Listing prices on website
 

I currently do not list my prices. What I do is list the type of services we offer. There is mixed thoughts on this, but some say list the prices and some say don't list them let the client call. I feel today's younger bride and groom want instant gratification like everyone else. They are too lazy or do not find the time to call for a quote. One reason I do not list my prices is so that I can fit their budget accordingly depending on the need. What do you guys think...do you lose business by not showing prices? Like I said, before I quote I like to understand their needs and what the service is for.

Re: Listing prices on website
 

One frame of mind is that IF you compete based on price, you need to list it. Otherwise, don't worry.

However, a lot of the reading I've done suggests that a legitimate strategy is to present your price because, unlike a common item you can buy in any store or online and have a reasonable idea of cost BEFORE shopping, we are a rarity AND a hard to quantify service. It is to your advantage for the potential customer to see your higher price because then that is the "normal" rather than some cheaper guy down the street getting them thinking that '$1000 is a lot.'

For example, as a wedding DJ I post my price even though I"m 50% above market average. I charge a base price of $1295 in an area where typical is $800. Fortunately, the local multi-op that charges $800 demands an email address and phone number before giving a quote. They actually make it HARDER to get info, even though they should be selling on price. Anyway, despite my prices, I still book about as many weddings as I'm willing.

Now I'm working on a videography price sheet that will cover their options and still give me flexibility to change the quote.

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@Robert,
Thanks for the insight. I too have been reading that it is best to present a price for clients. I think I might mark up a tad just in case I need to change quote like you.

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Well, I know I've got a small number of clients because I list prices. They liked the fact that it was clearly laid out, and I totally sympathise with that -- even if I go to a shop in the food court, I want to be able to see prices clearly, and I don't like the hassle of asking people.

But that's a small minority. Everyone else tends to ask for a quote even though the prices are listed, and then ask for a discount for paying in cash (I don't give one). So I'm doubtful you lose anything by not listing prices.

Standard practice round here seems to be to not list prices, or to give just a ballpark estimate ("Our packages start from..."). I think some people believe it forces the potential client to engage with you, to talk to you on the phone, etc, and then you can sweet talk them into selecting you. There may be some truth in that.

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I used to get a lot more inquiries when I posted prices than when I didn't.

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I also feel that if they do end up calling you for a quote you can get a better understanding of what they are after. Yesterday I spoke to a couple who could only afford ceremony and reception cost. So I explained it my cost for those services and booked them. There are many varibles when it comes to pricing for our industry. Some only look for pricing, which tends to be the cheapies. It can be very confusing.
Check out this lady's explaination

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzKR...U#action=share

Re: Listing prices on website
 

I always list my prices including in the leaflets that I hand out a wedding shows and regularly have people tell me that they love the fact that I openly show prices. It means that they know whether they can fit me into their budget, or stretch it a bit and it seems to add some honesty to it. I know that if I look at something that is not priced, that I feel uncomfortable that I may be getting sized up to see whether I can afford to pay more.

I work on the basis that I can only film one wedding on a day, so I have one fixed price to cover the whole day, why do I need to hide it? If I was selling a variable package, then maybe finding out what they want first would be an advantage, but if I sold a lower priced package I might be doing myself out of a full priced one later. So for me, one price and clearly advertised with the proviso that a joint photo/video package is a higher fixed advertised price.

Roger

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Me too! When I am buying something and it's not priced then I will simply pass it by! How does a bride know even what price range you are in? They have a budget and when they get to a site with no prices they usually just skip it as no prices usually means it's expensive.

Jeff ? that is probably one of the reasons why your enquiries are slow when you mentioned in a previous post that you wanted to offer discounts. At the very least give the bride a price range so she knows whether she can afford you or not so I think your website should at least say "Weddings from $XXXX"

I'm still am in favour of having your prices upfront and out there of course. Brides never try to negotiate with me ..they have seen the price and accept it

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I list my prices and the dates I'm already booked on my site. I like the fact that when I get an inquiry, they are essentially prescreened. They know how much I charge and if I'm available. I don't need to waste time selling to them before I divulge the price.

