Price up or down?

[Damien Roche]

I know I know, test test test. But generally, here are the two options within the buy now area:

[s]$497[/s] $97!

..following up with something like "Yes, only $97..."

OR

[s]$47[/s] $97

..following up with something like "I have and I WILL be raising prices again..."

I will no doubt be off base with a few things above, I am a beginner after all.

Any way, any thoughts? I figure the increase adds to the feel of urgency, and the decrease kind of 'devalues' the product maybe..unless you say you plan to increase the price again, and this is a limited time offer.

Thoughts? Would love some opinions on this.

[Dean Dhuli]

Personally, I prefer to price up.

But even in this case, you have to be honest and
increase the price after whatever deadline you set.

If you're going to have a fake countdown timer
that says "2 hours 25 min remaining"...

And when you visit the same page the next day
and it says "3 hours 12 min remaining"

...that's gonna destroy all credibility instantly.


Hope that helps,

Dean.


'

[Damien Roche]

Hey Dean, thanks. I'm going to look at some very successful sales letters in different niches and see if I can find a nice guide.

No, I would never fabricate anything. But I will imply limited availability to give that sense of urgency and increase perceived value. Of course, I have to back up any claims, which I'm more than willing to do.

Thanks again.

[MontelloMarketing]

There's no either/or on this. Do both. Lower the price from $497, then threaten to raise it again and really do it.

[Loren Woirhaye]

Direct response marketing is more price sensitive than a
lot of folks realize. When you raise prices you almost
always decrease sales, and by extension, decrease
the number of genuine buyers on your list.

In the real world of building a direct marketing
business you would expect to win customers with
lower-priced, entry level products, and earn your
profits from subsequent sales to satisfied people.

[getsmartt]

Split test and see which converts better...I would suspect that the difference will be in the mentality of your customers. Are they bargain seekers? or Compelled enough to buy befor the price goes up further?

I like the Idea of starting out with a raising prices strategy, but I would let them know why you raised the price...Added additional content, or to ensure limited number or participants, or ...

[EaglePiServ]

We ran a test where we allowed our customers to pay off their past due balances at a steep discount. They visited the webpage to see what their discount was and a script was automatically counting and increasing the price 1 penny every one second they delayed in paying. The average delay time was 5 seconds before they clicked on PAY and settled the invoices.

Any code-jockey on guru or elance can create this for you for pennies.

But, you are better off, in any sales scenario, to offer three pricing choices - not two. That's just sales 101.

Cheers.

[Johnny12345]

Originally Posted by Damien Roche

[s]$497[/s] $97!

..following up with something like "Yes, only $97..."

OR

[s]$47[/s] $97

Or... do neither of the above. In this "age of skepticism," they both sound phony. When I see that sort of thing, red flags immediately start waving in my mind.

Why not simply test to find your most profitable price-point and then make sure you demonstrate the great value they're getting for that price. If you want to add a bit of scarcity, you could do it with limited quantity or limited time bonus(es) -- but you must then follow through on it.

Don't try to trick your customers into buying. Get them to want to buy because of the great value you are offering. Honesty can be a powerful marketing tool.

Johnny

[Ronak Shah]

If you are a natural seller people will BUY from you. Don't be a pushy guy and force your product on people who aren't going to give you value after using your product.

Remember, the value you get from people is much more than money. It's called "reputation". Love. Respect. Adulation. Motivation. Self-Respect. You name it. Different words but same feeling of self-confidence.

You need not mend the performance of your copy to trick / manipulate their buying choices as per your pricing strategy. If they start feeling they made the worst option by purchasing your product, all your tricks will backfire and your reputation will be screwed.

Know exactly "who" you are targeting - target only those people who would "definitely" have a "deep driving desire" to buy your product rather than target those people who "may / may not" purchase your product. Your product is for a certain & precisely specific target group of people, not for every Tom - Dick - Harry. There is something unique and special about your product that only certain group of people would feel very "privileged" to have bought it at the right time and space.

And if you think there is any scarcity of people who "would" definitely like to "buy" your product because they have a perfect motive (read: deep driving desire) to buy your product, think otherwise (i.e. if you completely believe your product is immensely invaluable & complete). There is NO scarcity of people who would buy a top-notch product. In fact, there is a huge pool of buyers which prop up every single day. The market expands every second.

I think "Price" can be anything you are comfortable with. You don't have to compromise your price point if your product is top-notch and you know exactly who to target as a customer "precisely".

I would never lower the price of my product if I have people raving about it. In fact, If I had to start off, I will start with a low price and gain some feedback while I improve the product. Once that is done I will come back to the standard normal market price or hike it upwards to automatically make people aware about the value people are getting from the product.

Getting desperate and lowering the price point isn't the way to go. I think, command a price rather than demand it. Command customers rather than act like you desperately want customers. Experiment. Give it away for free but never lower the price of a product that you think is TOP-NOTCH. Personally, I wouldn't do that and I wouldn't trick them.

Customers are wise. They aren't idiots. They seek proof & validation. There'll be people who wouldn't buy your product if you sound desperate. Give it away for free to a group of "testers" but never lower your price, I'd really say it touch-wood.

I agree with Dean, Johnny & Loren 100%. Combine all three of them & that is exactly what I feel you could do to increase profits and sales.

Make sure you take this opportunity of selling your product in the marketplace as a step towards building "confidence" & your goodwill. It's not the money, it's the self esteem that will matter at the end of the day. This is exactly the way you can build your self-image from connecting with other people in your marketplace. Then you can rinse and repeat, in new and exciting ways. It'll open new avenues you would have never seen or heard of. You'll make TONS of money in ways you dreamed of. My BEST wishes, Damien.

Ronak.
P.S. Received your PM and replied to it.

[Damien Roche]

Thank you all for that great info above. As I say, I'm very much a beginner when it comes to structuring a decent sales page and split testing etc. Will be getting some software soon for split testing, but I think it's important I redo my current sales page which is absolutely atrocious and has somehow made 75, $15 sales, albeit over 12 months.

I know reputation is everything and I'll be looking at creating actual scarcity rather than just using it for effect.

I opted to price down. I'm now going to be improving the product, adding tons of bonuses and backend support, then I'll vamp the price up. So, I guess that is actual scarcity..no?

Thanks again, appreciate your input. Got plenty to read above