Massive decrease in sales since price increase

by 33 replies
34
Hey I'll try to keep this short. I'm just looking for some guidance if you don't mind!

I've been in business for about 6 or 7 years now with my main product being a "lifetime membership" to my website which contains thousands of videos all organized into nicely structured courses.

I had a good thing going for years at a "too good to be true" price of $69. This price resulted in a ton of sales, but it also resulted in a lot of skepticism (eg. People thinking what's the catch here?).

Many people would join at that price and then later go on to tell me that I REALLY need to raise my price because I was selling myself short (I suspect that many of those advice-givers may not have paid themselves had it not been for the low price though). Despite all of that, this low price point of $69 was resulting in a lot of steady sales.

Well, I took the advice of one experienced entrepreneur who also happened to be a member of my site. Him giving advice was his way of paying me back for all the value he received from my website. He suggested raising the price and also offering some "smaller options" as well...

So I raised the price of the lifetime membership to $159, which is still insanely low pricing in comparison to the value received. I also have several $49 options for smaller "bundles"...each of which is also incredible value.

Well, despite the fact that I have recently just did a massive site update (audio and video updates to everything, site navigation massively improved)...despite the fact that what I'm offering is still insanely great value...the sales have plummeted.

I know that I've asked about this on here before, because I've tried similar things in the past...and I've always ended up switching back to the "proven" $69 for lifetime membership...

However, this is the first time that I have actually stuck with the new model to give a true test of time. I've had this new model running for 6 months now, and I have found that much less people buy at the $159 price. Hardly anyone buys the "smaller bundles" for $49...

I did notice that if I run a sale, where I send out a coupon code to my email list...that sparks some business. However, with the old model, I didn't need to rely on running sales as much because people were just buying everyday at the $69 price.

Also, running sales too often isn't a great idea because my list will eventually stop responding to the sales or become reliant on them...

Now I can easily switch everything back to the way it was before, and set my price back to the one-time fee of $69...leaving it at just that one single option again. However, my concern is that anyone who paid at the higher price over the last 6 months may feel some type of way about that.

I was doing REALLY well (in my opinion) for years...but since making this change, I've been stressed out beyond belief. I've been strongly considering quitting self-employment altogether and just going back to working at a real job again because of it.

I'm not quite ready to give up yet though. That's why I'm asking for advice here if anyone is willing to give some.

That was longer than expected, but thanks for reading!
#main internet marketing discussion forum #decrease #increase #massive #price #sales
  • Banned
    Wow that is really incredible to strike gold and sustain it for so long at that price point of $69.

    If you go back to attractive lifetime for $69 and no recurring is involved at any level then I would not stress about the higher price point people.

    You could even have total transparency and share that sales went down. Who would not understand that.

    Create an exclusive unannounced Bonus for them.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Exclusive unannounced bonus is a GREAT idea!!

      Thank you for that

      Yes, it's crazy...but I have cleared 6-figures for 3 years straight using no paid traffic, selling a $69 product.

      That's the thing that all of the advice-givers never understood. I should have never listened to them!!
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Why let one change in sales make your consider to go back to working a job?

    You've got a very good thing going, and i'm confident that you could go into another niche and duplicate the same results. I don't think you should go back to working, you're too experienced and good of a marketer for that.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Testing your prices and reacting to demand is what being in business is about. No need to get stressed when you find out what your customers are telling you.

    Your own opinion of the value of your course is irrelevant. Block that out of your mind. If you still make an acceptable return on $69, then that's your price. Of course, you can still offer periodic discounts or supplementary deals, but your testing has shown you what your optimal price should be. The feelings of those who purchased at the higher price can be assuaged by bonuses, as mentioned above. Worst way, offer to refund the difference - you say your sales haven't been that great since the change anyway.

    You've been running this course for several years - kudos to you for that - and you've had plenty of advice from members of this forum along the way. Maybe it's now time to consider diversifying. If a significant drop in sales on your only product is causing you to consider giving up, perhaps it's time to build a more robust portfolio.
    • [ 9 ] Thanks
  • Does your sales page need help? If people are saying the value is to low and you feel the value is still insanely low. Maybe you need to hire a professional copywriter to put something together that conveys the higher price. Especially if people think even $159 is insanely low. It sounds like theirs's a disconnect between price and perceived value.