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Forgot about my calendar page... it helps that the bride knows you are available so you both don't waste a lot of pre-booking time then find out you already have booked that date. Mine is updated all the time and shows currently up to July 2016

I'm not exactly the world's greatest salesman so by having enough info on my site means the bride seldom enquires about a wedding but says "we would like to book you" ...I then simply go and collect info and sign them up without needing to resort to sales techniques that I don't have

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I just have one price now for a full day as I want to maximize my income for that one day a week that I do weddings, in some case that can mean starting at 8 in the morning and stop at 1 at night but it can happen I need to start around 12 in the afternoon. Basically it means every couple that chooses me gets a full coverage of their day starting at the make-up and ending a bit after the first dance. I also don't offer any shorter shoots like ceremony only.

Therefore I just list that price on my website so I know that as soon as they contact me price is not going to be a discussion point. Any contact by mail is then to know if I"m available for their day and if so to schedule a meeting.

I know that posting availability dates on my site as well would narrow down email requests considerably but I never would, if I would have a slow year (for 2016 where I decided to take on less weddings for health reasons) that might come over as if I am not doing well, you know that feeling you get if you want to go to a restaurant but see their parking space is empty which might give you the idea people don't come there because the food is bad. :) For those inquiries where I"m already booked I have a standard answer ready that I just copy/paste and return the mail, that just takes a minute of my time but I am keeping track of those requests now as well as it gives me a indication of how well I"m doing.

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Hi Noa

I thought about an empty calendar having an effect on brides thinking "he isn't very good as nobody has booked him" What I have is booked weddings filled in in RED and provisional bookings/enquiries in progress filled in BLUE and a note at the top saying "Even if your date shows as provisionally booked, you can still make an enquiry as the date is not yet confirmed so provisional dates can easily become available"

We do have very quiet months here so quite often my July grid will still be totally empty in June! It's cold and our rainy season so brides tend to shun our Winter months.

Despite the disadvantage at the season start I still find the calendar stops wasted enquiries and you certainly shouldn't get any repeat business from a bride (I did have a bride this month who wanted the 17th January and when I told her we were booked she re-organised here entire wedding for a week later)

In your case, with your back issues, maybe a calendar is not the best of ideas but for most of us it does make enquiries easier.

Chris

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I'm in the' show the prices' camp, the only reason i use this strategy is that if i go to a site myself (and sites here of all kinds are particularly hesitant at showing prices) I just dont bother going further if i see something like please call or email for a quote.

Re: Listing prices on website
 

I understand where you guys are coming from. When I look for a product of service online I look for price. Not having prices may keep people from calling, but with our services it can be difficult to show all prices due the fact that there can be variation of services. For those who do show prices, do you show just a few, and when they do call and ask, "Do you do ceremonies only?" you can say yes or no whatever your take is on that. But if you mention on your site that you do ceremonies only as well as full day coverage many might just pick the cheapest route? If I were to show prices, I might just include a few which reflect our bigger money makers.

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Make it simple, whatever you do. The last thing you need to do is offer to many options and cause the "paralysis of choice" and they just move on.

2 or 3 choices at the initial point, that's it. Additional ideas or add ons can be addressed once they've decided whether to hire you.

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You could set your minimum price, which could be for a ceremony only, and just mention something like "our prices start at..." and the actual price depends what they want to have covered.

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Robert,
That is exactly what I did. I just place 3 options and said starting prices. Too many options can be confusing, and it is my belief they will call. Once they call you can explain more options or suggest services which will better them in the long run. Thanks for all your guys' ideas and insight.

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I list my prices as starting at. It's on my packages page and my contact page. However I still get contacted about prices and brides want to pay way below my starting rate. I feel as if sometimes I should fully list the prices. :/

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According to the TV show "Brain Games" 3 choices is the maximum the normal person can handle. However, most of the time they tend to choose the first package as long as it has reasonable coverage and not just ceremony only. Now the scientist's discovered that if you inflate your middle package so it's only a tiny bit cheaper than your top package (the one you want brides to book) the higher priced top package will always be chosen as its only a couple of hundred dollars more and you get a lot more coverage.

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I guess it's like the movie theaters charging $5.00 for a small soda, $5.25 for a medium and $5.50 for a large. You get the large one because it seems like such a great deal. = ]

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That was exactly the exercise that did but it was with popcorn. They made a small tub $5.00 and medium tub $7.00 and a huge tub $9.00 and watched what movie goes bought and interviewed them later ..most bought the small tub simply because it was affordable and enough for them.

