How do you deal with regular clients when you increase your prices?

[joyh97]

Hey!
This is just out of curiosity. When I started on Fiverr, my prices were… Absurdly low. Very very low. I did this so that I could get a few reviews, build up my portfolio, etc. I did note in my description that my pricing was for a limited time, and my rates slowly increased over the months and years.

While some of my most loyal clients have been perfectly happy with this (I still work with the client who gave me my very first order!), other clients are pretty demanding that they get discounts. I’m happy to give discounts here and there for regulars, but some clients insist on pretty significant discounts, every time. This happened today, and he insisted that because ordered from me 4 times in 2019, when my prices were about 3x less than they are now, I should give him a 50% discount.

How do you guys deal with your regular clients when you raise your prices?

[kometbeats]

I’d recommend sticking to your pricing, if you have to try justify your pricing to a regular then I don’t think they’re really there for the value you provide to their project, I’d probably part ways with that buyer.

[looseink]

I have increased my prices at least once every six months.

I’ve had no problems and my regulars keep coming back.

I should add…I also provide “discounts” to a couple of my regulars via Custom Offers.

[nikitakakade24]

Great topic! Infact I am also curious to know about this 🙂 thanks for raising this topic.

[joyh97]

I’d recommend sticking to your pricing, if you have to try justify your pricing to a regular then I don’t think they’re really there for the value you provide to their project, I’d probably part ways with that buyer.

That’s been my policy lately. In the beginning, when I still had only 100 reviews or so, I was so nervous about offending someone and them retaliating by giving me bad reviews or cancellations, that I’d bend over backward to do whatever they want. Now though, I pretty much say that if they need discounts to afford my services, they’d probably be better off looking for someone else who is within their budget.

This doesn’t happen too often anymore, because my higher pricing has weeded out a lot of the lowballers, luckily.

[enunciator]

You have over 2000 5 star reviews within seemingly a period of three years. You have more than established yourself as being someone who delivers what buyers expect, so I’m actually kind of surprised that your pricing is still so generous.

After my Seller Plus consultation, I’m seriously considering adjusting my prices, even though my track record of reviews doesn’t even equals one twentieth of yours!

-Personally, I think you are well due for a price adjustment, and especially so if you get promoted to TRS.

[psykkopatte]

I sneaky raise up, 5€ every months

[melanielm]

In the past, I’ve given my regular customers a temporary discount if they contacted me for a custom offer… perhaps for 2-3 months depending on how frequently they ordered from me. Most don’t even seem to notice the price increase.

Although, I did have one former client come back after 18 months and complain that I charged more. I wasn’t that bothered.

[nik_eckerlebe]

I raised my prices two times in the last year. First of all - and off topic but I will get to the point in a moment - it was a great decision overall. No more resellers and way less customers who know want to negotiate your prices down. “Cheap buyers” (those who only work with the least expensive sellers) somehow often have very unrealistic expectations when it comes to the work and its price.

Anyways, I tried to make the price raise periods a bit more steady (income wise) by continuing to offer my recurring customers the old rate for a certain amount of time. I messaged them and told them that I’ll offer them my “old rates” for another x weeks and that I’ll raise it afterwards. Of course, I conveyed that message not as brass and short as I just did here.

The second important point: actually stick to your new rates when new customers message you - even if you’ll have to decline some work as some buyers are not willing to pay your price. Of course, this doesn’t work if you raised your prices to unreasonable heights where no-one is willing to pay for your services anymore… But it usually does. There will also be buyers who will gladly work with you at higher rates - only if you do a great job, of course.
So far, I never had to back down again with my rates but only because I paid attention to the market’s feedback to my behavior. Right now, for example, I see that I am reaching my upper limits - at least for the customer base/ target demographic/ whatever which I am serving right now…

[sisirkhan12]

Great topic! Infact I am also curious to know about this :slight smile: thanks for raising this topic.

[greystorm2]

It can be one of the hardest things for a lot of us to learn, that it’s ok to say no. It’s a great, empowering word, and you can say it politely, without being rude at all.

Let them know that you appreciate their previous business. “Thank you very much for your business!”

If you’ve already allowed them to … er…convince you to provide a discount that’s not in line with your current pricing, politely point that out. “I’ve been happy to provide a discount for you on previous orders.”

Let them know that, with the growth of your business, it’s simply no longer feasible for you to maintain your previous pricing. “In order to continue to provide top quality service, the growth of my business has necessitated an increase in my pricing.”

It’s business, it’s not personal. The cost of living is continually going up, the cost of business goes up, as well. As consumers, ourselves, we probably don’t like to see our favorite products and services increase in price, but most of us don’t call up the store or business and bully them into giving us a discount. And most of us understand that if we haven’t been to a particular restaurant in two years, the price of our favorite dish has probably gone up a bit. “Thank you for your understanding!”

Be polite and pleasant, but there’s no need to apologize. That would imply that you feel like you’ve done something wrong.

It’s ok to extend an invitation to continue doing business with you on your terms. “Feel free to reach out if you have need of my services in the future!” But don’t leave wiggle room for argument, or dangle a hint that you might be willing to keep offering discounts.

End the discussion with a polite but firm thank you, and have a great day! And maybe an optional smiley face, if that’s your style. 😉

Do NOT waste your time engaging in an argument if the buyer becomes belligerent, argumentative, insulting, or abusive. Instead, report them immediately and block them, and let Fiverr deal with them.

Now, with all that said, I personally am pretty flexible with most reasonable budgets when the client is polite, or has been very pleasant to work with in the past. But even then, I do still have a certain line I have to draw for the sake of my business, and that’s true of everyone at whatever stage they’re at with their businesses.

[vickiespencer]

I tell these buyers that I’m sorry, but I can’t give you a discount. It would be unprofessional and unfair to all of my repeat buyers who have paid the full price, some of whom have placed 100s of orders.

[joyh97]

You have over 2000 5 star reviews within seemingly a period of three years. You have more than established yourself as being someone who delivers what buyers expect, so I’m actually kind of surprised that your pricing is still so generous.

After my Seller Plus consultation, I’m seriously considering adjusting my prices, even though my track record of reviews doesn’t even equals one twentieth of yours!

-Personally, I think you are well due for a price adjustment, and especially so if you get promoted to TRS.

I have been considering it, but it’s always hard to make myself take the plunge and just do it! I do think it’ll be time soon, since I’ve been here for two years and my last real increase was a year ago now. Thank you so much for the kind words and advice!