Listen on to Episode 133 – How to Navigate a Pricing Change Without A Branding and Marketing Crisis on Spotify, Apple and more!

Are you going through a pricing change in your business? A lot of small businesses are right now, including Highflier Powerhouse. So let’s talk about pricing, branding, and luxury – topics that have been top of mind for me lately as Highflier Powerhouse goes through some pricing changes. 

I’ve been noticing a lot of pricing drama out there, especially from business owners who tie their pricing to their own self-worth and ego. It’s easy to feel like the price you set for your service reflects how valuable you are, but that’s not the right way to think about it.

I’ve recently changed our pricing model for our Design On Demand retainer. You may have seen the announcement on Threads! The response has been amazing – lots of questions and even some praise for how we’ve made the transition. 

So today, I want to dive into how pricing factors into branding, what we should be considering when setting prices, and how we made the shift at Highflier Powerhouse without a full blown identity crisis. Because let’s be real – pricing changes can make business owners go into a tailspin.

What is really behind a pricing change?

One of the first lessons I learned in running my agency is that pricing is subjective. What’s affordable to one person might be expensive to another. For example, our rebrand service costs $10,000, which some of our clients see as a no-brainer. But for others, it’s something they need to save for or work into their budget.

That’s why it’s so important not to tie your pricing to what you think it says about you or your business. Your prices shouldn’t be about proving your worth; instead, they should reflect the value of your offer and the needs of your ideal client.

I’ve seen so many business owners raise their prices too fast, thinking it’s a reflection of their success. Then, when they struggle to book clients at the higher price point, they feel like they’re failing. It’s as if lowering their price would mean they’re moving backward, which just isn’t true.

Here’s a thought: Would you rather sell one product at $10,000 or 50 products at $1,000, resulting in $50,000 in revenue? Sometimes, having more clients at a lower price point makes better business sense.

Understanding the Impact of Your New Pricing

A lot of people were surprised when we lowered our retainer from $1,500 a month to $750. It’s a big shift, I know. But here’s the thing: changing our pricing didn’t change the value of our services. Our agency’s quality, the promises we make to clients, and the results we deliver haven’t changed one bit.

The decision to lower our pricing was based on what works best for our business and our clients right now. It had nothing to do with being “luxury” or “exclusive.”

When it comes to pricing, you need to remove ego from the equation. It’s not about what your price says about you; it’s about making smart decisions for your business. Whether you’re charging $500 or $5,000, the key is to base your price on what works for your business model and what your clients need.

For example, when I started my retainer, I charged $500 a month. Eventually, I raised it to $5,000. But those decisions were never about wanting to be seen as luxury. They were about what made sense for our business at the time.

Luxury Isn’t Always About the Price Tag

There’s this obsession with being seen as a “luxury” brand, like it automatically makes you the leader in your industry. But luxury doesn’t just come down to price. You could pay $50,000 for something and still receive a clunky, impersonal service. On the flip side, a $1,000 service can be detailed, organized, and high-quality.

What I’ve learned is that you can deliver a luxury experience no matter your price point. So the decision to make a pricing change should have more to do with the inner workings of your business than a desire to feel “luxury.” It’s about how you structure your service, the details you pay attention to, and the experience you create for your clients.

Our New Iteration of Design on Demand

So why did we lower our retainer price? A few reasons. First, I noticed that our $1,500 model worked best for clients with a lot of ongoing projects, but not every client needed that level of service. We wanted to make the retainer accessible for clients at different stages of business, including those who might just need occasional design support.

With the $750 retainer, clients get 6 hours of design work instead of 15. This gives them flexibility – if they need more hours, they can pay for it, but they don’t feel the pressure to use up more hours than they really need. It also allows us to scale our business and serve more clients.

Another reason for the change is that I want to shift our revenue model in 2025. I want more of our income to come from retainer clients, which allows us to provide ongoing design support for a wide range of businesses. We’ll still offer rebranding services, but I want to be more selective about the projects we take on.

I want “Design on Demand” to become a name people think of when they need design support on a month-to-month basis.

As we transition our current clients to the new $750 model, we’ve made sure that the value stays the same. Clients who need more than the 6 hours can still get the extra support they need, and the quality of service remains top-notch.

By lowering the minimum commitment, we’re making it easier for clients to say “yes” to working with us, no matter where they are in their business.

At the end of the day, being value-driven is what’s helped our agency maintain a strong reputation. Whether we’re working with a beginner business owner or a high-level client, our focus is always on delivering custom design work that meets their needs.

By making design accessible at different price points, we’re helping more business owners realize that they don’t have to wait until they’ve “made it” to invest in quality branding.

How to Communicate Your Pricing Change Clearly

This pricing decision wasn’t about worrying what people might think – it was about making smart, data-driven choices for our business. We know we’re still a top agency, and we’ll continue to deliver the same high-quality service we’re known for, whether we’re charging $750 or $1,500.

Pricing should evolve as your business grows, and it’s important to make those changes based on what’s best for your business, not based on your ego or fears about how people will perceive you.

So, if you’re struggling with pricing drama, ask yourself: Is this decision based on what’s right for my business? If the answer is yes, then you’re on the right track. And when you know you’re on the right track, you can keep showing up in your marketing from a place of empowerment. 

When you show up as a business owner that feels like a failure, your audience will feel that energy. Believing in the decisions you make and backing them wholeheartedly is the best way to show up as an embodied brand.