Raising your prices

Price increases are not welcomed news to most people, and your clients are people too. I have a strategy to try and help ease the pain of an increase that you might also want to implement.

If you have private-label skin care products you have more control over any increases than if your products come from a company other than your own. When you retail someone else’s products you are at the mercy of any price increases they give you, and you must eventually pass those on to your clients. Sometimes you have very little lead time to let your clients know there is an increase. Some practitioners don’t make an announcement to their clients, they simply start charging the higher prices. Some clients notice the increase, other don’t. With these types of price changes, clients generally don’t put up a fight knowing you are not in control of the increase.

When it comes to raising the prices of your services, this is where some people will get a bit rattled. Here is where I implement a strategy to help inform clients of the increase while at the same time honoring them as patrons.

Although temporary

Let’s say I am planning to raise the price of my facials by $10 on January 1st. For any and all clients new to my business after the 1st, they will be charged the higher price. For any clients who are under my care before the January date, they will enjoy no increase for another 3-6 months (or whatever timeframe you choose)—and I make sure to let them know this news.

I simply approach it by saying I will be raising my prices at the beginning of the year. However, for all existing clients your prices won’t change until March 1st or June 1st or whenever you decide to implement the increase. This way your clients feel special—and they are—and it shows that you are honoring them as existing clients who are serving to keep you in business. You may decide to do an across-the-board increase for everyone, but I have found that the delayed approach has long-lasting effects.

Price increases are inevitable and they are necessary. Raising the price of your facial is essentially giving yourself a pay raise, and I am all in favor of giving myself raises at appropriate intervals, depending. Back in 2008, when the economy took a nosedive, many of my clients simply couldn’t afford their regular facials. This would not be a good time to increase your prices! In fact it might be a opportunity to reach out to certain clients and offer them some sort of discount, even if only for a certain period of time.

My first “pay raise” happened 2 years after I had opened my first business. Initially I had set my facial price to be just below the going rate to help drive clients into my office. After a few years my pricing was actually off—too low for the service I was providing, so I gave myself a raise and raised my rates. I don’t think anyone balked at that price increase.

My recommendation is don’t raise your prices too frequently. You are trying to maintain client relationships and too many increases will turn off (and turn away) many clients who you will never be able to get back. However when you do decide to raise your prices, do so with confidence. You will probably always get one or two people who question the increase; I know I have. Have a concrete answer as to to why you are raising your rates, yet do not make any apologies. Raising prices is what businesses do to stay in business, and increases in price have occurred since the dawn of time. Don’t feel bad about the increase, feel good that you are able to give yourself a little more money while continuing to service your clients with the excellence they expect.

Here is a postcard I sent out regarding an across-the-board increase vs. giving a 3-6 month grace period. As you can see, although I was raising my prices, I was offering a discount as well. The ten dollars off brought the price down to what it was, $105—at least for that initial visit after the increase.

Once you have implemented your own prices increases, you will have a lot more sympathy when you encounter increases at a business you frequent. If not sympathy, hopefully you will have a more open mind.

Don’t be—price increases are part of the cost of doing business.