What does it cost – how to communicate the price?

At the end of the landing page

Traditionally, on the landing pages, it is somewhere towards the end after the value proposition is explained, all the benefits are clear and excuses are treated. The reader consciously and unconsciously balances between the values and the price, so it is the writer’s job to make the value side very strong.

However, as users got used to this traditional way of presenting the price, some of them scroll right to the price presentation to find it out, skipping the value proposition. And this is not the only reason why we should shortly list again the benefits and what the price includes (even things that are evident to you but probably not for the customer.)

How much it is worth

A popular technique is to say how much the product could be sold for, how much it cost to create it, but it is only x. Even better if the cost and the higher price is scattered throughout the whole page in the relevant copy. Like if you offer a course, you can say earlier on the landing which conferences and schools you attended to get the knowledge and how much it cost. Or how much you spent on experimenting until you got to the best conclusion you are sharing now.

Right after stating the price you can explain how you came to that amount.

You can use it for segmenting: if it is a high-end price in the industry, you can say that the product is not for everyone, and you segment with this price. Users will feel tempted to belong to those qualified customers who can afford it.

If the price is low-end, you’d better avoid users think that also the product/service is low-end. Give them a reason why you want them to have access to it at such an exceptional price (your mission e.g.).

You should be very careful with this, though, as you can end up over-explaining the price and seeming to think that the product is not worth it.

Start with the price

A brave and advanced technique is to start with the price. It can as well as be in the headline: “Get back to your pre-baby size in two months for just $xxx. “

With this, you position your offer right at the beginning as a good deal, and the customer will not worry about the price but read on to find out what is in. Obviously, this technique is recommended if you have a good price, but it doesn’t mean it has to be cheap. It just has to be well-priced compared to what you offer. Going forward, it is crucial to justify that the price is a good deal.

Emphasize the losses

An other aspect is to show the customer how much they lose by not buying your product. It is difficult to imagine the future and especially accept that things can turn out bad, so you have to specifically explain what might happen with them without your service, and how much they will regret not to have spent this amount of money and save with it.

Say that it is expensive

An amazing technique for advanced writers. You can come up with an excuse one of your earlier clients made, saying “It is bloody expensive.” This will definitely catch the attention of the user and make them read on. Here you really have to explain and prove why this excuse is dull and how your client later found out that it was the best deal of his life. To reach this your value proposition has to be excellent.

Better to avoid

There are a few things to avoid when presenting the price:

–         Hiding the price or part of it. You should be clear about all the additional costs, package and handling, and if it is a membership, it should be clear.

–         Still, many sites use the ‘Ask for a quote’ formula which pushed the reader to make the extra effort by contacting you. Even if you can not say a definite final price you show price ranges or some examples.

–         Saying “Only today”, or “Only for you” if it is not true. You lose credibility if these statements are there for weeks.

–         Exaggerating the value of the product or service. Use statements about how much it is worth you can justify.