How To Notify Customers of Price Increase

It’s no secret that in recent years, the standard of living and customer habits have changed significantly. To make ends meet, there’s a chance you’d need to make the decision of increasing prices in your barber shop to keep things going.

You may feel your services have jumped to the next level, therefore you feel a price increase is ok.

Regardless of how long you’ve been in the industry, there’s still a fear associated with rising prices. You might be worried that raising costs would detract customers from coming back to your barber shop.

While increasing prices certainly isn’t a fun piece of news to deliver, the good news is, there are strategies and ways to notify your customers of a price increase smoothly. Below, we’ve detailed some ways to increase prices and retain customers seamlessly.

It’s all about communication

Communication is vital, without proper communication, things could be spun out of control which would result in disastrous consequences. Hence, it’s crucial that you have an adequate communication plan in place.

Start by communicating your changes internally – make sure that individuals working for you are aware of the price increase and can reliably communicate to customers and readily answer any questions that they may have.

If your staff are unsure of what should be said, you can even provide them with a sample script to help them talk about the new price structure.

Next, you’ll want to inform your key clients ahead of the other clients. Your key clients are essential to your business, and you want to make sure that they don’t feel neglected. If possible, try to communicate with them in person to make it more personable.

Once your key clients and staff are aware, it’s time to make a general announcement. You can do this through email, posting a press release on your website, sending letters to all of your customers or posting it on your blog.

Make sure that you give ample notice time before the actual price increase. That way, your customers can make alternative plans if they need to and will be less likely to feel upset or frustrated at the change.

After these communications have gone out, you have to be prepared to answer any questions that anyone might have.

If customers share their grievances on other platforms such as social media, you have to respond to their comments in a professional manner.

By communicating openly and promptly, your customers are less likely to be alarmed or feel that they’re mistreated.

The tone of voice is key

When communicating with your clients on the price change, you need to be wary of your tone. Try not to mention the price change in a nonchalant way or brush off any comments that your clients make.

Instead of blatantly stating that you are going to be increasing prices, you can express appreciation for your clients and staff before being transparent about the reasons behind the price change.

By starting with something positive and slowly easing into the message, you’ll be softening the blow.

Be transparent

Building on the previous point, you should be open about the price increase and explain to your customers the reason behind it. Since it isn’t exactly the most pleasant news, you might be tempted to hide it.

However, doing that will only make your customers unhappy and resentful.

Instead, be open about the reasons behind the increase but don’t place the blame on someone else or outside circumstances.

You should be focusing on the customer and explaining to them why this price increase is fair, stating the exact date and details of the price increase is also important.

The value of your service and product

While a price increase isn’t pleasant, most customers are willing to take the hit because of the exceptional service and value that’s been rendered to them.

Hence, when increasing the price, it’d be good to remind your customers of the key benefits that you’ve delivered through the years, and explain how the cost increase will support this goal.

Additionally, you can also package your services with an existing bonus service or upgrade your product. If you’re adding a little something extra, customers may not even notice the difference in price.

Your price increase also doesn’t have to impact all of your services. You could for example, still keep the price of your regular services and offer a premium service with additional extras for an added cost. That way, you’re also offering customers variety – which they’d appreciate.

Conclusion

While certainly tough, communicating a price increase isn’t the end of the world. There may be some customers that’ll choose to walk the plank, however, if you deliver your message properly and follow some of the strategies listed above, customers will understand.

Furthermore, if you’re offering a service and product that they love, the price increase wouldn’t detract them from coming back for more.