I’m not a fan of Black Friday (you can see why here), but one thing it has done this year is highlight the difficulty of pricing during high inflation.
With general levels of inflation currently running around 10% this is an environment with higher inflation than many people have experienced.
If you are working with a range of clients with unique needs pricing can be particularly difficult. This affects both business to business sales and also charities working on a commissioning basis:
10 tips to help you
- The simplest way is to look at your current prices and add inflation – simple and hopefully easy to justify to your clients. However beware as this only works if your existing pricing is right.
- In inflationary times it’s particularly important to review on a case by case basis if your clients are correctly served and priced. For example some clients may take more time than you’d originally envisaged; while others may take less work.
- Consider introducing a minimum fee to cover the admin required to manage a client
- You could even look at the rewarding clients who are easier to work with. At Holy Brook for example we offer a discount to clients who we work with regularly from month to month.
- Consider offering a smaller package of services to help with affordability for clients who are struggling but still want to work with you.
- Remember not everyone can afford your goods or service, but this doesn’t necessarily mean you should discount. If you serve fewer clients at the right price point this can enable you to improve your own organisational sustainability.
- Communication is key with clients – many of them will be considering their budgets and will appreciate clarity and openness from you.
- If the data is available look at what your competitors or benchmarked organisations are doing. You don’t have to follow exactly what they are doing but it will give you a clearer understanding of what’s happening.
- Look at your cost base and recognise that inflation is different not just across industries but for each organisation. You may even be able to find savings – software packages, regular subscriptions and other costs can all be trimmed or reviewed.
- Remember recruitment and retention is really key at the moment across industries. Pricing so you can reward your staff fairly is really important for the sustainability of your business.
Remember…
Ultimately you need to cover your costs and remember if you are thinking about this so are your clients. An open conversation and honesty is always the best starting point.