The economy never stands still and, sooner or later, many businesses are forced to increase their prices. Higher revenues aside, there is still one small matter — making your current customers accept this change.
Below are some suggestions on how you can craft a price increase letter quite literally. Use any ideas that suit your situation best, and you have all the chances of retaining your valid contacts while also attracting new customers.
#1 Make it straight
Many brands feel awkward about a price increase and start writing their letters in an apologetic tone. Don’t make the same mistake because it mostly confuses the customers. Think about it this way — why would anyone want to pay you more money if you’re not sure your product or service is worth that price?
So, instead of apologizing and beating around the bush, go straight to the point. This is, after all, an informative letter, so inform your clients about pricing policy changes in the very first lines of your text. Make it clear why you are writing and drawing their attention.
After, you will have time to explain and justify your reasons, which leads us to tip number two.
#2 Emphasize value
Obviously, every company has a reason to increase its prices. More than that, it’s likely been a team decision, and you are perfectly aware of your reasons. Now, it is time to explain them — but remember that you’re crafting a justification letter, not an apology.
The best thing to achieve this effect is to say exactly what’s in it for the customers. Did you add any new functionality to the product or service you’re offering? Did you fix any bugs? Or maybe, your board of directors finally understood that giving away too many freebies is pushing the company behind?
A quality rates increase letter can surely explain all of this. Those working in the B2B sphere often have to increase their prices because the production prices grow, or because it becomes more unethical to use underpaid labor.
In any case, your price increase letter should also offer some perks for the end buyer — no matter if those are materialistic or purely ethical. Make sure you emphasize the value of your increased price.
#3 Make it short
Nobody loves a lengthy email. More importantly, no one loves disruptions. So, always remember that you are not writing a novel and have genuine respect for your clients’ time. If you have considered the first two tips, you already got your recipient’s attention. Now, make sure you say what you have to say, and make it brief.
#4 Use conversation starters
This, of course, can be a little tricky. After all, an email is a relatively cold communication method, and personalization — let alone conversation — can be challenging. Still, brands should do their best not to sound passive or impersonal.
Of course, everyone understands that your price increase letter is not unique and that thousands of other customers have received an identical copy. This by no means implies you can sound like a robot. Make an effort and think about the humane side of your company.
Think of the questions you would ask your customers by the end of a letter. Or urge recipients to contact you with any questions they have. You are always writing to real people, even if you have to send this letter to different customers. Do not address them all at once; talk like you would talk to just one person. And make sure to show this one person that the thoughts, questions, and feedback are always welcome.
#5 Make it even more personal
Today, every massively sent letter addresses recipients by their real names. This has been a common procedure for years now, and no one has any illusions about how those names are filled in. On the other hand, too many companies these days still use impersonal email addresses for their news updates. Take a second to think about it — a letter coming from ‘contact,’ ‘support,’ ‘finance,’ or anything else of this kind is immediately branded as spam in one’s head. The only thing more annoying is a ‘no-reply’ address.
So, if you really want your email to get to the customers, you should better send it from a real person’s address. It does not always have to be your company CEO (although, it definitely wouldn’t hurt), but it has to be a real person responsible for the updates. Besides, if you urge people to share feedback and ask questions, how would you expect them to reply to a ‘no-reply’ address? So, make sure you use only high-quality contact details and contact them from a real person’s inbox.
#6 Inform ahead of the changes & make offers
If you really plan to show your clients that you care, you should definitely give them some time to think about an upcoming change. Besides, remember that some letters get lost in the inbox, and recipients do not always get them the moment you click ‘send.’
Make sure you announce the new prices at least a month before the change becomes valid. Also, it could be a good idea to offer your clients some discounts before the new policy is implemented. This is a solid business solution for anyone who sells subscriptions because it is a win-win for both buyers and sellers. The first ones get a few days to subscribe at an old price, while the second ones still receive their honestly earned cash.
#7 Divide and conquer
Any business these days has different types of clients, and all of them have to be segmented into relevant lists. Obviously, the first type of subdivision that comes to mind is between free and paying clients. A simple email finder will not help with that. Since you are personalizing your price increase letter, you cannot have one and the same message for both.
Today, there are plenty of tools that can help segment your email contacts into relevant lists, and SignalHire is one of them. The biggest benefit of this tool, originally designed for recruiters, is that it allows exporting any lists you have. Besides, it has no restrictions on the number of team members working within one profile, which is very beneficial when it comes to any PR activity.
Sample price increase letter: down to practice
Now, let’s move to practice. Here is a template you might find useful.
Hey Josh,
We value your website growth and are determined to offer only the highest-quality services, which leads us to a price increase on all website plans starting June 30, 2020. Since your success is also our success, updated plans will come with advanced functionality.
Your current subscription at $100 a year will come at $125 starting July. The new plan will come with an extra 100 GB of internal storage, advanced support of Google Analytics, a chance to get contacts of any people who visited your website, and a few promotional perks on top of that. For detailed changes, check out this link.
We also thought you would want to consider other, even more advanced plans for your website growth. You will find them all here.
If you would like to order a new, advanced plan at an old price, the current payment plans will be valid till June 30. All additional features will still become active on July 1 — even at the old price.
As our loyal customer, we wanted to give you the heads up about this opportunity.
If you have any questions, reply to this email or contact our support at support@pricing.com
Adam,
CEO at NAME
As you can see, this smartly crafted letter takes all the above suggestions into account. It’s brief but to the point, clearly highlighting the value of more expensive plans. It also offers a chance to get all those upcoming benefits at a reduced price.
Final Tip: Be Consistent
It’s important to know why you are increasing the prices and how they fall in line with your company policy. And, of course, you should never be afraid — even more, if your new offers bring new prospects to the clients. Consistency with your services, prices, and features will always pay off. And, when it comes to customer email hunter or any other automation tools, there are plenty of quality options in the market — you just have to pick yours.
Image source: pixabay.com
