I have a long time client (good relationship) and I recently designed and set up a webinar for them using an online software. No coding involved, just using the WYSIWYG they have to set up the template with the designs I’ve made.
Months later (now), they want me to do another one for them using the same layout. I know this won’t take me long, but I’ve only been charging them by the hour so I don’t want to undercut myself because of this. I want to switch to a flat fee but I’m not sure how to go about this. I feel awkward, weird and unsure what’s fair to them. I want to charge them by what I think is fair to me which would be a little bit more than what I had charged them when I developed the template, for fewer hours. I want to do this because I felt I had undercharged them for a webinar development (to be honest, I don’t even know how much this goes for in the market and I’ve tried looking) but that’s my fault. So now I want to correct it by charging more. This doesn’t sound fair to but I also don’t want to undercut myself. How do I turn this around?
Factors that make me feel unsure:
They have another designer to help them so I don’t want to lose this project to them. They’re coming to me first because I created the template.
The economy right now with COVID, I want to be considerate of other people’s financials
How do I justify charging more than what I had charged for the first webinar but for less workload this time?
Or should I just charge just a bit less than what I had charged them?
Your insights would be most appreciated. I’m still learning how to price properly and understanding my value.
Hi, I understand your situation. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to change the price. The question you should be asking is if you lose this client, will you still be able to support yourself?
The cost per hour increases when our experience is improved, when our knowledge is indispensable, when job offers increase but our time is always the same.
Especially when you have more work than you can do, you can increase your cost. You will lose the least profitable customers, but you will keep the customers who really believe in you.
Finally, you don’t have to lower your labour costs because of COVID-19. This assessment can only be made after the economy has settled in the post-pandemic period.
As DavideMancuso already mentioned, the big question here is if you can afford losing the client.
In the event the question is yes, then all you need to do is to let the client know how much it will cost. Stop worrying about that you charged hourly, less etc. last time. It is your time, and you decide what your time is worth, if you will get work at said rate, all depend on your market, reputation etc.
If you need the work, then I would recommend going a middle way to keep building the relationship. And ask for the same as last time (assuming you do less work now), and then on the next project, increase a little more etc.
Thank you for your responses. It was helpful.
They had asked me to have the project done on the same day they sent the brief so I said there would be a rush fee, which drove them to the other designer.