They then changed the medium tub price to $8.00 and the next batch of movie goers almost all bought the huge tub .. even though it was more than they wanted their comments were " The huge tub is only a dollar more than the medium so I bought the biggest one"

The whole issue with weddings is perceived value and if brides think that they are getting a whole lot more than your standard package for just a small increase in price they feel that it is better value for money and they book it even if it takes them a little out of their budget! I think we often forget to mention on our package descriptions exactly what the brides get for their money ...small little things that we automatically give them without thinking should be mentioned on a website as it raises the perceived value of the package even though they would get the extras anyway

We often forget that almost all brides have never been married before and have no idea of what we give them so a simple thing like "We give you 3 DVD sets and an exclusive on-line video" makes a package more attractive to them compared to them just assuming they get it all on one DVD in a clear slim CD case. Even stupid things like splitting the wedding into 2 x DVD's in printed DVD cases and calling it a DVD set (I can often fit everything on one DVD) but always give them DVD sets in Dual Cases as it has a higher perceived value.

I think marketing is an art .. I wish I knew more about it!!

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I agree you should be open with pricing but don't list them publicly online! The reason is Google creates a cache of your site and various other sites create historical snapshots of websites so if you decide to change your prices the old price will be forever available. My solution is an automated reply to enquiries that redirect them to a password protected page on my WordPress.

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I'm really not bothered if people know what my old prices used to be as I hold prices long enough to justify an increase if necessary. If new enquirers want to know what my prices were 2 years ago, why should it matter as they still have to pay the current price as shown on the website and in my leaflets. Of course if they booked it 2 years ago they also won't be worried if I have put the price up, as they will still pay the price they booked it at.

Roger

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I currently have starting price listed on the website. It shall filter some really budgeted brides. I also wrote a javascript on the page. with a simple parameter on the URL, it will reveal the full price.; :)

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I list prices. It weeds out the price shoppers for the most part, whom I have no interest in engaging with. And frankly, I'm too lazy to want to play salesman, so it works out great. And I have more clients than I know what to do with.

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I have been back and forth with prices on web site recently.

I found that by listing my prices I would get less enquiries but the ones I got meant business.

I have now gone to a 'start from price' on the website. Am getting loads more enquires and I get the opportunity to sell the different collections we offer to them. So for the time being am happy with this strategy.

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I have decided to list them.
But only if you look very carefully ;)

Can anyone spot the prices of my three packages?

Not sure if this will be effective or not, but I just decided to try it as of today:

Wedding Packages - Wedding Videography

Re: Listing prices on website
 

Hi Ian

OK, I'm a bride (not really of course) and I have decided I want a wedding film ...I have budgeted between $1500 and $2000 for my wedding ...your site is full of information BUT I cannot find any indication of prices (even approximate ones) I am tired of looking and don't really want to have to go thru the hassle of emailing you and trying to find out if I can afford you so I'll just move on to another videographer.

This happens on many occasions where the bride already has a budget figure in mind and there is a good chance she will skip you as a potential supplier if she cannot find out some ball park figures ...she really doesn't want to go to the effort of contacting you if your packages start at prices way more than she can afford so your site goes into the "too hard" basket and she moves on.

Your page has nothing that might convince her to inquire further like an impressive clip that might sway her thinking and a comment saying "You could have a stunning wedding film just like this ... and it will cost less than you think too"

When I buy something I need to know if I can afford it even if it's outside my budget but still feasible.

I had a quick look but costing never jumped out at me so would a bride find it??

Just my 2 cents worth

Chris

Re: Listing prices on website
 

Chris,
I appreciate your feedback :)
I'm hoping you can clarify some of your points. You mentioned that my site offers no impressive clip. Did you miss the landing page to the site?

There are plenty of sample clips on the home page.
Also, the "Wedding Package" page starts with some of the selling points you sound like you are looking for: an introduction that mentions numerous reviews, competitive pricing, years of experience, etc.

So is your point simply that if I were to be more clear in the prices, you (as the bride) would contact me?

I've always worked with the understand that you need to first describe your service before you offer the price.

