Pricing on your website (Part 4): How not to

I’m ready to be done with the discussion of published pricing on our websites. We got an introduction by Dilbert, then talked about the benefits, why we don’t do it, and done a case study, and chatter in between. (Thanks again for everyone’s comments.)

Today lets look at what we can do even if we can’t/won’t publish prices. Basically, we want to:

• let the visitor know how to get pricing, or
• understand the relationship price has to the features of what they are looking at.

1. Let the visitor know how to get pricing:

Create a call to action: I’ve seen a number of sites that clearly call out “get quote” or ‘submit RFQ’ as a text link or a button. One I saw this morning had a right-arrow on the button indicating a direction of ‘moving forward’ that I thought was effective.

If you want to generate calls, “call for a quote” with a toll-free number next to it is great. And even today, I think a toll-free number works like that right-arrow in subtly affirming that this is the correct path to take.

If you rely on distributors, you’ve got to find a way to drive visitors to them (i.e. a directory). Then create a call to action like “Pricing? Contact your local distributor”.

The corollary is that if you don’t use distributors, you may want to make this clear in your call to action, as well. The only thing prospects hate more than having to call for pricing, is being given the run-around.

A special page: You may want to make a special page that explains why you don’t publish prices and clarify the value of contacting your for a quote. Its your chance to sound fair and to put them at ease with your sales process.

Make a promise about quote turn-around time. These to-be-prospects want their answers in a hurry. Offering a quote may not be enough for them. Maybe that call-to-action grows a little “Get a quote today”.

2. Clarify the relationship between price and features (value):

Provide clues about pricing. In Home Depot, I’ve seen some products displayed as ‘good’, ‘better’, and ‘best’. In other cases a graphic “price barometer” could be effective technique to give a clue about pricing. These techniques are useful when comparing between your own products, but it’ll be a bit harder to do this versus your competition. Here’s a sample I just made:

Use percentages. Most obvious might be to say “10% less than other brands”. Or “upgrade to our next size for 10% more”.

Anyway, you get the idea. Folks are looking for your price and you are under no requirement to publish it. But use this knowledge of their desire for pricing to your advantage. Draw them in, let them understand, let them feel in control. In the long run, I think both you and your prospect will be the better for it.