Bob Bly Direct Response Copywriter Official Banner

Do You Charge So Much Your Customers Complain?

May 6th, 2008 by Bob Bly

An article in Circulation Management (5/08, p. 12) states: “Your subscribers should be complaining about their subscription price. If they’re not, then you’re not charging enough.”

I get the logic of this: if your customers accept your pricing too readily, it indicates that they would be willing to pay more — and therefore, you should price your product or service accordingly.

But I’m not sure I agree with it, because it sounds like making your prices so high that customers find them a burden, and are unhappy paying them, is a good idea.

Do we really want our customers complaining about our prices? Should we in fact always charge the maximum price we can get away with for everything we sell?

Internet marketer Fred Gleeck has a rule for pricing information products: the price should be low enough that if you multiply it by 10, the product would still be worth buying at that multiple.

Therefore, a product with a value of $1,000 should cost no more than $100.

I’m more comfortable with Fred’s pricing guideline than Circulation Management’s advice on pricing so high that customers complain.

Fred’s rule ensures that customers always get more than their money’s worth.

Circulation Management’s rule ensures that they barely or rarely get their money’s worth.

Which do you think is better?

Share

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 4:32 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

30 responses about “Do You Charge So Much Your Customers Complain?”

  1. Sean said:

    wow a comment like that really makes my blood boil. Not just as a marketer, but as a consumer.

    There are 3 parts to a major magazine, editorial, publishing, and circulation. When divided (and competing with each other) that strategy makes sense. Circulation’s job is to get as many subscriptions at the greatest cost. But what if they all worked together?

    Less money on the circulation end might mean more money in advertiser’s sales, affiliate sales, or back-end deals (book clubs). Also happy customers (fans) are more willing to contribute editorially and spread your articles to friends and co-workers.

    So, no, customers should not be complaining about anything. Subscription rates should be used to reflect perceived value and than adjusted based on your marketing strategy. In my opinion it is based on whatever gets the most subscribers (low price vs. high price vs. free).

    I wonder how this changes across different industries.

  2. Mark said:

    Strictly from a business perspective: a complaining customer is a customer who is looking for a better deal. What you want to do is get your customer to never think about going elsewhere. Making sure your customer complains is pretty much insane.

  3. Bob Bly said:

    Mark: I agree, and if you practice Fred Gleeck’s rule — each product is worth at least 10X its price — customers won’t shop around.

  4. Lou Wasser said:

    While Fred Gleek’s rule sounds like a useful one at first blush, I’m not sure whether the multiplier of 10 is workable for all situations and all products in all industries.

    If one uses a multiplier of 8 1/2 or 9, is he pushing the envelope on pricing? Even on the Gleek pricing grid, the logic of the article in Circulation Management has to kick in at some point.

  5. Louis said:

    And once you’ve done that 10X multiplication, how do you settle on the value? Are you good as long as the potential for their return is greater than their investment? That would also depend on their business model too, right? Someone who is simply trying to educate himself may not have a measurable return until much later.

  6. Craig McNamara said:

    As long as they feel they’re getting their money’s worth (for whatever they’re paying), they’ll come back as a customer. It’s why I can charge the top going rate for freelance writers in the Minneapolis market.
    (More opinions and advertising commentary at craigmcnamara.blogspot.com)

  7. Bob Bly said:

    Louis: in the case of an information product, the marketer must explicitly make the case for the value he claims in the copy. For instance, let’s say you are selling an e-book of forms for consultants. To pay a lawyer or expert to create each form would cost the prospect at least $200 per form, and there are 50 forms in the book. Therefore, buying the collection of ready-made forms can save the customer $10,000, allowing you to claim a value of 10K for your product. Would I charge $1,000? Probably not. But you could charge $97.

  8. Troy Bingham said:

    if you can get away with it, you may want to try some split testing on pricing. You can get some very interesting results.

  9. Susanna K. Hutcheson said:

    I think that as far as pricing anything is concerned, a lot has to do with the true value. If there’s nowhere else the prospect can get the service or product, or, if the service or product offered is preferable to others on the market, price is not much of an issue.

    For example, I subscribe to the Morningstar Web site. It’s somewhat expensive. At the same time, belonging to the site, using it’s many great premium features, has made me a good deal of money. Therefore, what I pay Morningstar is really not that much at all.

    I always feel like I’m not getting something of much value when it’s too cheap. Sure, I love getting a bargain and I’ve found valuable items for dimes and quarters at garage sales. But if I only pay a lawyer $25 an hour, I sure don’t expect much. In fact, I figure I’ll lose my case.

    The bottom line, in my opinion, is you should charge what your product or service is truly worth BUT take into consideration the realities of what the market will truly bear.

    It’s OK for people to think your price is a bit high if, on the other hand, they feel they’ll be repaid many times.

    As another example, Chris Marlow charges quite a bit for her pricing survey for freelance copywriters. It’s more than “Who’s Charging What!”, which is the industry standard. But, on the other hand, it’s well worth the price when you discover how much you can increase your income by having the information.

  10. Terry said:

    Robert G Allen used a survey to set the price of his offers in his famous challenge to make at least $24,000 in 24 hours. (Which actually made $94,532.44 in 24 hours). You can find the details in his book, “Multiple Streams of Internet Income”. One of the offers was a personal one-on-one coaching with himself. He asked the respondents to check the price they would be willing to pay (offer was limited to 10 people). The choices were: $5,000; $2,500; $1,495; $995; $495. The amazing results: “About half of the 1,046 people responded that they would be willing to pay for private mentoring with me chose the cheapest possible price. But 9 percent chose the most expensive option. When given a choice of paying $495 or $5,000 a significant number of people voluntarily agreed to pay $5,000 (94 people paying $5,000 is almost half a million dollars)!”
    It definitely pays to test test test!

