4 Strategies to Effectively Price Services

4 STRATEGIES TO EFFECTIVELY PRICE SERVICES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

How should I present my services to new clients?

There’s one thing I know for sure—trying to figure out how to price products and services is tough. You need to look at your competition, determine what the market will bear, and find that sweet spot where you can still charge premium prices and feel valued.

I know I’ve wracked my brain on this topic, and so have dozens of my clients! I’ve learned that packaging your services around the value you bring rather than time is directly related to greater profits and revenue.

So, how do you “package your value”?

Here are four effective strategies to help you do just that:

1. Turn Your Services into a Product

This is another way of saying, “Turn intangibles into tangibles.” Make your services “on the shelf” ready to be picked up and purchased just like a product. Too often, service-based businesses fall into the trap of itemizing what they provide. Instead, package your services in a way that makes them tangible and easy to understand.

2. Break Each Stage of Your Service into Deliverables

Give each step a branded name with perceived value. This approach not only clarifies what clients are getting at each stage but also makes it easier for them to understand the benefits and results of your service. By breaking down your service into a series of deliverables, you create a clear path your clients can follow, which builds trust and confidence in your offerings.

3. Start Using Price Anchoring

Price anchoring gives people a frame of reference for valuing your product. Show the full price next to the discounted price, and stack three “versions” of your product side by side (with a value for each and what’s included). This strategy will guide customers to choose the product you want them to choose. Price anchoring helps customers see the relative value of your offerings and makes it easier for them to make a decision.

4. Create Different Price Packages

Value package your products and services for different budgets and offer your clients options. Providing a low-cost version of your product and then ranging to a more comprehensive package will help you avoid giving away your time for free.

A value package allows you to cater to different segments of your market, providing a range of options that suit various budgets and needs. This not only increases your potential customer base but also encourages upselling your services to higher-tier packages.

Final Thoughts

Once you’ve created these packages, remember to showcase them prominently. Display them on your website, include them in emails, and feature them in your offer letters. Consistently highlighting your packages will ensure that potential clients are aware of the value you provide and the options available to them.

By implementing these strategies, you can package your services in a way that highlights their value, making it easier for clients to understand and appreciate what you offer. This, in turn, will help you command premium prices to grow your business.

Rethinking Marketing | 2022 Survey of Today’s Marketing Department

This survey offers key insights into how today’s marketing departments are handling the current pressures facing the department, from changes due to the pandemic, and where the marketing budget and strategy currently stand.

During the second half of 2020 and throughout 2021, B2B marketing departments across the U.S. had to handle virtual employees, canceled conferences, remote events, and drastically modified business strategies, all under the pressures of limited headcount and severely reduced budgets.

We wanted to better understand where these pressures were coming from and how marketers were successfully handling the added responsibility.

Our survey was sent to marketers at all job levels, and we received 71 completed responses. Our demographics are at the end of the survey results.

Download Full Survey

Our results brought some interesting findings to light.

Marketers are happy.

Marketers are happy when they are doing what they are supposed to do each day. But they are getting overloaded with work and are not feeling they have the resources to achieve the right results.

Marketers have too many core jobs.

Marketers are being asked to do too many core jobs at once, making it difficult to achieve quality consistently. And we found that over 30% were doing roles outside of the marketing department.

What is the solution?

I think one of the marketers said it best – “I want the resources and the time to do my job well, so I can feel proud of what I’ve accomplished for the company.”

We’ve all gone through challenging times; we now need to analyze our marketing departments and make sure we are structuring and supporting them for success – for marketers and the company.

Download the Survey's Executive Summary

Download the Survey’s 8-Key Takeaways in the Executive Summary

Download the Full 2022 Survey

Download the Full Survey of Today’s Marketing Department

About Us

Jennifer and Sara each has over 25 years of marketing leadership experience, specializing in B2B organizations. They met in 2008 in the marketing department of Grant Thornton LLP and discovered a shared passion for quality campaigns that deliver measurable results.

This survey was carefully designed to capture the comments they consistently heard from marketing colleagues and identify marketing department trends.

