Pricing for Value & Access
Tip: Pricing Strategy
When we consider a target audience for educational offerings, your pricing strategy sends many messages.
Anyone who has taken a business class in the US knows that you should set a very high price, because high price conveys the worth of your product, but I call bulls***. The practice of high cost for the sake of making more money has gotten out of hand, it’s downright unethical.
There are many online courses asking exorbitant prices these days. Here’s the strategy: you get a large amount of text encouraging you to set up a discovery call, no listed price anywhere. On this call you are convinced the program will solve all of your problems, you get the price of thousands of dollars split into payments. Then you are put under pressure to decide within 24hrs or the deal is gone. Icky…
Hiding the cost of your offering and then pressuring to buy under a strict timeline is no way to do business and you exclude a large group of people who are typically shut out by these resources financially. I could talk about racial and gender inequality, but will save that for another post.
I think these educators mean well, and are seeking ways to be more profitable as musicians, but what if we aimed for a more ethical approach to pricing? The principle is easy…
Choose a price that conveys your VALUE based on your credentials/experience/market
POST THE PRICE on your website
Encourage a strategy session without the pressure tactics. If you are offering something of value, your potential clients won’t need to be coerced into purchasing under pressure
Provide an EDI (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) statement that encourages those with limited financial means and other challenges to participate in your program at a lower rate. You will then offer ACCESS to those most in need of your offering
Having used this method myself, I can say I never have to hard sell anyone on my offerings. If the content resonates with them, they will buy. If they can’t afford it, I will offer another way for them to get involved. The outcome is a more authentic and genuine connection with people, and greater client retention.
Let me know what you think!