Telling customers about a price increase can be one of the trickiest, most delicate conversations that B2B professionals ever have to handle. But for companies with aggressive growth goals, it’s also one of the most essential. This behavioral research study, conducted with Dr. Nick Lee, a professor at Warwick Business School in Coventry, England, is structured to answer the following questions: What is the most effective message for communicating a price increase? In other words, what is the best message for passing along price increases to expand revenue while minimizing risk?
This experiment comes on the heels of two other B2B DecisionLabs studies that revealed how to develop the most effective message for securing customer renewals—a different but related aspect of the customer lifecycle. And, an initial study that found a provocative, insight-driven message was ideal for acquiring new sales opportunities.
The primary aim of this study was to confirm an optimal messaging approach, or framework, for communicating price increases to customers. Specifically, the test conditions and questions were designed to assess three areas critical to the effectiveness and reception of this message: attitudes, how likely a customer is to renew, and how likely they are to switch to a different vendor.