Jennifer Palmer Farrington
Chief Executive Officer | Founder
YourMarketer LLC

Sara Janjigian Trifiro
President | Founder
SJT Marketing LLC

What Characteristics Should I Look for in a Marketing Leader?

When Hiring a Chief Marketing Officer, Look to Match Their Qualities to Your Business Needs.

Executives understanding of the importance of the marketing function has certainly progressed in the B2B sector as technology tools increased the ability to showcase return on investment and map the client journey.

Data analytics and artificial intelligence can mine your CRM and lead generation systems, providing a wealth of forward-looking information. Your marketing leader can analyze the data and provide your executive leaders and Board with critical, time-saving information for your business that can be incorporated into your strategy, leading to enhanced market position.

But when it comes time to hire a Chief Marketing Officer, many companies fail to look for the individual’s attributes that will match the needs of their organization, and instead, include a wish list of everything the company wants to accomplish, leaving the rest of the C-suite to wonder why the person they hired can’t succeed.

You need to start with creating a clear job description based on your business strategy.

What strategic aims are trying to accomplish over the next 5 years? Is it brand building? Revenue growth? Expansion of offices? Expansion of existing client services? This determines the type of marketer you hire – you need to couple the Marketing Leader’s capabilities to your organizational strategy and business needs. Trying to ask them to do everything is a recipe for disaster.

Marketers’ skills are strategic, tactical and creative. Finding a unicorn with all proficiencies is rare. Determine what kind of skills your organization needs – today – in your Marketing Leader.

For simplicity, I grouped the marketing leaders into four major leadership categories, highlighting a few pros and cons of each.

The Marketing Strategist

This leader looks at a business plan and sees where marketing can make the most impact. They provide vision and clarity on how marketing can help improve business today and tomorrow. They can translate this into meaningful numbers for the CEO and provide data analytics to support marketing programs and demonstrate success.

These strategic thinkers move quickly and aren’t afraid to try new things and will pilot new programs, learning from them and scaling up from there. They believe if you fail, you should fail fast and learn what from it. Don’t fear failure!

Their biggest strength is flexibility. They can change and modify plans as needed, getting teams engaged and excited to “go with the flow.” They can also be your biggest advocate and brand ambassador, motivating others internally and externally. They view everything through the lens of the client/customer experience. The Strategist wants to improve that experience and keep them engaged.

The Marketing Tactical Expert

Marketing-Tactical-Leader The Tactical leader is an expert in the multiple functional roles of marketing, such as branding, public relations, CRM, email marketing – and was in many of those roles over the years. They mastered many of the skillsets and can still do the work if needed. This is the “roll-up the sleeves” type of person.

They have a high degree of knowledge which allows them to mentor others and provide training to the whole team. You know that if you give them a project it will get done. They are marketing experts – the implementers and “doers” – and are particularly valuable to smaller firms and start-ups.

The Marketing Operations/Administrator

Over the course of my career, this is the most frequent type of marketing leader I’ve seen. This individual will structure, organize, put reporting into place, and have the marketing staff shifted to maximize efficiency.

However, unless they also have Strategic skills and are able to tie their marketing strategy to business goals, they are short-term fixers.

This isn’t to say that you don’t need a Marketing Operations individual, you do!

You simply need to find a leader with complementary traits – Operations and Strategy – or hire an additional individual to handle those elements separately.

The Creative Marketer

A Creative leader has a mind that sees your target in the marketplace and thinks, “how are we going to grab their attention and turn them into a client?” They are great at putting together impactful campaigns, finding new technology, and diving into digital mediums to target and segment your audience. They will lead your staff into new territory and excite them to work for your company.

Contrary to popular belief, not every marketer is creative. In fact, I’ve found that unless you are hiring specifically for a creative individual, most are not. So, don’t take it for granted that you will have a Creative marketing leader, and if you do – treasure them!

Now, you may find a marketing leader with both strategic and tactical skills, or strategic and administrative or any of the various couplings. As you interview candidates ask their approach to projects, opportunities and how they lead their team. This will indicate the type of behaviors they have and help you determine if they are the right fit for your business’s needs. Don’t expect to find someone with all attributes – hire for what your specifically need. Unicorns are rare or impossible to find for a reason!

