At the moment I don't, and in the industry there is a big debate about if it is a good idea or not. I still am not sure, I have some money saved to spend on getting some colour leaflets printed.
So I do a put prices on or not? It can also a bit difficult as a price for say a hard drive replacement will mean nothing to my target audience. Things like virus removal is a bit simpler to price.
My business is IT support for the few that might not know.
Just wanted some opinions from the general public. I know response rates from leaflets is not great, but I can target areas very specifically and it only takes one response to get a customer for life.
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My thought is that you won't get much response from a flyer or leaflet that doesn't quote some sort of price. Can you not at least give a £/Hour rate as a starter? I see cars in the street with a "For Sale" sign and a mobile number - without a price I wouldn't consider it. Might be bargain of the year or rip-off of the year and no way of knowing without ringing.
Anything that discourages people from contacting you isn't helful.
Last edited by: Meldrew on Sun 17 Jul 11 at 15:57
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>> My thought is that you won't get much response from a flyer or leaflet that
>> doesn't quote some sort of price.
Agreed, at the very least a 'computers fixed from 20 quid' or something to give the prospective punter some idea what sort of bill to expect.
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Some example prices, or fixed prices for some simple services might help. I don't think yo can have a complete chinese menu, some services need to be explained to establish the value to the customer.
Are there some popular services you can lead with? Or some that are angled to your target market, whoever that is?
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Have to be careful here, easy to give the impression of that wild looking double glazing geezer who shouts about special offers, i wouldn't touch them if it was the last DG firm in the country.
Some guide prices would be a good idea, but stress that quality work, discretion, honesty, value for money and satisfied repeat customers are your business model.
I suppose much depends on your target market.
I'm not bothered if joe soap costs me an extra tenner so long as he does a good job and is trustworthy.
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You all understand the problem perfectly. There needs to be some price guideline to get people to phone, as people are too shy to phone up and ask about a price. However I need to avoid the gimmick/double glazing trap so many people fall into.
I could put something like most repairs are around £35, but then some are over £200 so again I would need to be careful with that.
I also avoid hourly rates as such, unless the work is truly onsite.
My target market is people that appreciate quality and not want something doing for the lowest price, those customers are a nightmare.
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"Prices start from £xx.xx"
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A couple of example prices for specific jobs would be good. I'll never give business to a new guy on an open ended basis.
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>> "Prices start from £xx.xx"
2nd that.
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More Memory from £...
New Hard Drive from £...
And so on.
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The problem is the above means nothing to my most of my customers, that is where the website comes in, as I have a lot more room to explain the benefits of more memory etc.
Again with hard drives, the customer never knows they need a new hard drive, they just come to me because their laptop won't boot.
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>> that is>> where the website comes in, as I have a lot more room to explain the
>> benefits of more memory etc.
>>
>> Again with hard drives, the customer never knows they need a new hard drive, they
>> just come to me because their laptop won't boot.
>>
If their PC aint working, they can't look at your website.
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I used to think like that, but remember most people now have a number of ways to access websites, including more than one PC etc. In fact the majority of my customers have more than one PC.
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>> I used to think like that, but remember most people now have a number of
>> ways to access websites, including more than one PC etc. In fact the majority of
>> my customers have more than one PC.
>>
Then on the leaflet put;
memory from £x.xx
Replacement hard drive from £xx.xx
See my website for more details www.rattle-computer-repairs.co.uk
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Yep which is pretty much what I will do/have done.
The other issue I am having is the "we/I" I thing. I am just a one man band but do I want my customers to know what?
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>> The other issue I am having is the "we/I" I thing. I am just a
>> one man band but do I want my customers to know what?
Always refer to it in the third person anyway. There is no I in advertising.
"ie Rattles computer services does this" and "rattles comuter services does this"
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Which is what I have done to get round it :).
My company's name is a bit long so it can get a bit repetitive, I need to think of another word which is in a third person context but replaces "we/I"
I suppose I could use "the company" on occasions.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Mon 18 Jul 11 at 14:50
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That is what I used to say, I think I include that and perhaps mention a couple of examples such as virus removal. And I always make clear to my customers that the job will always be capped in the event it gets more difficult than expected, so a virus might take me a hell of a long time to remove but it will still be done at a fixed cost.
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First rule of a successful business - Don't shaft anyone, and that includes yourself.
You must publish prices Rattle, but let customers know that if the job is more complex than it first seems, there will be additional charges. Do the jobs right, treat customers fairly but not as if you are a charity and everyone will be happy.
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"Some guide prices would be a good idea, but stress that quality work, discretion, honesty, value for money and satisfied repeat customers are your business model."
Agree.
Definitely there should be some sort of indication of pricing. There must be something you do that always comes in at the same price. Disassembly and clean of internals perhaps?
The problem with "from" pricing is everybody knows they will cost more than that. Kwik Fit sells tyres from £10, but only bicycle tyres etc. etc.
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Yep for me I'd like to see an example price which will help me judge your rates. If say a certain amount of memory costs £40 and you offer it inclusive of fitting for £70 I get an idea and a feeling how that might transfer across to other jobs. Memory from £40 tells me nothing.
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>> The problem with "from" pricing is everybody knows they will cost more than that. Kwik
>> Fit sells tyres from £10, but only bicycle tyres etc. etc.
Its a headline sales tactic that works, that's why a lot of companies employ it. Its called a "come and get me" hook.
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The problem is say with virus removals a very popular service, now the vast majority I of these I can do for £35, but sometimes it can be as much as £65, which is what I always cap it at.
It is so hard to judge the wording. It is like a car garage saying cambelts fitted from £150, they may well do a FIRE or vauxhall 8V engine, but not for your modern 16v lump.
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As a non-computer person, id certainly take more notice of a leaflet with prices on over one without.
I give rough quotes on three jobs, two of them simple tasks at the lower end to speak to thick people like me and a third for a more technical task that someone who knows a bit would understand. Spread your bets, have prices 'from £££' and do make sure the range of things you can offer is stated somewhere.
My two pence worth anyways.
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To put prices on my leaflets/website or not? - Meldrew
