“There is no victory at bargain basement prices.” – Dwight Eisenhower
Prices are on the rise everywhere right now. What about yours?
From just a few pennies to outright sticker shock, hiking prices is one of the quickest paths to losing customers. But you’ve got ends to make meet, too.
Our inflation series continues with one of the most pressing problems for businesses today: How much you need to increase your pricing models – and what to think about before you do.
Worry and response
Current inflation is 8.6% year over year, a seemingly endless upward direction that worries most businesses. Almost nine out of 10 have told surveys that they’re also already seeing the hit in higher expenses such as supplies and services, some by as much as 50%. Throw in employees probably wanting above-average raises and you’ve got a compound problem.
Businesses’ response? Not hard to guess: Almost nine out of 10 small businesses in one survey said they had to hike their own prices – and that’s on top of the hefty percentage that'd already raised their prices since the pandemic started.
The key question is, raised prices by how much?
Almost half of businesses had to increase prices by more than 20%; almost half said they kept the increase to no more than 15%. Some companies that haven’t increased prices in years have had to pass along furious new costs to potentially furious old custo ... Read More…