It is not always easy to find and hire a Chief Marketing Officer. But by determining what your company’s business goals are, you can determine which kind of leader or mix of marketing leadership attributes you need to thrive.

3-Steps to Take When Hiring a Head of Marketing

Choosing a marketing leader is far too important to your business to waste time hiring the wrong one.

Ask 20 CEOs about the responsibilities of a Head of Marketing, and you’ll receive 20 answers, all varying in scope and the position’s ultimate accountability. How is it that, in 2020, one of the most critical functions in an organization, especially for B2B companies, is still so misunderstood?

Understanding of the importance of marketing has certainly progressed in the B2B sector over the past five years as technology tools have increased the ability to showcase return on investment and the client journey.

There are three simple steps to take to hire and ensure a new Head of Marketing will be successful in their role:

1. Match your Marketing Leader’s skillset to your business needs
2. Look for high Emotional Intelligence
3. Set clear expectations and timelines

Building a Foundation for Success

When companies need to hire a new Head of Marketing, it is crucial to improve executive and Board-level understanding of the essential role marketing plays in the success of B2B firms.

First, we have to clear up some of the confusion over the role.

Marketing is the engine for the client’s experience and the unseen passenger that travels with them on their journey.

Marketing is not a siloed department. It is integrated and embedded within your organization and it provides services that touch every aspect of the client’s journey. From their initial introduction to the company, to the website, to the mission and vision of the firm, and its client survey, to expansion of services and thought leadership tailored to them.

So why do many B2B companies keep marketing from the table when it is time to talk business strategy?

After your client service team, your Head of Marketing is the person closest to your clients. It is crucial to include them when defining your business strategy. They have insight to share on what topics and services your clients are most interested in and have the data to back it up.

Data analytics and artificial intelligence can mine your CRM and lead generation systems, providing a wealth of forward-looking information. Your marketing leader can analyze the data and provide your executive leaders and Board with critical, time-saving information for your business that can be incorporated into your strategy, leading to enhanced market position.

If you don’t have the technology or a marketing leader that can get you this information, read on.

Let’s begin with the Three Simple Hiring Steps:

1. Marketers’ skills are strategic, tactical and creative. Finding a unicorn with all proficiencies is rare. Determine what kind of skills your organization needs – today – in your Marketing Leader.

Too often job descriptions for Heads of Marketing include a wish list of everything that a company wants to accomplish, leaving the rest of the C-suite to wonder why the person they hired can’t succeed. You need to start with creating a clear job description based on your business strategy.

What strategic aims are trying to accomplish over the next 5 years? Is it brand building? Revenue growth? Expansion of offices? Expansion of existing client services? This determines the type of marketer you hire – you need to couple the Marketing Leader’s capabilities to your organizational strategy and business needs. Trying to ask them to do everything is a recipe for disaster.

For simplicity, I grouped the marketing leaders into four major categories, highlighting a few pros and cons of each type. My next article will dive deeper into each of these categories and the kinds of marketing leaders you will find with traits of each.

2. Look for high Emotional Intelligence. Find a great marketing leader who can manage up to the executives and down to their team.

It’s critical that you and your executives “connect” and “speak the same language” as the marketing leader you want to hire and that your overall communication styles match. Make sure everyone involved understands what this role needs to accomplish and how they are going to interact and work with your leaders.

But, don’t forget about the marketing team itself. No one in your marketing department wants to work for a bully. Have your recruiter talk with people who worked with the marketing leader you are looking to hire.

Having the respect of those who work for your leader is important to getting the most out of your team members. I once had a boss who was sugar sweet to the executives, and when they left, would start yelling at us. Needless to say, no one wanted to be there, nor did they stay long.

A great marketing leader knows how to adapt their style to work with executives as well as with their team.

My mentor told me when I first became a manager, “Treat those you manage well. Teach them, challenge them, care about them as a person. If you do it well, they will work hard for you, make you look good, and not want to disappoint you. In the process, your team, you and the firm will end up doing well.”

