Scan the news these days, and you’d be hard-pressed not to come across a story about price increases. The price of gas has gone up. Rents are increasing, and groceries are at an all-time high. It’s depressing, I know. But that’s the world we live in. And your business should be no different. At some point, you’ll have to raise your rates if you want to remain solvent. The one benefit of inflation is that people are getting used to price increases. So it won’t be as much of a shock when you announce you’re raising your rates. Be that as it may, you still want to do it the best way possible to soften the blow for your clients. So what’s the best way to announce a price increase to your clients? Let me share some methods with you, along with some points that will make the task easier for you and make your clients more receptive to the news. Signs you should increase your prices. Before I get to how to increase prices, here are four signs indicating it’s time for you to increase your rates. 1) Your operating costs are increasing. As the cost of subscriptions, software and other expenses go up. You need to raise your rates to offset the economy’s effect on your business. 2) You’re consistently busy. Suppose you have an abundance of projects that never seems to end. Or you find yourself turning down work because you don’t have time for it. Raising your rates can help you offset things and enable you to engage the help of subcontractors to ease the burden. 3) You’re prices are too low. Some clients won’t take you seriously if your prices are too low. If you want to attract a higher level of clientele, you need to raise your rates. 4) You’ve increased your value. Over time, you’ll gain experience and knowledge. As the value you offer increases, so should your prices. So now that you’ve deiced to raise your rates. Here’s how to inform your clients of the price increase. Keep it short. Announcing a price increase is a serious matter, and you want to ensure your clients take notice. Keep it short and to the point, if you tell your clients via email. There’s no reason to include any fluff or to go into the philosophy behind the price increase. If possible, announce the increase alongside more pleasant news, such as new or improved services you’re offering. It will help soften the blow. And make sure you give the clients a way to contact you should they want to discuss your new rates. Tell only affected clients. Nobody likes to hear about price increases, even if they don’t affect you directly. You may not be in the market for a new car, but hearing about rising automobile prices still leaves a bad taste in your mouth and may even affect your perception of the various auto manufacturers. Don’t give your clients a reason to think negatively about you. If you’re increasing the price of a business startup package you offer, there’s no reason to notify already established businesses because it doesn’t affect them. Suppose the price of your website hosting and maintenance is going up. Notify the clients already paying for your plan. There’s no reason for you to tell clients whose websites you are not maintaining since it doesn’t affect them. If you’re raising your hourly rate, only notify those clients you charge by the hour. And there’s no reason to notify clients of a price increase if you’re not currently working on a project for them. They’ll find out the next time you give them a quote. Only notify affected clients of these price increases. And if this means advising different clients about price increases for various services, so be it. Send out one letter to your web maintenance clients. Another note to your retainer clients. Another to your hourly rate clients, and so forth. Ensure your clients are notified only about the price increases affecting them. Don’t give your clients a reason to think negatively about you if your price increase doesn’t affect them. Give clients enough of a warning. The more time you give a client to accept a