Overcoming the Fear of Increasing the Price
A client I have worked with over many years is a dog grooming business. Over many conversations, we worked on developing and implementing strategies to ensure the owners aspirations in business + life continue to be aligned.
In this context, when the client reached out just after New Years Day to book a coaching conversation, I knew a challenge had arisen which was disturbing that alignment.
The conversation with the owner took place last week and the challenge was about managing the first price rise in the business since 2014. The owner was worried that given the business was operating in a very competitive space, the clients would take their business elsewhere to a less expensive groomer.
I responded to this worry by asking:
How did the owner know the clients would take their business elsewhere after the price increase?
After quietly considering the question, the owner admitted they had no idea what the impact of a price rise would have on the client base!
As a result, we agreed to proceed with a price increase on the following basis:
- Raise the price as from the end of the month for new clients;
- For existing clients freeze the price until 30 June 2023;
- Advise existing clients the price is frozen as the owner’s way to thank them for their support over many years; and
- Implement a seniors + pensioners discount to reflect the age demographic of the client base.
I am looking forward to our next conversation as to what was the response of the client base to the price rise.