Countless.
That’s how many times you’ll have to fend off pricing ideas that make it hard to buy from you. Once you get a little bit of traction, a little bit of success, the tendency is to “maximize wallet share” from your customers. Find a way to get more from those you are already getting from.
This thinking is so detrimental.
Most of our businesses are not original ideas (sorry).
Most of our businesses are commodities — meaning there is competition.
Most of our businesses don’t have a moat that keeps customers locked in.
So why would you pick and pick and pick trying to eke out another dollar at time from the same customers instead of finding more of them?
Make pricing simple. Your customers should feel as though they are underpaying for the value they are receiving. When you nickel and dime them it slowly builds resentment and gives them a reason to find another company that doesn’t do that. Every time you charge for something “in addition to”, they will look for another business that doesn’t charge for that.
Price only become a topic of conversation when your customers feel that there is an imbalance in what they pay for versus what they receive from you. When this happens, the spotlight becomes focused on the wrong thing — away from your offering and squarely becoming a price comparison with your competition.
Price shouldn’t be the reason customers stay with you but, if you give in to the temptation to nickel and dime, it will be the reason they leave.