    Something doesn't add up. Your have a $90.00 increase. How did you come up with that difference ?

    Anyway to lower the price some. Or do away with the life time membership? What about offering monthly payments for limited access ?
    • [ 5 ] Thanks
  • The 69 dollar price point appears to be ideal for your customer base .I would eliminate the smaller bundle or add it in a bonus for a higher priced package .

    On the flip side you don't want to give people too many options either .

    Have you tried re writing your sales copy when selling the higher priced package ?
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Without going back to those threads, I know you've 'tested' prices before when you drastically increased prices, sales dropped. So why do it again?


    The real question is - what is wrong with YOU that you made a change that isn't working and you are staying with it regardless? That you would totally change your pricing on the advice of someone without your history/experience? IWhy can't you relax and enjoy $69 sales that continue month after month for years? Many marketers would be happy with that. You might raise the price to $79 or even $89 - but more than double doesn't make sense.

    I would think by now your sales/delivery would be pretty much on automatic pilot and the time would be spent promoting and perhaps on a related blog.



    If the problem is needing more income - perhaps you need to use this business as a second income in spare time - and work a part or full time job as well. Or start a second online business or a related site of equipment/etc sales.

    Of course it's good to look for ways to increase income or increase sales....but pricing yourself out of business and then complaining because sales have dropped....is nonsense to me.
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • I do not know your niche or your product and I took a look at some of your other threads and I wonder, do you have affiliates. Perhaps you should keep your price but build a good affiliate page with promotional tools and some free stuff your affiliates could use as a lead magnet. You would then get more sales and more buyers on your list.


    Just a thought
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • I appreciate that, but I'm kinda over the stress of relying 100% on myself. I'm just considering it, but I'm not 100% committed to doing that yet. I'm at a crossroads!

      I hear ya. I'm also trying to build my Patreon page as my second main stream, but it's not easy getting new Patreon subscribers even at my low $5/month price. I definitely would like to have a 2nd business, but it's not coming easily!

      The idea was initially to have a multi-tier model. However, I was having trouble coming up with exactly which content should be included with each tier.

      Therefore, I decided it would be better to do what most other sites in my niche do and sell smaller courses. I have 12 complete courses and 140 mini-courses plus 2000+ individual videos. I have A LOT of content!!!

      It's not just like I had a single course that used to cost $69, and I raised it to $159. However, considering the fact that so many people call it "a course", and the majority of people usually opt for the "full access" option rather than the smaller course bundles...I feel that I am still not accurately portraying the true value of a site.

      I think I may need to shop for a copyrighted. Good call. Thank you!

      This is a good point about the "not too many options".

      I definitely think I may need to get a copyrighter on board. This isn't something that I have previously considered before this thread, so thank you!

      Because it's not a $69 product. It is a collection of work that I have spent 7 years building, and almost every that has bought it is in agreement that a $69 price point is ridiculous.

      On top of that, I switched platforms this past November. I moved from a crappy WordPress hand-built website that looked like it was from 1990...to a brand new, modernized Kajabi site. I also spent 3 months straight waking up at 4 am everyday refilming and re-editing all 12 of my full courses. I also significantly re-organized my 140 mini-courses.

      The issue is that I have not yet figured out how to adequately portray exactly what it is that I am offering.

      I do believe that a copyrighter may help a lot.

      Definitely a great idea. Once I get my copy figured out, affiliates would be a great next step. Thank you for the suggestion!
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • I may be wrong but this seems to be a product people refer back to - when they have questions or want to learn something new. it's not something they buy - look through - and then forget about. IF THE $69 sale is a 'one off' - perhaps consider moving to an annual recurring fee of $69?
    • [ 4 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • I think you just gave me the solution without necessarily even meaning to...so thank you!

      I have tried "recurring" in the past via a monthly or annual option.

      I have also tried $69/yr OR $159 lifetime during the last 6 months, and not many people were choosing the "annual" option.

      This lead me to believe that it was the "lifetime" thing that people wanted. However, I think it's more likely that people just want to avoid "recurring".

      Therefore, I think the solution is to make it 1-yr non-recurring membership for $69 or $79...

