Help! I'm torn. I'm creating a brochure for my business and I wonder if it's better to list my service fee's in the brochure and on my website or leave it for consultation. What does everyone think?
Deanna
Fresh events
Cincinnati
Views: 6502
Hi Robert,
If a wedding photographers will not post pricing for their services, that Do not means that they will meet with a new couple and then will began guiding tour throw wedding photographer world ;))
Think deep. Before this meeting, every bride and groom will want to know about price, with or without listed price on your site. No price in your site, means just a extra step in your communication.
Classic wedding photography or modern wedding photojournalism are just words, every people will choose a kind of photographs showing on personal site of x photographer.
Very well said, Robert! I couldn't agree more. The reasons you listed are precisely why I don't have my fees listed on my website.
Very well said, indeed!
Just to be fear with brides and grooms is the reasons why I have my fees listed on my website.
Let's heard about good staff for all new couples.
I have just took my prices down from my site , the brides have all the info the need to make a decition(so they think) value and price are very different. http://thepittsburghphotobooth.com
I totally agree with posting the prices of your services. It doesn't waste time for either party. If they can afford you then they will call; if they can't, then they haven't taken up your time. The only drawback is that there are cases where you may be able to help someone out if they are in a particular bind and would really love to work with you and they feel that they can't afford you. You may end up losing a fantastic client just because they felt that they you were too far out of reach. It is a risk that everyone takes in this business.
Very interesting what i read here. I list my services but with out rates, I kindly send a brochure via email which is password protected outlining my packages and fees. I think this is best practice cause, when you get those calls or emails asking for price, it gives you a chance to show you consultative side, and help them come to a price. Sometime it usually works to a bigger price/package.
Agreed!
Well I would have to say that I have done both & I must agree with some of the other professionals here, I started receiving more calls from potential clients who viewed my website & saw a "price range" or "starting at" posted vs. me having nothing at all. WIth todays cost conscious brides, they just want to know what they are looking at cost wise. I think as wedding vendors we need to keep our business ears open & be ready to make changes as our industry evolves. I looking forward to a prosperous new year in 2012. HAPPY PLANNING.
JD
http://www.facebook.com/pages/RED-CARPET-EVENT-PLANNING/12234059780...
I'm sure by now Fresh Events has made a decision about whether or not to post prices on their website. I can't speak for other vendors/industries, but as a planner/designer, I think it's better to not post prices. I hear a lot of planners saying that they're tired of people price shopping. However, when we post our fees, all a bride can do is price shop. If we don't post our fees, brides will need to find an event professional based on the value of our services, whether or not our styles are in sync and the connection that they have with one or the other.
We have to remember that a bride doesn't know how much things cost. I find that many have an unrealistic idea about how much an event planner charges. Once they see the value in what I'll add to their wedding planning experience, price is no issue. I'm okay with being passed over by a bride because my prices aren't listed on my website. The ones who take the time to figure out what's best for them in other ways besides price are typically more in line with my usual clientele anyway. It all works out in the end.
Christine says she thinks it is good to post your prices on your website. She gives two reasons to do so. I think her reasons are valid however I also think you can't make a blanket recommendation like that because some vendors may act on your recommendation and find out the hard way that it was a big mistake. I think you should post your prices on your website if you are fairly confident that your prices fall within the normal wedding industry budget recommendations. If your pricing is at or below this then you will benefit from posting your prices. Vendors that are able to command higher prices usually do so because they offer something unique or have captured a nitch in the market. If this is the case it is EXTREMELEY important to be able to show and tell through meetings. We find that we sell two things with our company, the first is our meetings and the second is our services. If I posted our prices on our website we would dramtically decrease the traffic to our Availability Page. Our availability page [inquiry] leads to us sending them our Welcome Email [We use Mailchimp and have an HTML version]. Our Welcome Email has pictures, highlight videos, client reviews and most importanly our appointment availability with a "Click here to book an appointment now" button located at the end of each section. They select an appointment day and time and that's when we send them an email confirmation with directions, what we go over at our meetings [we list all the fun stuff they get to do with us] and how to best prepare for our meeting. We know our meetings are important and it's where we show them what we do and how we do it. Our meetings with our prospective clients is where all of the "magic" happens. A disclaimer that 50% of our clients are referrals from our past events either because they attended an event or they were told about us from someone that attended the event. The other 50% are referred by their venue or another professional vendors. So most of our clients are warmed up before they get to us.
We know for a fact that many of our prospective clients may have underbudget for DJ Entertainment. If we posted our prices on our website they would never fill out the availability form because we are more than they originally budgeted and that means they would never meet with us. On the flip side if they fill out the form and schedule a meeting with us they will get to see what we do and how we do it [the magic]. When we go over our pricing at the end of the meeting, it is very typical for our clients to tell us they originaly budget "x" amount but are willing to spend the additional $400.00 because they like what we do and how it will benefit their wedding. They see extra value in our Ice Breakers, Member's Planning Area, Music Programming Expertise, Our Two Person Experience etc. Oh then it is not uncommon for them to spend even more money on our Decor Up Lighting and Photobooths. I tell my clients you will not book our services because we have the best price.
Here's the bottom line. Chritine and Bridaltweet should absolutely post prices about vendor advertising on their website as it is a fairly straight forward transaction. If you have competitive pricing and perhaps you are still creating that amazing meeting [presentation] then maybe you should post your prices on your website. Once you become a market leader, or you find your nitch and you market it, or perhaps you just become an amazing sales person [painting the picture of why they should book you] or it could be that you are super likeable and they want you as part of their wedding team. Once this happens you may want take down your prices.
As a side note posting prices on your website also varies greatly on the type of product or service you offer. It's funny but I post pricing on our Photobooths but not for our DJ Entertainment Services.
Deanna, I recommend NOT posting pricing on your brochures so that you don't feel like you are stuck with your pricing because you payed for 10,000 brochures. If you want to lower or raise your prices you will most likely not do so because the finaical commitment you made to your brochures. You can always create an insert with your prices or even direct them to your website as you can change website pricing anytime.
We are always learning, we love what we do and we hope that some vendors will find this useful. Oh and Christine you are awesome!
Robert - Thank you SO much for your point of you. I really appreciate it and I'm sure the other vendors reading this do too!
Robert - Thanks for commenting on my blog this week. Your comments really made me think. And so did the comments of some of other wedding vendors. So, I actually added a caveat to the blog article about publishing your fees on your website. Thanks for expanding my thinking. I think your point of view was incredibly valid. Here's the link to the blog in case you'd like to check out my additional statements... http://www.bridaltweet.com/page/2-big-reasons-to-publish-your-fees-... Thanks again! Christine
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