10 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
10 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Do you offer different pricing options?

by Dayne Dylan Banned
8 replies
I've got a product around the $120 range and I was curious if many of you would recommend maybe giving multiple price options to the consumer.

For example, I could do the following...

1. One time payment of $120

2. Two Easy Payments of $60

3. $10 Trial. Billed $110 in 30 Days.

I do know in my past when I did the two payment option or the "trial" option, the first payment would go through in many accounts, but sometimes the next payment in 30 days would not. Either the card expired or other issues. This got to be a pain to deal with.

What would you advise to do? I know I probably just need to test it, but thought I would see what many of you thought about these options first.

Thanks
#offer #options #pricing
  • Profile picture of the author Andy H
    Hi Dayne,

    You are right, testing will yield the best results for you.

    Obviously I don't know anything about your product but my first inclination would be to test at $147 and even $197. Once you get into the $100+ range, you might find that your prospects are happy to part with a little more than $120. The other obvious test is $97.

    In regards to the payment options, You may also want to test splitting the investment over three payments: today, 30 & 60 days.

    For me a trial is usually a method to get the prospect to whip out his or her credit card and get involved for a small investment and be obligated for the full investment down the road if they don't cancel. Therefore, I usually make the first payment of a trial as small as it can be - $1.00 works for this intention and may result in higher conversions for you.

    As you know, if you offer multiple payment plans you are going to run into issues with cancellations and expired cards, etc. That's a cost of doing this type of business. You can re-capture some of that lost revenue by having processes that re-activate those customers. One of the best is a telephone call to the billed party. You could outsource this role, but with multiple payment plans I would prepare for it by acquiring the client's telephone number during checkout.

    Andy.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2463360].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Dayne Dylan
    Banned
    Thanks Andy, some very good pointers. There are so many options on this.

    I forgot to mention, one other issue I had in the past with a trial offer thing, is that after 30 days when the full charge would kick in, they would go ahead and just do a chargeback without contacting me first.

    The reason? They didn't recognize the charge, even though I clearly stated what name would show up on their billing statement. The name I use is one standard one I use on all my infoproducts, so it does not actually match the product name.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2463483].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Andy H
      Hey Dayne,

      I hear you. Real quick, here's a few ideas on minimizing cancellations and chargebacks:

      I'm sure that you are already doing this but the first thing my client sees after a payment is a confirmation of their purchase along with the information that will appear on their statement. They see this long before they get to download anything.

      I use my company name for all charges, regardless of the product name.

      Deliver something of high perceived value just before the XX day payment is due. Use this as an opportunity to re-brand the name you use on your billing statement and entice them with ANOTHER bonus in 10 days or so (after the charge).

      I have started making guarantees based on my making a refund out of my own pocket PERSONALLY with an invitation to contact me directly to cancel/refund. I don't have the stats on this approach yet but my gut feel is that will reduce chargebacks, which is always a good thing.

      Another thing to consider is the relationship you have with your clients during the initial phase of their involvement with your product/service. Is there a way you can become more connected with them during this phase? Could you get them more involved in the process of owning your product/service.

      The goal here is to make things personal. Bring to bear social influence strategies to create more of a personal relationship with your clients and they will be far less likely to request a refund, let alone make a chargeback without at least contacting your first.

      Hope this helps.

      Andy.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2463550].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Dayne Dylan
    Banned
    Andy, those are some great ideas for sure. I like the idea of giving them something right around the next due date for the remaining payment. At that point, do you suggest I remind them of the upcoming charge? Or is this bad?

    I also like the idea of getting them more involved. My product is in the self-improvement area. Do you have any suggestions on how to get them more involved like you said?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2466130].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Andy H
      Hi Dayne,

      Let's see... You don't have to necessarily remind them of the charge. I use the approach to re-brand the company name that will appear on the clients' statement.

      In regards to involvement devices, you could provide a checklist, ask the customer for their story - how the product has worked for them. You could have a contest, you could provide an additional document (a "lost chapter," update, etc.), audio (expert interview, previous client interview/story, etc.), video... You could ask for feedback, "What's the one thing that stands between you and your goal" and create content around answering the most common issue(s).

      You could partner with someone who has a complimentary product that people would naturally gravitate toward once they complete your product and provide initial content from the partner and/or their complimentary product (additional revenue opp). How's that for starters?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2466575].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Dayne Dylan
    Banned
    Those ideas are perfect Andy

    When you say re-brand the name that will show up on their statement, what if you are selling, for example, a pet product but the name on the billing statement will be something like...XYZMarketing.com or something.

    How do you brand that when it does not even relate to the product?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2466590].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Fernando Veloso
    Hi Daniel,

    Never used the options you provided in the OP, but most of the time I use different prices for different $$ Classes:

    Premium Box for Class A, Professional Box for Class A/B, etc etc.

    This way I can provide a item for the lowest class, say a 67$ package, reduced, maintaining the quality - while providing a expensive package of 197$ or 247$ for those interested in Premium options.

    Hope it makes sense.
    Signature
    People make good money selling to the rich. But the rich got rich selling to the masses.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2466603].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Dayne Dylan
    Banned
    Well, my product will have downloadable PDF's, and audio MP3 files. Along with that, they will be mailed a 9-10 CD case with the all the info in it (audio only, no printed books).

    I think $197 or so would be too much in this niche. I'm looking around $120 (free shipping) or maybe even test at $97 (plus $8 shipping) if the $120+ range doesn't work.

    Hmmm, good points Fernando. I could break it down into two options like a Basic and Premium.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2466636].message }}

Trending Topics