      This way people won't have to commit to the recurring thing. They'll still get the affordable price. I won't have to deal with the refunds that come with offering recurring subscriptions, and most importantly...it will give people the option to sign up again so it's not a "one and done" model anymore. Also, the lifetimers won't feel ripped off either!

      Genius!!

      Thank you!
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • ok Sales dropped... BUT, did the bottom line? $69 to $159 2.4X right?

    are you losing money... or are you steady with the numbers from before?
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • It's tough to say. I've been running a lot of sales as a means to try and keep getting sales. I always say that "sales don't count" since my email list will eventually stop responding to them.

      I've had some good months since making the change in November, and I do know that people are still willing to pay more than $69 for a lifetime membership...I did well with 40% off (which is $95.40) and 20% off (which is $127.20). However, these sales were made as a direct result of "being on sale".

      It's the day to day, non-sale business that concerns me. This is the part that dramatically dropped. Considering that every sale that I make requires a new customer, this is where things get scary. I might sell a lifetime membership one day, but then not make another sale for like 3 or 4 days. The last one I made was 8 days ago...

      So despite the numbers from previous months it's the frequency of sales that concerns me. At the $69 price, I could predictably rely on 2 to 6 sales per day. This is a lot of "sales traffic". However at this higher price, the sales traffic is so much lower. This tells me that in general this current model isn't as appealing to the average visitor.

      I actually went ahead and changed it to a 1-year, "non-recurring" membership for $69 last night after reading some replies here...I woke up today to see that a sale was made. So I think this may be the solution...

      Also, some people have mentioned to heavily focus on diversifying by starting a second business. That has been my Patreon page, which I have been working on for 8 months now (price is $5/month for access)...it's like pulling teeth trying to get people to sign up for that though!!

      I've been after sustainability all along, and I still haven't reached that point yet.

      Sorry for the long winded answer!
      • [1] reply
  • Its simple man do yourself an acountability ,calculate yourself how much profit you do in 3 months as an example with the low price and see also for the high price
    . If you get more profit with the low price then leave the low price .I know that its very tempting to have a bigger price but the end result its the profit
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • I don't really agree with the 'non-recurring'. I understand your issue with 'recurring' fees that generate refund requests... but....

    Easy to go around that - by telling customers AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE - how they can cancel a recurring fee....AND by sending an automatic notice to them 2-3 weeks before the recurring charge is made in a year. That puts the decision in the hands of the buyer.

    If you stay with 'non-recurring' - at least set up an autoresponder that starts re-marketing before the one year is over....perhaps with a 10% discount for re-signing before the subscription expires - or a bonus item included.

    A percentage of your sales will not object to the recurring fee when it's charged....and that's net profit. The bottom line is not the number sold IMO - it's the net profit

    kay
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • I agree with everything that you are saying, but after testing the recurring model on several different occasions AND surveying my audience, I have found that the majority of people DO NOT want to pay recurring fees.

      When I've had ONLY recurring options (monthly or annual to choose)....I heard nothing but crickets.

      When I've offered two options....annual OR Lifetime, the majority of sales were for the lifetime membership. Not many people chose the annual option.

      Also with the new platform that my site is built on, as much as I love Kajabi they make it extremely difficult to setup an email sequence that reminds people that their membership is about to renew. They do not have a transactional email system. This is a known issue in the Kajabi community, and collectively we (in the Kajabi community) have figured out a way to sort of create a workaround using automations and whatnot...However it's a major pain in the ass to implement.

      I will definitely be re-doing this hack email sequence such that it reminds them that their membership is about to expire. That is great for attempting to get renewals for sure.

      However, I definitely feel that introducing the "non-recurring" option is something that I haven't tested yet. I'm hoping that this will somehow get me back to the place I was before where I was making consistent daily sales.

      If not, I'll just have to keep trying I guess!
  • You seem to have decided that the price increase is the only reason for the drop in sale.

    You said you made changes to your website. When was that in relation to when the price increase happened?

    Are you getting fewer visitors? More precisely, are you getting fewer visitors from organic search? Are you getting different kinds of visitors?

    You seem to have decided that the price increase is the only reason for the drop in sale.

    If no, then getting better copy, is a great idea.

    Do you have to go all the way down to $69? Can you go to $89? Or 79?

