Should I list prices on my website or not?
Should I list prices on my website? TLDR: Yes. Here's why:
Have you ever walked into a store gorgeous store where everything was immaculately laid out, the products were beautiful, it even smelled so good that it just blew you away. The whole vibe of the place was exactly what your dreams were made of.
“Ah, too good to be true probably, I bet this place is hella expensive”, so you go to scope out a few items to check out the price range of the place. “Hmm, that’s weird, this one has no tag”, so you move onto the next item, no tag on that one either.
Right, that’s my cue to leave...
Seriously, this happens to me all of the time. I have an eye for gorgeous things, but I’m also always lookin’ for a deal (or at least something that’s in my price range). So as soon as I stumble across a shop with no available prices, I automatically assume it's above my price range.
I know I’m not the only one in this boat. Maybe it’s because generally the only shops that don’t display their prices are targeted at people who have enough money to not even care about the prices.
You can probably see what I’m getting at here.
Whether this is right or wrong in your businesses case, this is something that people often assume: no prices = really expensive.
Of course you can enquire, and people often do, but as a person who probably wouldn't enquire, I wonder how many potential customers you are missing out on the in process?
There are so many options for everything on the internet these days, that I think to myself “why would I waste my time enquiring (when the prices are probably way out of my price range anyway) when I can just go find someone else that is in my price range.”
Not only are you potentially losing customers by not displaying your prices, you’re also wasting time with people enquiring who are not your ideal customers and can’t afford your prices anyway (even if your prices are on the lower end!).
If you don’t display your prices, there’s a chance you could get every man and his dog emailing you asking how much you charge, and this is a serious waste of time.
By putting prices on your website you can filter out the people who aren’t willing to pay the price you’re asking for.
I realise this means less enquiries, but do you really want people enquiring who can’t afford your services anyway? No, you don’t, because that’s a total waste of your time.
I understand that it’s not simple to come up with a set price, especially for a service that varies from client to client.
The best way around this is to have a “base” price, or list the price as “starting at…” This is perfect to give your potential customer a general idea of what you charge, and is enough to encourage them to enquire. From there, you can get to know them and their project better and craft a custom quote.
It’s much easier to get them to work with you once you’ve started the conversation, and it’s much easier to start the conversation by listing prices.
I strongly believe having some form of pricing on your website is necessary, even if it’s just a “starting at…” and here’s why:
If you don’t display prices
People automatically assume it’s out of their price range (it’s just human nature!)
People would rather not spend the time enquiring when they can just choose someone else who already has their prices listed (it’s 2018, people are impatient).
You waste a bunch of time responding to people who aren’t your ideal clients and can’t afford your services anyway (the ones who do enquire aren’t the right ones).
If you do display your prices
People will instantly know if your pricing meets their budget,
so they will enquire knowing that there’s a good chance you will work together,
which means you will have way less emails, but the emails you do have are from people who are really serious about investing in your services!
I hope you can see that displaying prices on your website can be hugely beneficial to your business. You're not scaring people away by listing your prices, your only scaring away people who can't afford to pay that price anyway.
So what are you waiting for, go add your prices to your website now!
