Leigh Simpson
A conversation we always have with our clients when discussing their content marketing strategy is, "are you open about price on your website?".
Most of the time we get an uncomfortable response, something like;
- "No, we don't want our competitors to find out how much we charge"
- "We prefer to talk to our customer face to face about price", or
- "Until we know exactly what customer wants, we can't give them a price"
Now, that's all well and good, but let's look at those arguments one-by-one and challenge the thinking behind them. Then we will tell you why talking about price on your website can drive efficiency, increase conversion rates, win you new business and should be a key element of your construction marketing strategy.
Competitors and Pricing Intelligence
In this day and age, how hard is it for your competitor to know exactly what you are charging for your products or services on a project? Fake email accounts, fake websites, pay-as-you-go phones.
It literally takes a few hours to create a fictitious company online and use that information to ask for quotations on jobs that you really want to win.
You could just ask your friend who works at a local Builders Merchant to get you a price.
Or, just ask the client for a copy of your competitors prices, to enable you to beat their price.
If you think that your competitors don't have detailed information on your pricing, then you are kidding yourself. And if you are not doing any or all of the above, then maybe you want to.
If you have standard price lists, it isn't too difficult to get hold of discount structures either. Face facts your competitors have a very good idea of what your prices are, just like you know all about theirs too.
Talking Face-To-Face
So, you want to see the whites of their eyes when negotiating price? Well that's great, but buyers are too busy to see everyone that wants to sell to them.
Check out our blog on why it is so hard to get appointments.
If you are lucky enough to get a meeting with the buyer, then it is all going to be a bizarre ritual to feed you misinformation about your bid and how much Jo Blogs is doing for them at a really good price.
Remember, the professional Buyer's job is to justify their existence by screwing you and every other supplier down to their lowest possible price to maximise their own profits.
So you are straight into price negotiations, with little opportunity to build value.
Needing To Know The Exact Spec
We understand that your offer is complex, with multiple options and service levels.
That doesn't mean that talking about pricing has to be overly complex. All too often your potential customer wants to get an idea of cost to make sure that your solution is within their budgetary range and represents good value for money.
Providing illustrations for a few common options will help inform your prospect and move them along their buying journey.
Why Price Is So Important?
Whether you are comfortable about it or not, price is often the number 1 question potential customers ask about your product during the consideration stage of their buying or specifying journey.
That isn't to say that it is the most important factor in the final decision, but it is a key obstacle that needs to be overcome. If you're just too expensive, then it is the best interest of both parties to eliminate your solution from the selection process early on. It save you both time and money.
Remember, you are not going to be the best fit for everyone. Accept it and spend your time and effort working with prospects who are likely to buy from you.
Discussing your prices is a great opportunity to move the thought process away from just the price and onto value. If you have a product that is high quality, packed full of features and with great service to back it up, then you have all the key ingredients to differentiate your offer against your competitors.
A cleverly positioned article on your website can get across all of the features and benefits of your product, building confidence in your offer, raising concerns about 'cheap' alternatives and ensuring that your prospect believes that they are getting a great solution that is value for money.
If you have a complex offer, you don't need to get down the the last penny for every option, but you should give clear markers of what your customer can expect to pay, and what effect optional extras and special services will have on the final price.
With this transparency comes a clear understanding of what you do and how much working with you is going to cost. The prospect should also be crystal clear about what you will deliver too.
The client now knows how much to budget and can plan accordingly. Doing this smooths the later phases of the closing stage of the sales process, as there will be no nasty surprises and difficult negotiations when a price is quoted which smashes the budget.
The SEO Boost
Another benefit, is that because so few companies are transparent, it creates an opportunity to be ranked high on page 1 of google and other search engines if you openly discuss price on your site.
It is no surprise that searches including price keywords as so popular, consider phrases such as;
- How much...
- Price Of ...
- What does xx cost
- Best prices for....
- Cheap...
With one client, we produced an article all about the cost of their product, detailed all of the factors that drove the price point, explained all the processes and quality materials that went into producing it and covered R&d and service in depth.
Within 2 days they were ranked No1 for any search relating to their product category and price and has led to a 15% increase in website traffic for the business.
That website page is their 3rd most popular after the homepage and the Contact page and can be tracked against a number of orders for new customers.
A More Efficient Approach
They have also seen a 5% reduction in enquiries whilst achieving an increase in orders. The conclusion they have drawn is that they are getting fewer enquiries from people who don't have the budget for their solution, or who are looking for 'cheap' products.
So they have fewer quotes to do, fewer jobs to chase, an improved conversion rate and less bartering with prospects who aggressively try to get a discount but never place an order. All positive and healthy results for them.
Conclusion
Although it may feel uncomfortable and counter intuitive, being open and transparent about price can be a game changer for your business.
It can build trust with your client, increase the perceived value of your product or solution, reduce enquiries that will never result in orders and provide a big boost to visibility on the internet and increase traffic to your site.
Find out more about how adding price to your content marketing strategy can help to grow your construction products sales, by contacting Insynth today.