I’ve lived by that. And as a result, had low turnover and have individuals follow me from job to job. Why? I care and I want them to learn how to be better marketers. This is a crucial quality to look for when hiring a marketing leader – if they lead, will anyone follow?

3. Choosing the right marketing leader is important. Once you have, agree to a timeframe for implementing the new marketing strategy.

You hired the right person. Congratulations!

Now, don’t micromanage them. Let them be the expert you hired them to be. Agree to a marketing strategy that makes sense for your business, let them explain why it will work, and allow time for it to do so, with all stakeholders agreeing to the timeframe.

A lot of the future success of Marketing depends on the buy-in of the company’s leadership and their own willingness to play their role in being good brand ambassadors and business developers. Make sure you are supporting and backing your Head of Marketing so that they succeed.

It is not always easy to find a Head of Marketing. But by determining what your company’s business goals are, you can determine which kind of leader or mix of marketing leadership skills you need to thrive.

Third Silent Career Killer: Bad Attitudes

You feel stuck.

You’ve been at the same job, grinding away at the same level without progression or promotion for years.

You’ve made sure you’re not the smelly kid in the room.

Your projects are done on time or ahead of time and are flawless.

So what’s the problem?

It is time to take a look at another silent career killer that holds back too many employees.

“If I’m not smelly, what is it?” you ask.

Your attitude!

“My attitude is just fine,” you say. “It’s my boss that has a problem. They play favorites. They don’t like me.”

While that could be true, you also need to be aware of the attitude you project in the office.

When a co-worker asks you how you are doing, do you answer with something like

“Hanging in there,” or, my favorite, “Day-by-day?”

Do you notice when a team member in the next cubicle is drowning in work? If you’ve finished up for the day and are checking your Facebook page and Instant Messaging friends, do you offer to help or continue to IM?

Your actions and attitude can play a silent role in helping or killing your career.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with exceptional people over my career, and some individuals are naturally gifted with the technical skills to achieve in the workforce. But somehow, in their mind, they never seem to advance as fast or as far as they think they deserve.

Technical skills will only get you so far. You have to work on your soft skills – your emotional intelligence – to get to the next level.

You need to be aware of how you affect and interact with others. Doing a good or even a great job, but with a bad or indifferent attitude will limit your career. Your coworkers and managers all notice your attitude.

Do you know one of those negative-types who always has something to complain about in the office? I knew someone who complained about the type of toilet paper in the office and the tea they served in the kitchen. Nothing was good enough for this person.

Guess what? No one wanted to talk to this person because all they did was complain.

Don’t let your attitude limit you. Not when it is something you can control.

Here are a few ways I’ve learned to deal with stress and negativity in the office:

Go for a walk, even if it is just around your office floor. I need to physically remove myself from whatever or whoever it is that is making me feel negative at that moment. Taking a walk around the block or getting outside for fresh air can really help to change your perspective.
Music. Pop in some earbuds if it is permitted at your desk, or go to lunch and have some playlists prepared to bust your negative mood up. I have a few playlists based on situations and moods for the office. What is a bit amusing is my staff has learned to gauge my moods by which playlist is on. For me, James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett are my go-to personal negativity busters. I just can’t stay mad or negative and listen to them.
Do a 30-minute switch-up. Change what you are working on every 30 minutes for two hours, choosing projects you enjoy working on. Set a timer to make sure you keep to the limit. By switching it up you force yourself to focus on something other than the negativity and its cause.

As most professionals do, as I have changed jobs over the years, I have also kept a mental short list of people I would love to work with again.

What is first on my list’s requirements?

The individual is able to uphold a high level of work standards.

Exceeds expectations, exemplary work product, due dates completed in advance, is a team player, loyal, and loves marketing – what I would consider the basics.

Second on my requirement list? Having a positive attitude.

Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t have a bad day, week or month. I know I’ve had my share and I’m one of those annoying happy people.

But don’t let it become a habit in the workplace!

You can control your attitude and your career. It is in your hands.

Second Silent Career Killer: Not Having a Personal Brand

Have you ever wondered what your coworkers think of you?

What about your boss?