I'm sure there are arguments for both sides of this camp. I think the best thing for all of us to do is test it. See what works for your clients in your market area and do a trial run for a few months.

Re: Listing prices on website
 

Hi Ian

I just clicked the link that took me to your page from your post but it seemed to be the packages page so maybe that was the issue ...brides would go to your landing page I assume where you impress the pants off them and THEN they go to packages??

Regarding prices, if you are getting bookings then I would leave it as it is but if the bride does want at least a price range you have added another step for her to do and then wait until you respond.

BTW I couldn't click on the Contact us for prices cos you have only hyperlinked the word Contact ..it might be better to link the whole phrase rather so if they click on any word (I clicked on "Prices" and nothing happened of course)

I guess it's a personal thing but I still (as a bride) would like to know whether I can afford you ...You might charge $10K and upwards and I only have $1500 !!! If it were me and I didn't want to specify prices I still would say "packages starting from $1500" ... then I at least know I can afford you hopefully.

Chris

Re: Listing prices on website
 

Do any of you guys NOT do weddings (instead, corporate, etc.) and list prices? I have messed with this approach but never really committed to it. One issue is I almost always have to rent gear as I am without a camera right now. I have colleagues in town from whom I can get a significantly better deal on a few select cams than I could get at a rental house, and so pass on the savings, but those are cams they also use so it's a little dicey to commit to saying "videographer/cam = X dollars" and that being dependent on that gear being available on whatever day a shoot ends up being.

Also, shoots vary so much it's hard to list package prices (do I need 1 cam or 3, just myself or a grip, etc.). Crew rates vary, so even a two man band can be different prices depending on who I can get that day. Etc.

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Hi Josh

Definitely not as you have no idea if you need a crew, gear, travel but I do have a costing for short promos that are a single camera shoot where the person just wants one location and a 3 minute clip on YouTube. Apart from that every job is going to different whereas weddings are fairly structured and you know what is involved.

Chris

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Yeah, and I thought about doing something for the most basic types of shoots ("me by myself half day/full day," "me with camera, one mic," "me with cam, one mic, light kit," etc.). Those are some more common configurations I find myself in.

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for smallish commercial shoots where I am just using one camera I tend to do a half day rate of $500 and a full day rate of $1000 .....I'm probably under costing a bit but doing these is usually just a couple of hours!

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I offer three "Tiers" for promotional videography work, depending upon the length of the video, the need for narration/acting talent, etc. But I am clear that everything can be customized. But I agree with Chris...your rates should equal to your halfway and full day charges. But don't forget to included edited time in those ranges.

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How would you, though? With a wedding there is SOME standardization (with the exception of different religions' types of ceremonies, etc.), a corporate or other video could be ANYTHING. 30 seconds, 15 minutes. I would probably just list my hourly editing rate and say something about providing an estimate on number of hours based on our discussions.

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Josh,
We're getting slightly off topic, but I actually disagree that there is no standardization for promotional videography. In fact, I would argue that there is more!
For example, we all know commercials run 15, 30, or 60 seconds. Usually they involve 1-2 talking heads and/or vocal narration. The rest in B-roll.

So, run with that. Start with what price should be associated with a commercial shoot and then grow from there to longer formats. The material doesn't matter so much as the length of the final product and the number of hours required to shoot it.

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I should change my middle name to Tangent. r

Youre talking about proper commercial lengths..Ive never worked on stuff like that. ive only worked on longer form promo pieces of the several minutes variety, everything from lots of talking heads to none.

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Correct Josh

A promo video for a company could be as simple as being in front of the owner at his desk doing a 3 minute talking head. It could also mean running all over an industrial site, waiting for staff or processes to become available and weather is even a factor ... not easy to price correctly and almost impossible to pre-cost

Weddings, even different religions, are normally much the same to a point but you still have the odd one that throws out your costing but 99% are fairly well planned and run close enough to schedule to keep within your pricing.

Chris

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exactly, and that brings us back...

I was thinking I could at least give folks an idea of a STARTING point for my pricing for those very simple packages (DP/cam/mic/lights for half day/full day). More specific discussions could take place aftet that if theyre not completely turned off by the intial quotes (which some folks are if their budget for everything including post is $500 or something). Help weed people out and everyone can avoid wasting each other's time.