Every businessman can say with certainty that raising prices is a morally difficult and unpleasant occupation. All are afraid to frighten buyers, lose profits, etc.

But in a crisis to revise prices - this is not a whim, but a necessary measure. The main thing is to hold it competently, then the buyers will stay and the profit will be preserved, and even if some of the buyers are cut off, new, more profitable partners will necessarily come to their place.

The last few months have become a serious test for domestic businessmen - a high level of inflation has undermined the pricing of the vast majority of entrepreneurs. If the dollar exchange rate was first of all reacted to by those who are connected with foreign partners in the procurement of ingredients and supplies, then they were followed up completely by domestic manufacturers who did not want to make a big profit due to a significant rise in prices for all other goods . The process has become a closed cycle and has become irreversible. If you kept thinking about raising prices, but did not dare, then now is the time to start acting.

Option one. Talk honestly with customer!

Find a way to tell your customers that raising prices is a necessary measure, and is the only way to keep business "afloat." How you will deliver this information to partners - it does not matter. It should be emphasized that the price increase is a forced measure and allows to maintain the quality of the service at the proper level.

Option two. Increase prices in several stages

Practice proves that the vast majority of people do not pay attention to price growth, if the increase is 5-10%. Raise prices better with a break of 1,5-2 months. This figure is fully correlated with the attitude of buyers in crisis time, and even such a small increase in price can increase the profit of the enterprise if the assortment of goods is large.

If monthly sales are "piece" and for a month only 30-50 goods or services are sold, then do not stretch the price rise for several stages. It is better to raise prices once, at once by 30-40%, thus, although the number of sales will decrease, the profit will still grow.

Option three. Increase prices selectively

To attract customers, raise the prices selectively. Part of the price lists can be left unchanged, and some even lowered. Such a move will help attract the attention of customers, it is these positions that customers will come to you, and in parallel they will buy themselves more expensive goods.

When you begin to communicate with customers about the price increase, you should pay attention to them that some products remained in the same price range. For even more emphasis, you should make a separate catalog for customers with goods that have retained their prices.

Another benefit of selective price increases is the ability to track how the company's profits change depending on price changes. The test results should be saved and applied in the future.

Another move that can be made is an increase in the price of the most expensive commodity. It is necessary to give the goods the status of VIP goods, which will attract a monetary audience. Most likely VIP clients will not have any questions about the price increase, which means that each sale will bring the maximum benefit and profit.

Option four. Arrange actions

Of course, you, as a seller, can not afford to sell goods to customers cheaper than purchased them themselves. But you can sell the goods in sets - then the profit from the sale of one of the products completely compensates for the loss from the sale of another product in the kit.

Option five. Improve the qualifications of employees

The crisis is the time to reflect on which of the employees works for 100%, and who simply takes a place in the state and spends the money earned by the company. The more closely you consider your employees, the better you can be selected for the most valuable employees: they will be able to convince buyers and buyers of the need to make a purchase and will not spend extra money on themselves.

If even the best managers do not cope with sales, then a number of trainings should be conducted, the vocabulary of employees, the ability to work with objections, etc. should be improved. Such activities will quickly bring the desired result.

Option six. Reduce costs

Well consider the expense items and leave only those that are absolutely necessary for the development of the company. Try to make reductions in financing deliberately - try to save on internal materials in the company, on packaging and delivery of goods, but advertising articles are better not to cut, but on the contrary to expand and refine.

Good advertising is a great way to show your customers that you work and stay afloat, as well as a great way to attract new customers from other audiences.

Option eighth. Improve the service

Try to convey to your staff information that dissatisfied customers will in any case. Of course, in a crisis, many people are simply on the brink and can lose their temper because of trivialities.

Employees should remain calm and balanced in all situations. Most buyers choose the ratio, not low prices. Therefore, train staff, work with stressful situations and thereby increase the number of loyal customers.

Option ninth. Work on loyalty programs

In the past global crisis of 2008, the network of Starbucks coffee shops was strong in sales. Most of the customers preferred to drink coffee at home, rather than buying it at a cafe.

Then the loyalty program My Starbucks Reward was created, which assumed that customers put a large amount of money on the card, and then pay with a loyalty card. Bonuses and stars are collected on the card, and already these points can be paid for subsequent orders.

The essence of the program is very simple: you buy more - you get more gifts. The more stars you accumulate, the more often you get a free drink, etc. And the cafe does not lose profits, and customers are happy to collect imaginary points for the sake of receiving free gifts.

Option tenth. Tell customers about quality

You should always remind customers that nothing happens just like that. If someone managed to keep the price of goods in a global crisis, then the quality of the product has suffered.

If you choose a path of stable, excellent quality, then do not be shy about talking loudly. You can write about this site, make newsletters, remind customers about your own quality certificates.

After all, the low price of a product is not at all a guarantee of health and well-being. In most cases, treatment after consuming and wearing poor-quality products will be much more expensive than buying an expensive, but high-quality thing.

The main thing, do not be afraid to raise prices for goods and live at the same pace as the market.