The new year is looming and now is the perfect time to review your pricing.

Many business owners struggle with putting their prices up, particularly during times of economic downturns, even though their costs are increasing. They leave their prices the same for several years and then have to put their prices up significantly in one go to stay profitable.

However, reviewing prices on a regular basis (say, once a year) is a much better way. Customers are much happier to accept rising prices if increases are regular but small, than they are with irregular, large price increases.

So, make sure you review your prices regularly.

The key to doing this successfully is to make sure that your customers know that you have a particular time when you review prices – the new year is perfect for this. Preparing your customers properly for price increases means that the change does not come out of the blue, and they are more likely to accept it.

Remember, pricing is all about asking for a fair value for the product or service you provide. So, it is important that you are clear on what the fair value is.

Make sure you know what your competitors charge, but more importantly, talk to your customers regularly so you know what they particularly value about what you provide.This will make it easier for you to assess what price is appropriate.

If you are in the service sector the new year is also an ideal time to review the service you are giving your clients, to check if there is any additional work they need.

So, if it has been a while since you reviewed your prices bite the bullet and start planning for one now.

Fiona 🙂