Price increases are a normal part of growing your business—but it may be uncomfortable when you have loyal customers. Letting your customers know about price changes in a professional manner can help make this step a bit easier.
Below are some tips on how to write the perfect price increase letter to mitigate customer backlash. Before you write your letter, be sure to figure out how much you have to increase your prices to make a profit.
Knowing how to calculate your break-even point will help you understand how much of an increase you will need to keep running your business successfully. If you’re ready to craft your letter, follow these 10 easy steps below.
1. Take a Personal Approach
Send each client a personalized letter. Sending a bulk letter is impersonal and might be considered rude—especially to those repeat clients. Be sure to address them by their name and if possible, open with a personalized sentence. This can help build trust and show that you operate through ethical business values.
Try opening with something like: Dear NAME, You have been a valued client for nearly 10 years. I am so grateful for your continued support.
State up front that your business costs have increased, and as a result, your rates will increase. Keep it simple. Too much information is distracting—a clear and concise explanation is all they need.
Try saying: Due to added (management, production, shipping) costs that we can no longer sustain on our own, we have to raise our rate to $X OR by X%.
Remind them that their business is what helps your business thrive. Clients like to be recognized for their contributions to your success. Expressing appreciation for their support will go a long way.
Try saying: Because of your continued business, our business has continued to grow.
Assure customers that they will continue to receive excellent services and that this increase is necessary to maintain the high-quality services they expect from you.
For example: This price increase will help us to continue to provide you with the exceptional services you expect from us.
If your price increase includes new services, make sure to state that in your letter. Knowing they will get more for the price they pay will help your clients further understand a price change.
Try saying: This price increase will not only ensure you continue to receive our high-quality services, but it will also give you the added benefits of all the new and improved services we will be rolling out.
No one wants to be caught off guard with an increase on their bill without notice. Best practice is to give clients a one- to two-month notice of a price change. This includes subscription models and monthly or weekly services.
Stay on point throughout the letter. Going into too much detail is distracting and sounds apologetic. Let your clients know that you are raising your price, you value their business, and they will get added value with this change—anything more may be unnecessary.
Clients might have questions about the increased rates. If you have the bandwidth, offer to answer any questions they may have through email or a message. Prepare your team with a list of possible questions and answers to avoid any miscommunications.
If you have limited time, include a short FAQ with questions you expect your clients to have.
If you operate on a subscription model or have recurring payments, sending additional reminders once you announce may be necessary. Coordinate follow-up communications through email, newsletters, or text alerts up until the price increase is established. If you have automated messaging, you can draft and schedule these out well in advance.
Before you announce your price increase to your company and your clients, make sure you have a plan in place. Update your team, vendors, as well as your invoice and payment processing.
If you need a little extra help, use this sample template and adjust it to fit your company’s particular needs:
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Dear NAME, Thank you for your continued support. We are grateful for your business. The market is ever-changing, and these changes have caused price increases in materials, staff, and maintaining the high quality we provide our customers. So we can continue to deliver our services at the highest level of quality to you, we will be updating our prices. Effective DATE, we will be implementing a price adjustment of CUSTOM. You will receive an updated invoice shortly that will reflect your price increase. We value your business and look forward to your continued support. We are committed to continually bring our outstanding services to you, and believe this price increase will allow us to improve our services even more. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions. Sincerely, NAME |