Ditch the pricing on your website!

Posted on September 11, 2009 by Dave J.

Okay, I keep coming back to the discussion about whether it is advantageous to have pricing on your website. High-minded folks say you should because that is the #1 thing visitors are looking for, and will leave if they don’t find it.

But what would really happen? Brendon Sinclair, in the latest Sitepoint Tribune newsletter, tells his tale:

“In my efforts to improve the quality of the leads being generated I had the client approve a new Fees page. The page now documented the different price points, with an explanation of what a customer could expect to receive.

My reasoning was that this would result in far better qualified leads because the prospect would be aware of the price and value before they called. This would, I believed, result in higher-quality prospects in terms of likelihood to purchase and a greater conversion rate.

What happened is this: nothing. Absolutely nothing. No calls, no emails. Nothing.”

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  • Dale Underwood

    Dave, in baseball terms you just threw me a fastball right down the middle. Let me take a swing at it.The dilemma is this: marketers want to capture new prospects and so look for content that will help them do that. Prospects, on the other hand, need certain things but often times don't want to reveal themselves too early in the sales cycle.Yes, pricing is important because most of us don't want to spend too much of our time viewing/downloading all that snazzy eMarkting stuff unless we know one thing first; can we afford it?So, how do you help a prospect understand if they can afford it in a smart way that also converts them?- Publishing pricing won't work (no conversion)- Offering a range of pricing helps but still won't convert- Adding lots of "call us" or "chat with us" or "free demos" doesn't solve the prospect's issue of understanding affordability- Withholding pricing will force the the prospect to simply abandon the site to go search for pricingOne interesting thing each and every B2B marketer should try is to search Google for their company name and "pricing"; that's what your prospects are doing if they can't satisfy their curiosity from your site.(Caution: blatant self-promotion begins here)So, what if you could offer the promise of self-service pricing without actually publishing it? Better yet, what if a pricing request generated from your website could be routed smartly to sales for approval? If approved, SALES owns the lead – no more finger pointing!The result would be a converted prospect approved by sales that now trusts your sales team and is easy to engage.Dale

  • Dale Underwood

    Dave, in baseball terms you just threw me a fastball right down the middle. Let me take a swing at it.

    The dilemma is this: marketers want to capture new prospects and so look for content that will help them do that. Prospects, on the other hand, need certain things but often times don't want to reveal themselves too early in the sales cycle.

    Yes, pricing is important because most of us don't want to spend too much of our time viewing/downloading all that snazzy eMarkting stuff unless we know one thing first; can we afford it?

    So, how do you help a prospect understand if they can afford it in a smart way that also converts them?

    - Publishing pricing won't work (no conversion)

    - Offering a range of pricing helps but still won't convert

    - Adding lots of "call us" or "chat with us" or "free demos" doesn't solve the prospect's issue of understanding affordability

    - Withholding pricing will force the the prospect to simply abandon the site to go search for pricing

    One interesting thing each and every B2B marketer should try is to search Google for their company name and "pricing"; that's what your prospects are doing if they can't satisfy their curiosity from your site.

    (Caution: blatant self-promotion begins here)

    So, what if you could offer the promise of self-service pricing without actually publishing it?

    Better yet, what if a pricing request generated from your website could be routed smartly to sales for approval? If approved, SALES owns the lead – no more finger pointing!

    The result would be a converted prospect approved by sales that now trusts your sales team and is easy to engage.

    Dale

  • Susan Fantle

    Dave,Here are the criteria that I use when recommending to my clients whether to show pricing on their site or not:1. Is price one of the selling points? Sell the low cost and perhaps include price ranges without showing a price list. One client that sells a SaaS product has a huge price advantage so I say things like "a fraction of the cost of installed software." But by not including specific numbers, the theory is that prospects will call to ask.2. Do sales people who close the sale have the ability to negotiate? If price can be used to close a sale then I say leave the numbers off the site.3. Is the price low enough that a single manager can make a buy using his or her own budget? Yes, show pricing.No two situations are alike. Basically my philosophy is that if you tell prospects everything then they have no reason to contact you. If they contact you, then you have a better chance of getting them to buy from you.Susan

  • Susan Fantle

    Dave,
    Here are the criteria that I use when recommending to my clients whether to show pricing on their site or not:

    1. Is price one of the selling points? Sell the low cost and perhaps include price ranges without showing a price list. One client that sells a SaaS product has a huge price advantage so I say things like "a fraction of the cost of installed software." But by not including specific numbers, the theory is that prospects will call to ask.

    2. Do sales people who close the sale have the ability to negotiate? If price can be used to close a sale then I say leave the numbers off the site.

    3. Is the price low enough that a single manager can make a buy using his or her own budget? Yes, show pricing.

    No two situations are alike. Basically my philosophy is that if you tell prospects everything then they have no reason to contact you. If they contact you, then you have a better chance of getting them to buy from you.
    Susan

  • Jeff

    I think Susan brings up a great point. Businesses are different and the strategy depends on their selling points. Testing this out is the best way to find what works for a particular company.

    On one hand, if someone is in a research phase, I can see them leaving when they see the price because now they can go look for something better. On the other hand, they might not waste time calling every company they encounter online.

    One benefit of pricing, aside from conversions, is that you can submit your products (unless of course you offer services) to Google Base, which can help improve your non-paid traffic.

    Great stuff!

  • Jeff

    I think Susan brings up a great point. Businesses are different and the strategy depends on their selling points. Testing this out is the best way to find what works for a particular company.On one hand, if someone is in a research phase, I can see them leaving when they see the price because now they can go look for something better. On the other hand, they might not waste time calling every company they encounter online.One benefit of pricing, aside from conversions, is that you can submit your products (unless of course you offer services) to Google Base, which can help improve your non-paid traffic.Great stuff!