Question

Topic: Customer Behavior

Should I Show Pricing On My Website?

Posted by Anonymous on7/21/2005 at 2:24 AM ET 150 Points
我currently offer a free sample of my product to anyone that requests it on my website. Along with the sample, they get pricing infomation---there is no pricing info on my site. My question is, should I just put the pricing for my products on my site or should I keep having them ask for a sample to get the pricing info so I can capture their information for follow ups? Of course they do have the option of calling my office to ask for pricing directly as well...but most don't.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted byadammjwon7/21/2005 at 5:14 AM Member
    Zapbrannigan,

    As jonman rightly points out it depends.It depends on your products,target groups,pricing policy.I personally do not think it is a problem for your competition to check on your prices.From what you posted I understand that you find it surprising or even frustrating that customers do not call you to check prices.I'm not surprised I would find it bothersome to call each time to check what the price is.I would do it if I really liked the product but wanted to strike a better bargain.Anyway they hardly call and you have few leads to follow up on.I would find it less pain in the backside if ,say I had to give my e-mail address to have the price quoted to me than to make a call.
    So the main question is what makes you think that not showing your prices on the web is the right solution?What's behind that decision? If trying to get extra leads it simply does not work as you force your prospects to go extra mile to get that simple info!

    Regards

    Adam
  • Posted byROIHUNTERon7/21/2005 at 11:30 AM Accepted
    zapbrannigan,

    我have this debate with every one of my clients that objects to placing pricing on their site because their competitors will know their pricing strategy. This debate usually then focuses on how do customers find out your pricing and my clients explain their elaborate processes to safeguard this information. At the end of this long, emotional discussion, I ask two questions:

    1. What is stopping your competitor from posing as a prospect or becoming a client to gain the secret of your pricing strategy?

    2. How many consumers did you turn away because you made it too difficult for them to complete the purchase decision process?

    Let's face the facts, if your competitor has you in their sites, the minor detail of having your pricing excluded from the site will not stop them from learning everything they can about you. Their marking plan's competitive analysis or SWOT will drive them to overcome such obstacles so that they truly understand your place in their market space.

    Hope that helps.
  • Posted on7/21/2005 at 1:48 PM Member
    我think there is a more important danger of putting pricing information on your website than competitors getting your pricing strategy (as ROIHunter points out, they will get it anyway).

    我f you put your pricing strategy on your website, you depend soley on your website to be your sales force. If you were to have a phone number to call for pricing information, you can talk directly to the customer and find out more about his/her needs. This way, you can have more influence over the decision making process.

    ***Disclaimer: This is gerneally speaking; this can vary dependent upon who your customer is and what business you are in.
  • Posted bymichaelon7/21/2005 at 2:22 PM Accepted
    我agree that it's best to capture information for future marketing opportunities. If you're in a price driven industry you may be losing sales without having a price on your website (speaking purely from personal experience!!) but you can have them register before you show prices.

    How to have them register is up to you. If you don't want to do the e-mail address registration, you can have them register with ZIP code, City, State. Or area code..anything that'll give you data. Yes, they can put false info, but they can do false e-mails also.

    Michael
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