Should Wedding Planners List Pricing on Their Websites?
By Kristie McCauley, Action Marketing Copy, Fairfax, Va.If you take a look at wedding planners’ websites, you might notice a rising trend toward listing prices. Is this the way to go? The fact of the matter is, listing pricing on your website can benefit a wedding planner’s business. When I was a wedding planner, I did not list pricing on my website. Now that I’m a copywriter for wedding planners, however, I do list pricing. Why? Not every wedding planner is the right fit for my business, and I’m not the right copywriter for every wedding planner. The same is true in your biz, by the way. Not every couple is the right fit for you, and you’re not the right fit for every wedding. The end result from listing my pricing is:• Fewer phone calls (of tire kickers shopping for prices, because they already know what I charge).• More projects than ever and an increase in sales.• More time to devote to working on booked projects.• More free time to spend with my family.The Skinny on PricesPrice list in context: Listing prices is perfectly acceptable, but do so in context. Don’t just throw up a package name and a price. Spell out the benefits (not features) each package offers, so the price becomes less of an issue and all of the great things clients get from the package become the focus.Pricing is part of the conversation: The price of your service is part of the conversation that couples are having. They’re having it with other planners and all of their wedding vendors. Don’t you want to be part of that conversation? Listing prices brings you into the chatter because couples are on the hunt for the cost. Plus, it’s going to come up anyway. Couples don’t hire anyone without knowing their price.Perception: Listing the price provides perspective. Couples can figure out if they can afford your service or if it is totally out of their budget. (HINT: List price ranges rather than specific prices, so it doesn’t pigeonhole couples into a specific price). Not listing your price can make prospective clients feel as if your service is too expensive.Price matters: Period. You can argue that no two weddings are the same and that’s why you don’t list your prices. Yet, in the end, price matters. Couples that cannot afford your services are not going to hire you anyway because nothing you say or do is going to change the amount of money they have to spend.Managing PricesHere are a couple of ways to list your price, still manage expectations, and not give anyone a coronary over your rates.Use your street cred: Let past couples speak for you. Use their testimonials to explain to other couples just how great you are, how you’re worth every red cent they spent on hiring you as their wedding planner. Couples relate to other couples that have walked down the aisle.Be transparent: Display a competitor pricing chart. Name the competitor, their price, and exactly what that price includes. Compare it to your own. It removes the chance that brides aren’t comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges when it’s right in front of them -- in black and white.Include a disclaimer: You can always put in a disclaimer: “If you need a service you don’t see listed here or do not need all of the services provided in this package, let us know. We’re happy to provide a custom quote.” The Great Price DebateIt’s a debate going on in the minds of wedding planners all over the country: to list my prices or not. Some come up with some pretty compelling arguments as to why they don’t list their prices. In the end, prices are revealed. It’s a matter of how you handle listing your prices with potential brides that can make the most compelling argument of them all. ••