    I may have mentioned this before: A few years ago, I was looking to buy something (do not remember what). I found a website that was selling it at $599, and that seemed like a good price. Then, I found a website that sold it at $605. That made me go, Whoa, that's expensive!

    Thinking about it gets you to see that $605 is not waaaay more expensive than $599.

    The point, people might think your current price is too high but dropping it a little can get them to not do so.

    Another thought: the fancier website might be the reason for the decrease in the sense that it presents an image of you that your target audience does not like: too sleek, perhaps?

    And yet another: have you tried accepting payments in installments? Maybe it's not the total price they do not like but the amount out of pocket? Maybe they're people who cannot/will not spend more than $70 in a month on a course but will spend $150 if spread over 3 or f months.
    Maybe the image you've been projecting is, I'm one of yous and now you do not? (Have not seen your old or new site... but you're saying the new one looks much more professional... so you're a salesman now, not a guy who knows and loves guitars sharing his info).
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Someone actually said this to me recently. They said "we used to like you when you were poor and laid back, but now you are just trying to become a miillionaire"...

      I don't know if everyone feels that way, but maybe a lot of people do.

      I think that a lot of people may have been paying for access as a way to "support". However as you said, now it's purely a business relationship.

      This definitely could be the cause as well.

      I did try the installment plan too. I've been alternating each month playing around with the "other option"....sometimes it will be "159 lifetime or $69 per year"...sometimes it will be "$159 lifetime or 3 payments of $59". Most people choose the one-time fee option.

      There's so many things it could be, and you make a really great point!
      • [ 1 ] Thanks

  • I agree about the changes to the site - this is a niche where you want buyers to identify with YOU as the seller and 'too slick' could damage that image perhaps.


    you have posted in the past that you reached $5k a month - and then were having $10k months and even months where sales reached $20k. You have a niche that has an ongoing supply of potential buyer simply as kids/teens age into adulthood - that alone is a hungry market.


    I wonder if you lose sales by changing pricing every month.



    One other thing I've wondered several times about your product is whether you could increase by offering 'beginner', 'intermediate' and 'advanced' options by dividing the instructions/videos in that way.


    Maybe that's not possible but might be something to consider. Pricing could be $69, $89, $109 and could lead to repeat sales?
    I would not advise jumping into that pricing - but it might be something to consider for the future.
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Ya, that's kind of what the person was suggesting when I initially did this site update. He suggested to have a 3-tier system. The thing with that is that I kind of target a niche within a niche....My stuff is primarily geared towards intermediates. I'm definitely not a "beginner" site. So it's tough trying to determine what exact would go into each category...

      You're also probably right about the constant changing of prices every month. I have kept the $159 part consistent, but constantly changing the "other" option to see which one does better definitely introduces another variable into the mix...

      About the site update too...I got hit with a pretty nasty "bait and switch" by Vimeo, so I either had to pay them a ton of money or be forced to switch to another platform. I choose to move to another platform...I'm now on Kajabi instead of Wordpress, and I don't have to worry about any web design stuff really...the site just looks AMAZING now.

      I think you're right....it may look "too good" now though, and as I get bigger I guess that I'm naturally just becoming more and more separated from my audience.

      I still have yet to used paid ads. That's another option that I'm considering exploring.

      I guess that's the internet for ya...stuff changes!
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Banned
    Hi Bkelly301.

    Similar to what Frank said: It's all part of the game of being an Entrepreneur/Marketer/etc. ... Many People have experienced something similar -- and sometimes a lot worse -- yet because they kept going, they succeeded.

    You seem like a smart Guy and have been successful -- so I definitely wouldn't give up.

    Good Luck.
    : )

    P.S. I wouldn't worry about Friends/People not liking you being successful. Again -- sometimes it's just part of it. I guess the true Friends won't mind. 2C
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • These are all good points. I wouldn't necessarily be "giving up" 100%. I'd still run the business. I'm just considering going back to work again for the health insurance and steady paycheck... I've been self-employed for 10 years now, and it might not be a bad thing not having all the stress that comes with not having that steady paycheck each week!
      • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • Perhaps skip the 'beginner' or create a new set of basic videos/articles/whatever for that particular group.

    Ignoring the 'beginner segment' you could offer your current product and create an 'advanced' product perhaps? JUST tossing out ideas. perhaps not as a separate product but as an 'upgrade'?

