Today’s guest post is written by Marcus Sheridan.
Some scientists claim the phenomenon of Stonehenge is the greatest mystery the world has ever seen. Others argue the case of crop circles, the Lost City of Atlantis, or even the location of the Ark of the Covenant.
But when it comes down to it, none of these even come close to the great mystery that is alive and well on hundreds of thousands of business websites across the world today—the absence of pricing information.
You might think I’m kidding when I make these comparisons, but I’m not. For me, the idea that so many businesses, small and large, are afraid to discuss pricing on their website simply makes me slap my forehead and wonder if I’m participating in a live episode of The Twilight Zone.
I know some of you reading this are shaking your head as you don’t feel such a discussion on your website is possible. But let me assure you that if you’ll just open yourself up to the possibilities, your company’s website and marketing efforts may just take an upward swing you never dreamed possible.
Five Reasons to Discuss Pricing on Your Website
1. SEO Value. Here’s the deal—Most industries and businesses are afraid to talk about pricing on their websites. Notwithstanding, this is one of the most common search phrases Google gets when folks are serious about buying a product. That said, you have a great opportunity to show up on the first page of Google search results if you’re simply willing to address the question of how much your product or service costs.
As an example, let’s take a look at my swimming pool website (Yes, when I’m not writing about marketing I’m overseeing my swimming pool company). Because no one in the industry talked about fiberglass swimming pools for years on their website, we decided to answer every question our customers had ever asked us. Considering pricing and cost is the number one question we get from consumers, we wrote various articles on the subject. And the results? In the past three years, just because we address this important question, our site has received an additional:
- 220,000 page views
- 55,000 visitors
- 138 leads
- Roughly $1,000,000 in sales
Keep in mind these stats are just based on pricing/cost related keywords in organic search, and as you can see, they’ve been a literal jackpot and have led to a mountain of additional sales. If you’d like to see what I’m talking about here, just type in Google ‘Fiberglass Pool Cost’ or ‘Fiberglass Pool Pricing’.
2. You’re going to have to answer the question anyway. The main reason business owners tell me they can’t talk about pricing on their website is because there is too much of a range to deal with, and thus it’s impossible to give someone realistic expectations. But my response to this is simple: “When someone calls you on the phone and asks you for a price range, do you refuse to answer them or do you ask a few questions and attempt to give basic numbers?”
Again, let’s look at swimming pools as an example. My product ranges from $20,000 to $200,000, but this doesn’t mean I can’t give a potential client at least a broad expectation based on their wants and needs. (Again, if you haven’t looked at my pricing page, you should do this.)
When it comes to content marketing, folks, there is simply no excuse not to address any and every potential question a consumer may ask. It’s that simple.
3. Qualify better and stop wasting your time. Have you ever had a sales appointment that was an absolute waste of time because you were way out of the shopper’s budget? Well, if you did, it’s your fault. Why? Because you didn’t prepare the prospect. You weren’t honest and forthright. And in this day and age of poor credit and hard-to-come-by financing, you sure as heck need to filter out the qualified from the unqualified consumers.
4. Your stuff is worth it. Let me be blunt with this one: If you’re embarrassed by your pricing, why in the world would anyone have the confidence to buy from you? Pricing and cost should never be a subject of trepidation when dealing with prospects. In fact, talking about pricing should be as natural as talking about any other aspect of the product or service. Seriously, there should be no difference in approach.
5. Prospects will love you and you’ll stand out from the crowd. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me, “Marcus, thank you so much for talking about pricing on your website. I couldn’t seem to find answers anywhere!”, I’d be a millionaire. Today’s consumer appreciates openness, honesty, and transparency—so why not embrace such a mentality??
So there you have it folks, five reasons you should be discussing price on your company website right now. And if you don’t believe that it will work, I can only ask that you give it a try. Look for reasons that it will work versus conjuring up all the ways in which it won’t.
I could go on and on regarding this subject but I’ve already badly broken the Spin Sucks word count rules 😉 Plus, I’m saving it for my webinar next week with Gini Dietrich. If you haven’t signed up for ‘Content’s Ability to Close Sales’, you really should strongly consider it, because it’s going to be awesome and regret is not fun. It is Thursday, August 25th, 11 am Central, $50, and you can register here.
So now it’s your turn. Do you think pricing should be discussed on a company’s website? What’s your business’ approach to this subject and what have been the results?
Marcus Sheridan has won the heart of Gini Dietrich and millions of others with his rockin words on business, marketing, blogging, and life success principles. And don’t forget to subscribe to his blog or connect with him on G+.
Note from Gini: He’s right; he has won my heart. He’s really freaking smart and has a TON of value to provide PR and marketing professionals.