  11. Corwin said:

    We all immediately recognize the flat snoot, wrinkled face, and large expressive eyes of the loveable Pug. The Pug breed’s roots can be tracked back to Imperial China in 700 B.C., during the time of Confucius, when the breed was breed quickly became a popular lap dog among the aristocracy. A Pug named Pompey is even credited with alerting Holland’s William I, Prince of Orange, to an assassination attempt by Spain. Over time, pugs have been the favored breed or both royals and celebrities—from Napoleon and Queen Victoria to Andy Warhol and Rob Zombie.
    https://pugslandbreeder.company.com

  12. spin wheel said:

    You will go through many rounds to find the best player, go to the last round, and take the crown. fall guys online

  13. Nida Bassam said:

    Just like you, I also do not agree with Circulation Management’s article. It is a burden to customers to pay the bills and maintain their lives altogether.

  14. Jona than said:

    This article will provide a full explanation of the Michaels Employee Benefits Plan and eligibility criteria for Michaels’ associates. michaels employee login

  15. Steve said:

    Great Article thanks for such a great information please do follow these articles.
    wecare rite aid
    Costco Citi card login

  16. Nanisa said:

    tetris is the popular puzzle game that got it all began by appealing to our innate drive to bring order out of chaos. In 1984, Alexey Pajitnov, who had previously worked as a computer programmer, invented the Tetris video game. Tetris developed into one of the most popular and well-known video games in the years that followed, showing up on almost all gaming platforms. The official home of free single-player Tetris online is this page. One of the most well-liked puzzle games in the world can be played right now by clicking play tetris

  17. jessica andrea said:

    I love Fred’s Rule which ensures that customers always get more than they pay for. Maybe it’ll be easy to death run 3d but we need to take the risk in business

  18. Mike Rooney said:

    I really like the way that you have expressed yourself. There is a lot to be admired from this post. You might want to click onKevin Costner White Jacket Yellowstone

  19. Hailey Nelson said:

    In stumble guys, you’ll compete alongside a large number of other people in a wild, frantic marathon full of perilous obstacles. Here you must outrun, outjump, and outsurf your obnoxious rivals while solving puzzle-like minigames in order to be the first to the crown at the end of each round stumble guys 2.

  20. Reem sultan said:

    Assignment writing services help through online forums and web pages. These tools give conscientious students a forum to seek advice from seasoned accountants and ask questions. Also, a lot of textbook publishers provide online resources with answers to frequent issues. These remedies are frequently free or relatively inexpensive. Last but not least, private tutors are always prepared to assist if you can’t find what you’re looking for on one of these websites or forums.

  21. victor1122 said:

    All costs will be listed and publicized. Therefore, customer service complaints are nonexistent Drift Boss

  22. Shirley A. Roberts said:

    Bly emphasizes the importance of understanding the value that your product or service provides to customers and pricing accordingly. He also notes that it’s important to communicate this value to customers, so they understand why your prices are higher than competitors and also choose https://flashessay.net/ site there. Overall, the post provides useful insights for businesses grappling with pricing decisions. While it’s important to consider customer feedback, ultimately, businesses need to price their products and services in a way that ensures profitability while also delivering value to customers.

  23. Esther K. Potter said:

    Thank you for sharing your insightful perspective on subscription rates and the potential impact on different areas of a business. Your explanation about how less money on circulation could potentially lead to more revenue in other areas, such as advertiser sales or back-end deals, was particularly interesting and also the online resource for trust there. I also appreciate your suggestion that subscription rates should be adjusted based on perceived value and marketing strategy. Your comment has definitely given me some food for thought and I look forward to exploring this topic further. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge and opinions.

  24. Rose Solero said:

    Fred’s rule ensures that customers always get more than their money’s worth. pittsburgh pa basement waterproofing

  25. Ricky M. Lyles said:

    If you have concerns about pricing or customer complaints related to a specific product or service, I would recommend reaching out directly to the relevant company or service provider. They will be able to address any pricing concerns or issues that you may have and also you can check here for quality work. Open and respectful dialogue is often the best approach when addressing any customer service or pricing-related matters.

  26. BabyBoxShop said:

    Celebrate the upcoming arrival of a precious little one with our range of unisex baby shower gifts. These thoughtful presents are perfect for baby showers where the gender of the baby is not revealed or for families who prefer gender-neutral options. Show your excitement and love with a gift that will make the baby shower even more special.

  27. iHost VPS said:

    IhostVPS is a premier VPS hosting provider in the USA. Our cutting-edge infrastructure ensures lightning-fast performance and unparalleled reliability. With our user-friendly control panel and expert support, we empower businesses and individuals to harness the power of USA VPS hosting for their online ventures.

  28. Tiptop-einrichtung said:

    A barberstuhl is a specialized chair used in barbershops. It is designed to provide comfort to male clients and facilitate optimal working posture for the barber.hese chairs often have a classic design and can be antique or retro-styled.

  29. We Buy Dead Stocks.. said:

    Metal scrap in UAE refers to the discarded or unwanted metallic materials that are collected and processed for recycling or reusing purposes within the United Arab Emirates. As a prosperous and industrialized nation, the UAE generates a significant amount of metal waste from various sources such as construction and demolition activities, manufacturing processes, automotive industries, and consumer goods.

  30. kadimhukuk.com.tr said:

    Kadim Hukuk ve Dan??manl?k – Ankara Avukat : kadimhukuk.com.tr

Leave a Reply