    The one thing you do NOT want to do is to separate from your audience. It is important you stay 'relatable' and 'reachable' - that'S part of the attraction of the product, isn't it?
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Ya I'm still the same guy that I was since the beginning. I respond to every email. I'm active on Facebook. I respond to comments everywhere. I guess that as I get bigger, people's perception of me changes. I can't control that though.

      But ya, I'm just better at what I do now so my brand looks much more professional. I don't think thats a bad thing though!
      • [ 3 ] Thanks
  • My thoughts...

    if you've had success with $69, I'd keep it there.

    Extra income could be created by using upsells. Package something and give people the option to buy the upsell separately from the $69 package...

    could be something new, or you could take something and repackage it.

    Customers would decide if they wanted the extra something you offered. If they didn't, that would be fine...I think you would see a big increase in your profits when you give them the choice of an upsell.

    Giving people the option to buy an upsell would make up for increasing your base price.

    Just my thoughts from your post
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Yeah that'll not be bias for people who've purchased it for $159 if you will reduce it to $69.

    I think you should give them something in return so that they will not feel like they have overpaid for the membership.

    First tell your customer list that you are going to reduce the price again.
  • Firstly, I must say an interesting topic. You know, in sales, there is old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is particularly relevant. After all, sales is a numbers game, and any change that you make to your sales process has the potential to either increase or decrease your sales.

    As such, it's important to carefully consider any changes that you make, and to only implement those changes if you're confident that they'll have a positive impact.

    In most cases, it's best to stick with a tried-and-tested sales process, rather than to experiment with new techniques that may not work as well as you hope. After all, when it comes to sales, it's often better to play it safe.

    I hope this helps!

    Regards,
    Adam
  • [DELETED]
  • A little late to the game but a few thoughts:

    1. People will pay more than $69. That is a fact. Your competitors are doing it. $69 isn't a magical number that only people in your niche will pay. Maybe you can't market a $159 or $699 product because of copywriting, targeting, or other reasons. I'm not being negative because you are doing great with what you've accomplished over the years. I'm just saying that maybe it's a thinking error on your part or you need to brush up on your copywriting or something.

    2. Maybe you are too accessible and friendly, and it becomes like your best friend neighbor charging you a bunch of money for something while you are thinking that thing should come along with the friendship or at least have a discount. There is value in being genuine, friendly, open, etc. There are also cons. Don't turn into a cold salesman, that probably won't help. LOL But consider all your interactions and how the audience perceives them. I've got personal experience with a guru coach who is almost too open/friendly and sometimes they struggle to sell higher priced products because of it. Maybe I'm wrong but it's something to look at.

    3. One issue you might have is that you have too much content. I mean you keep trying to do recurring payments and all kinds of pricing changes while you keep adding tons of videos. Many of the "gurus", including in your niche, sell set in time products. For example, an ebook has 158 pages and it's finished unless there are future updates. The ebook is $69 with these bonuses. Then the guru writes another book and sells it on the same or another site but it's a different product. Maybe part of your stress is the value you keep adding while not being able to budge the price. What if you stopped doing the videos and said it's $69 for what I've got and market the heck out of it? Then, if you need to, start up Brian's __ Videos.com or whatever and the next set be sold there. Those people don't have any preconceived notions that it should be $69. Try something new on the new site without hurting the old.

    Bottom line is that many WF members would LOVE to have your problems - pretty steady income from working on a site you love.

    Keep up the good work!

    Mark
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Thanks for the reply Mark!

      I definitely think the above 2 are largely responsible. I'm currently going through and trying to fix my copy, using another site that Savidge suggested as my guide. I think that will help a lot.

      I've also been told in the past that I'm too friendly/accessible. In my Facebook group I'm usually on top of answering everyone's questions and being super buddy buddy with everyone. Im actually trying to dial that back a little bit
      • [1] reply
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
Join the discussion

Next Topics on Trending Feed

  • 34

    Massive decrease in sales since price increase

    Hey I'll try to keep this short. I'm just looking for some guidance if you don't mind! I've been in business for about 6 or 7 years now with my main product being a "lifetime membership" to my website which contains thousands of videos all organized into nicely structured courses.