Little Fees Can Be A Big Turnoff
Rhonda Abrams at Gannett News Service:
When I went into business, I sat down with a lawyer to review my legal and tax responsibilities. When we finished, he gave me some wise advice.
“Rhonda,” he said, “don’t nickel-and-dime your clients. Clients willingly pay thousands of dollars in hourly fees without complaint, but if I bill them $2 in long-distance calls, they’ll get upset. It’s small items that alienate clients.”
Customers generally react negatively to any fee that seems as if it should be part of the supplier’s normal cost of doing business.
For instance, I might willingly spend $3,000 for a graphic artist to design marketing materials. And I certainly understand when she passes along the printing costs. But if I see a $3 item on my bill to reimburse her for calls to the print shop, I’m going to feel as if she’s unprofessional.
Customers’ reactions to extra charges depend on how much they understand the fee and whether they can assess whether it’s out of line.
Be particularly cautious when you add a charge where there’s no perceived value to the customer.
I understand why companies add these fees. After all, competing companies advertise lower prices for their carpet and then tack on extra charges. How do you compete if you don’t play the same game?
Part of the answer is to make it clear to your customers all the extra services that your fee includes.
Photo by lusi.
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