If you work in a B2B company, as I do, you may have a group of stakeholders you work with daily. Do you know how they perceive you and your work?

“Why?” you ask. “Who cares what people think of me, I’m my own person. I’m unique.”

If you don’t know how you’re viewed, you are in trouble, deep trouble with a capital “T,” as my mother used to say.

In fact, you could be quickly on your way to damaging your career at your current company by neglecting one critical, vital component.

Your personal brand.

What?

Your brand.

Your brand is what people think of you and what it is that you are known for.

Now, a lot is written about personal branding, much aimed at marketers and executives. But guess what? It is important for every employee at a company – from the mail room clerk to the CEO.

You need to know how you are PERCEIVED at your company, because PERCEPTION IS REALITY, fair or unfair, and that becomes your personal brand.

Are you known as the person that is the “Excel Wizard?” The “Creative Employee,” “PowerPoint Expert” or the “Technical Specialist?” Maybe you are the “Operational Guru” the “Executive Whisperer,” or simply the “Person Who Knows How to Make Things Happen.”

When I was a marketing manager back in Chicago I was known as the “Person Who Could Get Things Done and Make Projects Happen.” If someone had an impossible project and had no idea how to make it work or where to start, they knew to give it to me and I would put together an action plan, find the right resources and the creative hook to grab audience interest and make it happen. That was my brand; I could “Make it Happen.”

Now not every personal brand is good.

If you don’t pay attention to your brand, you might not realize what your colleagues and stakeholders REALLY think of you.

You could be thought of as the “Department Complainer,” the “Slacker,” the “Office Micro-Manager,” the “Executive Penny-Pincher,” Or the “Employee Who is Technically Good But Talks About Their Personal Life Too Much.”

What you don’t know CAN KILL YOUR CAREER at your current company.

So my question to you: do you know what your personal brand is?

If you don’t know what it is you are known for, it is time to take ownership of your brand!

How? The good news is that there are a ton of books and articles out there you can dive into to learn about the topic.

Here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Check with your HR department to see if they offer a 360 assessment survey.

“What? You want me to actually find out what people think of me? No way!” you say. YES! It is incredibly helpful because they identify what perceptions your boss(es), employees and colleagues have in their interactions with you. This is very valuable information when determining what your current personal brand is, as well as determining how to better communicate with the people you work with at your company. If your HR department doesn’t offer the survey, a free online tool, SelfStir offers a great 360 assessment. I encourage you to use it to not only help with your personal brand, but your overall career relationships.

2. Create a Brand Statement for yourself.

In a few words, what captures you and your abilities that you want to be known for. Such as, “Trusted Marketer with Crazy Design Skills.” “Organized Accountant with Long-time International Tax Clients.” “Innovative Social CRM Connector.” What is the headline that captures you? That is your Brand Statement. Here are a few helpful sites: How to Craft Your Personal Brand Statement, Personal Branding Statement

3. Create an Elevator Speech for yourself and practice it so it is ready to go.

I use the method of putting everything on index cards and flipping through them until I am comfortable enough with the 30- and 60-second version of who I am and what it is I do. It is OK to show your personality a bit in your Elevator Speech, so if you are funny, be funny, but don’t cross the line. Be original and practice until you can do it in your sleep. How to Create Memorable Elevator Pitch

4. Analyze your web presence and take ownership of it.

If you haven’t already worked on your online “persona” it is not too late to start. There are many different online tools out there where you can develop an online presence for a few hours a week.

- LinkedIn is the perfect place to get involved, build out your profile, join groups and comment in the sections.
- Look for the online publications for the professional organizations you belong to and join the groups to comment and share as part of your membership.
- If you are building out your expertise but don’t have time for blogging, try curating – using a service such as Scoop.it is great. This and similar applications let you comment on articles in your industry and service line and use it to create a blog or newsletter easily.

Now it is a few cities, jobs and years later in my career, and I’m still the “Make it Happen” person. I’ve also acquired a few more brand statements along the way. But it takes hard work and patience developing and maintaining a personal brand.

Start with your brand statement and elevator speech.

How do you want people to think of you?

Put it into practice.

Own it.

Live it.