Should You List Your Prices on Your Website? The Answer for Service-Based Businesses
Prefer to watch? Here’s the video on YouTube
Here’s the website tip that everyone wants to know and will really impact your service business…
Today I’m answering a question I get asked quite often, and it’s a little website tip for you.
The question is, “Should I put my pricing on my website?”
I did an experiment to dive into the facts and see whether it made a difference. I was surprised by the results. The answer is coming up, but first, I'll go through the experiment.
Step 1
For six months, I listed all my pricing on my website.
In fact, I had always listed my pricing on my website but had never tracked any metrics. For this experiment, I started tracking.
Everything was fabulous! I was getting lots of enquiries and initial consultation bookings, plus the discovery calls all had good conversion rates of around 95%, which is excellent.
During the discovery calls, I didn't have any pricing questions during the calls, because people already knew the pricing before chatting with me.
It also meant the potential clients were very comfortable with the proposals, and there were minimal (if any) questions throughout the sign-up process.
Step 2
For the following six months, I removed all the pricing from the website so I could properly test if it would make a difference.
Specifically, I was tracking whether my enquiries, bookings and sales would increase or decrease – or if they’d stay the same. Basically, I wanted to know, for a fact, what would happen by taking down my pricing.
During those six months, I replaced all pricing on my website with a button for people to download my ‘Services and Pricing Guide.’ I created a PDF document with all my services, all the package inclusions, pricing, add-ons and conditions, and I linked it to the buttons on the website.
For services with multiple packages, for example, my website design services have three different packages, I listed a ‘starting from’ price, plus the button to download the pricing guide.
So, what happened?
Did anything change? Did my enquiries and sales increase? Or did they decrease?
The results really surprised me.
Based on the popular beliefs of various marketing gurus, I expected an increase of sign-ups to my email marketing list. I thought enquiries would increase and that everything would elevate.
But…
The absolute opposite happened!
People stopped subscribing to my mailing list.
Enquiries dropped
Bookings dropped
The conversion rate consequently dropped dramatically
Everything dropped!
It was like I fell off the face of the planet.
People hated it. It was crickets! Absolute crickets.
I persevered for six months as planned to ensure proper comparison and tracking.
Now remember. The only thing in my entire business that I did differently was to take the pricing off my website.
My 95% conversion rate dropped dramatically during that time because I wasn’t getting the enquiries.
Thankfully, I was fully booked during that time and had retainer clients – if I didn’t, I don’t think I would have kept the experiment going so long.
While I still had income and clients during that time, I lost a lot of momentum for the following six months – that was the flow-on effect.
It was great to do the experiment because it gave a clear answer as to which approach to pricing works, but I needed to know more.
It’s not enough to know something is broken.
You must know why it’s broken to learn from the experience.
By breaking the situation down and investigating all the little nuances, I could determine the why and strategise to fix things. Just like a mechanic can’t fix a car if he doesn’t know what’s broken.
I needed to get into the psychology of my potential clients to discover the real reason taking my prices down had such an astonishing effect on enquiries and bookings.
How did I break it all down?
By talking to people. Listening to their thoughts, feelings, and opinions.
They were interesting conversations and provided clarity and insight I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
All the reasons people gave are very valid, and they’re something you need to consider when deciding whether to put your pricing on the website or not.
Here’s what people had to say…
1. What are you hiding?
By taking my prices off the website and directing them to download a price guide, they felt I needed to hide my pricing because it must be way too expensive.
They also thought I was just baiting them to get their details before ‘hooking’ them into something and then spamming them. They assumed they’d get lots of DM’s, that I’d be in their inbox way too often, and totally annoy them.
They weren’t interested in working with someone they thought was hiding things or was secretive. For them, it created a feeling of distrust, which is the complete opposite of what their experience with me would have been if I’d had the chance to speak with them, and work with them.
In short, it created a strong feeling of distrust.
2. I don’t have the time!
Next, people said they didn’t have the time to do the sign-up process. They didn’t want to fill in their details, get an email, confirm their email, then download the guide and scroll through it to find what they wanted.
Their comments were, ‘I’m already on your website. Why can’t you just tell me?’
And they’re right! They were already where I wanted them to be, where they wanted to be, and the only thing keeping them from booking a call with me was knowing the price.
By taking pricing off the website, I made it really difficult for them.
When you're trying to get people on your website to book a call, it must be as easy as possible.
I complicated the process and made it really difficult for them - and they hated it. They’d click the button, realise what would happen and then shut it all down.
3. I can’t be bothered
This is a very similar persona to the ‘I don’t have the time’ people; however, those who think this way won’t even find out about the sign-up process in the first place! They won’t click the button at all.
Someone’s direct comment was:
‘I just want to know the price. If it's not there, I'm not going to be bothered doing anything else. I don't have the time and I don't have the interest. There's plenty of other competitors out there that I can go to get what I need straight away.’
Removing the pricing created a huge set of obstacles for my potential clients. The absolute opposite effect of what was intended.
As I said earlier, based on popular opinion, I thought there was potential for increased enquiries, better quality enquiries, and higher conversion rates. Unfortunately, the results speak the complete opposite. Taking prices off your service business website has the potential to seriously make a negative impact on your business.
Obviously, I’m talking specifically about service-based businesses. However, if you're a product-based business, you would never consider not having your pricing on your website because it is essential to show product pricing. That’s the number one golden rule for product-based businesses. Pricing must be front and centre and really clear.
However, for service-based businesses, there's always been a little query box around this topic.
‘Do I put my pricing on, or don’t I put my pricing on?’
