A recent Sitepoint forum posed a great question: Should you post prices on your website?
The answer depends on your strategy:
1. If you are primarily a product-driven company and not a service firm, by all means list your prices. For instance, if you offer templates or rapid logo design, provide pricing.
2. If you offer some low-cost products as part of your offering, then list those prices. For instance, on my web site, I offer books and copy writing. Both are a small part of what I do, and I list the price to get people to test out my knowledge/services.
3. Now here is where it gets interesting:
3a. If you think of yourself as a trusted advisor, and price based on value, then I would avoid posting your prices on the web site. That’s because you want to assess the client situation and price based on your value to them, as well as how challenging this specific project mightbe. Also, by posting your hourly rates, you set yourself up as a vendor rather than a relationship-driven advisor.
3b. Having said that, you might check out a very successful consultant who posts $550 per hour rates: http://www.treyryder.com
He markets to lawyers, and his philosophy is that professionals should be up front about their rates.
But I tried his approach, and got 0 clients, so I’m back to 3a.
What about you?….
Andrew Neitlich
