also be an addition to the benefits and value of the goods when there is a price increase.
