"DM for pricing"... A quick way to kill a deal!
When you post a product or service on your social pages and someone comments “how much”, that should be the start of reeling in a new customer! Now, a quick way to kill that new customer relationship is by replying ‘dm me for pricing”. Keep reading to find out what customers really think of this reply and how to fix it.
Now I have my own personal feelings about DMing people for pricing on services and products, and funny enough other people share my same feelings. When you reply back to a customer with that statement there’s a few things that runs through their minds, and they’re all deal killers! Let’s look into this in depth with a little customer science 101, Bossy style.
“Are they just making up prices as they go?”
By telling a custom to speak privately about prices sometimes it’s viewed as you going up or down on prices depending on your money needs. By speaking privately, you can possibly be telling one customer one thing and a second customer another thing, at least that’s what was thought when I surveyed customers. Giving a fair price, and the same price, to everyone is the foundation of good customer service. Having your prices clearly stated on your social media posts or links back to your website will lessen inquiries about pricing and make potential clients more comfortable shopping with you.
“They don’t have a website, how do I know this company is trustworthy?”
In this day of online shopping feeling comfortable is the number 1 concern. When brands, especially new ones, don’t have a reliable website people will skip shopping with them. You don’t have to have a custom-built website to start out with, look into starting an Etsy store if a custom website isn’t in your budget. By having a permanent place for people to shop they will feel more comfortable and have a chance to fill up a shopping cart without the hassle of “DMing” you for orders. If you have a service-based business and don’t have a budget for a custom website, look into creating an account with a scheduling website like Acuity. You can list your services and prices in one place while scheduling clients according to your schedule.
“Is this brand a scam?”
To skeptical online shoppers, it’s always scammer season! Online only brands have to work 10x as hard to show they’re not a scam, and those efforts only increase when you make statements like “dm for pricing” or “I’m about to hit you up, check your DM”. People are very skeptical when they don’t feel your brand is stable or here to stay. Anyone can create a social page and buy followers, but by having an established online location for purchases it feels a lot more legitimate to shoppers.
There's so much that goes into starting a brand and most people don't even think about the customer service science that goes into it. I always say that if you're in doubt about something for your business, ask your customers! There's no shame in letting them get involved in things that will effect them. Creating a simple survey or quick social media Q&A to get opinions on something is actually a great marketing tool too. It lets your customers know you value them and their opinion and also engages them in conversation with you! If you are guilty of using your DM as a storefront, take some advice from this article and create some solid branding plans from it.
