Last week I came across this great picture on Chris Brogan’s blog. For me it says don’t be afraid to ask a fixed price for your products or services. And do not immediately start giving discounts the moment your customer hesitates.
This picture, Chris’ post and a post I read the same day on Bob Bly’s blog also made me think again about the issue of publishing sales prices on the Internet.
According to web usability guru Jakob Nielsen salesprices are the number one information people miss on most Internet sites. It would therefore from a usability point of view be a good idea to publish your prices on your Internet site.
On the other hand there are a lot of people advising against publishing price information because it damages your business. The phone could stop ringing the moment your price list is online.
Yes/No
If what Jakob Nielsen says is right, a lot of people visiting your B2B Internet site are looking for price information. Depending on whether prices are available or not, there are two things they can do.
No price information available:
- They leave your site, thinking your are probably too expensive and go somewhere else.
- They contact you to get price information.
Price information is available:
- They leave your site, thinking you are too expensive and go somewhere else.
- They contact you to get more information about your prices.
It looks like there is not much difference between the two. In both cases there are two options: the people visiting your website are gone without you knowing about them or they contact you and you are able to secure the sale (or not).
But there is a difference
You have no control over people that leave your site because they cannot find price information. You can try to persuade them with a button or some text to give you a call or drop you an email, but that is about all you can do.
When you do however publish price information on your website, you are able to comment on your prices. It gives you the possibility to explain about how your prices are build-up and what features are included (or not). You are able to give a lot more information and highlight advantages like pay-back time, lower cost of ownership and more. Information that generally is quite abstract without the price information being available.
Competition
Talk about price information on your Internet site and a lot of people start worrying about competition.
If you are talking marketing you should never be allowed to use the word competition. They only thing you should worry about is your customers. It is about your customers, not about your competitors. If you competitors want to know your prices they will get them. One way or another and also when they are not on your website.
Not loyal
People that only buy your products or services because of the (low) price are the first ones to leave you again when they can get it cheaper somewhere else. There is no loyalty whatsoever.
My advise is definitely to put your price list on your Internet site. But if you think different, feel free to leave a comment and start a discussion.
Related links:
> Photo on Flickr by Cosmic Kitty
> Chris Brogan’s blog
> Bob Bly’s blog
> Jakob Nielsen’s Useit.com website
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