I'm laying it all out here for you!
Put your service pricing on your website. If you have a few different packages or offer bespoke custom pricing for some services, it’s fine to have a ‘starting from’ price for those items - if you have your full pricing listed for the more standard services.
When you’ve been open, transparent, and honest with all your other pricing but don’t want to clutter up your website with detailed pricing on bespoke or intricate options, people are ok with you just having the ‘from’ pricing for those items. They won’t resist that.
Why don’t business owners put their pricing on their websites?
Now it’s time to consider this from the business owner’s perspective. Here are three reasons why most service-based businesses don’t like having their prices on their website.
1. I want to get more people on my mailing list
This is the number one reason people don’t list their pricing on their website.
They think if they leave it off and create a downloadable pricing guide, people will happily hand over their email addresses for the privilege of learning the price.
This theory doesn’t work. In fact, it’s the complete opposite.
You should never use your price guide as a lead magnet. That’s not what it’s for.
People will join your mailing list if they feel you're giving them value and something for nothing.
But give them a pricing guide - you're not giving to them. You’re taking from them.
What does your potential client want? They want to know if they can afford to work with you. They want the price. By withholding it in this way and making it difficult. Your potential clients feel like you’re being demanding, sneaky, and not caring about giving them what they need.
Instead, they feel you're expecting something from them without even ‘going on a first date.’
To get people onto your mailing list, create a really good freebie that adds value and gives potential clients something they need to solve a problem easily.
By creating a free product that’s so full of care and value, when they sign up and download it, you’ll make them feel that you genuinely care about them. They’ll read it and think, ‘Wow, this person really knows what they're talking about, and they’ve put a lot of effort into helping me for nothing.’
That is what your freebie is for. And that is how you get people onto your mailing list. So, advertise your freebie left, right and centre to get people onto your mailing list!
Your services and pricing guide is not for that purpose.
It’s important you separate the purpose of these items in your mind.
Your services and pricing guide is you wanting to get something from your potential clients, while your freebie is creating a relationship and giving something of value to someone.
People will happily give you their email addresses for that.
2. They won’t understand the value I’m giving them if they just see the price!
Another misconception by many service providers is their need to ‘explain’ the pricing and the value it provides. They think people won’t understand what they’re getting, and by having their details, they can talk to the person and make them understand.
This is counterproductive. People don’t want that. They don't want you to have to explain it to them. If your pricing is so complex that it needs a lengthy explanation – there’s something wrong. It needs to be simple and crystal clear.
What’s the solution?
Make it as easy as possible for people.
You can easily remove the barrier you’ve created by your need for talking and explaining – with copywriting!
Really good copy on your website will explain everything to your potential clients for you.
That's the purpose of having great website copy. You overcome client obstacles by having carefully crafted, strategic words in the right places on your website.
Copywriting provides all the answers to their potential questions and allows a space for them to see and feel the value in what you offer.
Copywriting removes barriers, deletes obstacles, and
creates a need to know more and to work with you.
That’s what your website is for. You’ve already done the good work of getting them to your website, so now let your website do its job and communicate your value on your behalf.
When you have the right messaging – through your website copywriting - it will do two things. It will attract the right people to you and repel the people you don't want to work with, those who aren't right for you - because not everyone's right for you.
Quality copywriting is critical for your website.
3. I don’t want my competition to know what I charge!
Most service providers don't put their pricing on the website because they want to keep it a secret from their competition.
Well, copycats will steal your ideas and undercut your pricing. It’s unavoidable.
I have had instances where my copywriting, content, pricing, structuring, and packages were completely ripped off. I've had other copywriters and website designers copy and paste my content onto their websites. I’d be lying if I said that doesn’t annoy the hell out of me – because it does! It’s highly unethical, it's rude, and that's my work, don't steal my work.
So, I understand the frustration around trying to protect your pricing.
But don't let that be the reason you create obstacles for your clients because whatever you do, someone will copy you. Competitors will emulate what you do. If it's really becoming a problem, there are legal paths that you can and should explore – talk to an IP lawyer early in your small business journey to make sure you have the proper protections in place.
Think about this from a different angle. Those copycats are not really impacting your business because they are clearly trying to get to where you already are. They’re a few steps behind you. And they'll stay there because you're already well and truly on your path forward. So don't let them stop you.
Making business decisions based on fear is never a good practice.
This experiment, while challenging, was very worthwhile. It’s given a great insight into how our clients think and feel about pricing and made what’s important to them abundantly clear.
Think twice before you take off your pricing because it has the potential to hurt your business.
And that’s not what you want.
The data doesn't lie. The data can be viewed from any angle and tells the same story.
Having great content on your website is crucial. The right copywriting will answer all their questions and overcome objections while creating a lovely ‘like, know and trust factor’ for the people who visit your website.
Your pricing then cements the ‘know, like and trust’ because you're open, honest, and transparent.
People will only deal with people that they feel are upfront with them. So, if you're upfront right from the beginning and give them what they need quickly, they'll be more inclined to work with you or even book that initial call. Plus, their initial call will run so much more smoothly because they already feel comfortable, and you’ve given them all the essential information they need in a way that is easy for them to consume.
While there are valid reasons for not putting your pricing up, it’s essential to consider the question from your client’s perspective, through their lens.
With everything you do in your business – always come from the angle of a great user experience because sometimes your reasons or perspective aren’t what matters.
I hope that answers the question of whether or not to list your prices on your website.
Put your pricing on your website
Don't worry about the copycats
Use your freebies to provide value as you collect emails
