Raising your prices seems easy, right? But how come it isn’t? There is no easy way to tell your clients they have to pay more, but there are ways to do it successfully and professionally.
Why do we need to increase our prices?
First you want to ask yourself why are you increasing your prices? Is it product costs? Matching the rates of your local competitors? Are you turning clients away because you’re too busy? Perhaps your business offers something unique? Knowing the purpose for changing your prices will give you the confidence behind making your decision and when your clients see that, they’ll feel confident in your decision as well.
Where do we start?
We must decide on the price increase and the date the new pricing will begin. Giving your clientele a heads up a month or two in advance will prevent unexpected and awkward surprises at the end of a service. By giving ample notice, we allow clients time to decide whether or not they will continue seeing us and ease them into the idea of paying more. Plus, this gives us as the artist a little more time to give them a reason to continue seeing us by showing them how valued they are as a customer- AKA offer the most amazing lash sets and customer service they have ever seen.
When it comes to actually raising your prices, start small. It will be a shock to your clients if you jump too high in price, too quickly but it is also important not to undersell yourself. Balance is key.
How to tell them?
In my experience I find that email is the most effective method of sharing the news with my clients. This is an easy and organized way to get the word out to your clients while giving them a lot of time to prepare for your new rates. It also saves me the trouble of having to remember which clients I have and haven’t shared the updates with.
I like to keep the email short and sweet to ensure the clients don’t miss the information, but also kind and heartwarming. It’s important to make sure your clients feel appreciated. By approaching in this manner, clients often respond with warmth in return and are happy to support your growth. Chances are, they value you as an artist as well.
In my experience, using soft wording within the email has been well received. Try avoiding words like “raising” and substitute it for “updating” or “adjusting”.
Although the email should be warm, it should also sound definite, clear and concise to avoid clients from thinking there is room for negotiation. If clients have questions, it is important to welcome them happily. A conversation about price raises may seem scary but it is best to defuse any concerns clients may have while showing your level of professionalism and care.
Although most clients will likely support your growth and welcome the price changes, you may lose a few clients as well. As tough as it is, don’t be discouraged by this as it allows space for new, higher paying clients to take their place
The secret to maintaining a full clientele.
In my experience the part of raising prices that has made me most reluctant was my fear of losing clients along with it.
Along with giving clients ample notice of the price increase you could potentially offer some sort of one time promotion around the same time as your prices increase. It is a nice gesture and really reaffirms your level of care for your clients. Ideally resulting in them staying as a long term client.
I’ve come up with a few ideas for promotions that your clients may enjoy but you know your clients best so feel free to get creative with your promotion ideas. Here are a few of mine:
- Offer a discount on a product you sell.
- Offer a Lash Bath combo or some other product free of charge with a fill or full set appointment.
- Create a personalized goody bag to give out to existing clients at their next appointment. This could be whatever you like.
- If you offer other services outside of lashes, perhaps give a discount off of this service or give it for free (one time when I raised my prices I gave a free brow wax and tint to clients and they really enjoyed it- not to mention they were then hooked on the new service as well which in turn created more monthly income for me in the long term).
It might sound counterintuitive to offer a discount immediately after raising your prices, however it’s a small sacrifice to make to further the growth of your business.
