
Pricing your creative services is one of the most-discussed topics among creatives today. There is really no right way to price your services, there is also no industry standard. It is best to choose one or two methods and find a sweet spot that is rewarding of your effort, skills and resources. While it’s good to have flexibility, utilizing a variety of pricing structures could be very confusing for you and your clients.
Pricing is supposed to be a value-for-value exchange and while from the client’s point of view, pricing is about cost, expenses and value for money. However as a creator, because it is all about running cost, overhead expenses and profit, it is imperative that you charge right. How many hours in a day or month do I want to work? How do I charge what’s right to avoid my products or services being underpriced or overpriced?
By consistently giving your best and meeting or even exceeding your client's expectations, they're assured of your value and can recommend you to others.
Map Out An Onboarding Process
This is especially important if your offering is service-based. In the service-based business, customers purchase the skills of a service provider or owner and this process also helps you to establish a relationship in which the customer’s experience and expectations are clearly outlined and as such, prioritized.
Having determined your client's needs, your expectations, theirs and how these can be met, you are able to effectively determine the extent of work you're going to be doing and the commensurate payment to expect.
Use The Right Pricing Model
Depending on the industry you're in or the kind of service you offer, it's important that you choose the right pricing model always. Determine whether your project is time-based or project-based and charge accordingly. This helps you appropriately determine the right price as well as give your clients value for their money.
Curate Service Packages
When you’re creating pricing packages, highlight exactly what it is you offer. The best way to define what you offer is to pay attention to the things that you currently do on a repetitive basis for clients, do your own research on services and offers that can be of value to your clientele.
For example, if you are a photographer, you can offer different packages that include a number of pictures for a specific rate, wedding pictures package or charge for a full day of shoot once you've estimated the duration. By creating a package, you’re able to better define the deliverables for clients and charge sufficiently for your services.
Curating packages or subscription plans for your products and services also helps you considerably cut down negotiation time so you're able to get right to business.
Know Your Worth
Never be afraid to charge what you're worth. At its core, this technique takes guts but the more you do it, the more comfortable you become setting your pricing.
Strategic pricing is important to ensure that you're not selling yourself short. Research on what creatives in your industry offer and tweak to your satisfaction. You do not have to set your prices at the same rate as everyone else, nor should you charge lower even if they have been in the industry longer than you. Whatever price you decide, be sure to offer value for the price.
Match Price With Value
As much as you are charging your worth, keep customer satisfaction at the core of your business.
A satisfied client is likely to become a returning client. One of the best ways to push visibility for your business is through word of the mouth referrals. By consistently giving your best and meeting or even exceeding your client's expectations, they're assured of your value and can recommend you to others.
In summary, learning to strategically charge clients for what you do is as much for your benefit as it is for your clients. Take new clients slowly, show them your intent to cater to their needs, give them a wonderful experience and charge accordingly.
Also, routinely review your pricing offers by carefully considering how you continue to develop yourself and acquire new skills. Strategic pricing comes with practice, and it is a business skill that will grow over time.
This was very insightful.