Another Pricing Thead

[GlitchGuards]

Hey guys, so I have a question about pricing.

Over the last few days I've been finally getting the infrastructure up, finishing the website, finalizing designs, ect.. And I decided it was time I find out what my competitions prices were.. Well, I was shocked and a little let down to say the least.

Now dont get me wrong, every since my mom got our first computer its all I've known from then on.. And I love all things tech. That said, the major players in my city (the ones that have storefronts and have been here for 5+ years) are charging around $40-$80 for virus removals, which I'm assuming will be my main service judging from past freelance experience. Now thats pretty low, right? I mean the cities population is only 20-25k and neither of them offer on-site (as I will be, which will be a big selling point). So how on earth do these guys stay afloat while also having at lesat 1-2 employees each? My original plan was to charge below what Staples and GS (despite being a city away) charges and I assumed my competition was doing the same..

So do you guys think I should stick with my prices (100 in-shop virus removal/ 150 onsite with similar pricing around the board) and project a more professional persona like Geek Squad does to justify the higher prices, or lower them to be competitive and hope it makes enough to be worth it in the long run?

Any opinions welcome. Thanks.

 

[ccritchie]

Every area is different, so there is no "right" answer. I charge $99.00 for virus removals. Though most of my services are onsite, I require to pickup and drop off desktops or laptops which require malware removal services. I prefer to do the scans and removal activities in my home shop rather than onsite at a client's location, as these can be, but aren't always, time consuming.

Some things to consider about virus removal (and pricing in general):

• If you price a little bit higher, you have a little wiggle room to offer a discount or a monthly special & still make a decent amount.
• Plan on building up-sells into your virus removal - antivirus of choice, Malwarebytes, computer maintenance plan, new hard drive if required, etc.
• Your competition may be doing virus removals as a loss leader & charging extra for things like data recovery or advanced diagnostics.
• Don't be afraid to charge a little bit higher if you know you are doing a better job than the competition.

Pricing is a tough call, and you may want to be willing to make some adjustments as you get started. Especially as a mobile tech, nothing has to be set in stone as far as price.

 

[GlitchGuards]

Every area is different, so there is no "right" answer. I charge $99.00 for virus removals. Though most of my services are onsite, I require to pickup and drop off desktops or laptops which require malware removal services. I prefer to do the scans and removal activities in my home shop rather than onsite at a client's location, as these can be, but aren't always, time consuming.

Some things to consider about virus removal (and pricing in general):

• If you price a little bit higher, you have a little wiggle room to offer a discount or a monthly special & still make a decent amount.
• Plan on building up-sells into your virus removal - antivirus of choice, Malwarebytes, computer maintenance plan, new hard drive if required, etc.
• Your competition may be doing virus removals as a loss leader & charging extra for things like data recovery or advanced diagnostics.
• Don't be afraid to charge a little bit higher if you know you are doing a better job than the competition.

Pricing is a tough call, and you may want to be willing to make some adjustments as you get started. Especially as a mobile tech, nothing has to be set in stone as far as price.

Thanks for the very detailed answer. The oldest shop I called actually stated he charges 160 for OS reinstall if the virus is too strong; my charge is only 150 max (on-site, 100 in-shop which i may raise now..) so you may be right about it being used as a tactic. I considered I may be able to rely heavily on discounts with my higher prices since people are always looking for a deal.. I think you made some great points there. All in all it looks like I have something to go off of now. Thanks for the answer!

Still looking for other answers though; hoping theres more to this.

 

[carrcomp]

I agree that most areas are different on pricing. The prices my clients charge their customers vary wildly.

The thing to remember though is that the cheapest guy in town is generally not the one that will benefit from it.

Go with a fair price, based on the income level in the area and an average price for your area.... see where that takes you.

What most people find is that quality of service, rather than just cost, is what will keep you in business. People will be willing to pay a bit more to get the better service, so you can do less work for the same payday.

PCX is a good example of that. If I recall, he is the highest priced tech in town, and yet he's not just successful, but has 2 locations.

 

[GlitchGuards]

I agree that most areas are different on pricing. The prices my clients charge their customers vary wildly.

The thing to remember though is that the cheapest guy in town is generally not the one that will benefit from it.

Go with a fair price, based on the income level in the area and an average price for your area.... see where that takes you.

What most people find is that quality of service, rather than just cost, is what will keep you in business. People will be willing to pay a bit more to get the better service, so you can do less work for the same payday.

PCX is a good example of that. If I recall, he is the highest priced tech in town, and yet he's not just successful, but has 2 locations.

An inspiring story; thats what I was hoping to achieve eventually. I do offer a little bit more than the others so maybe this could work out how I envisioned. I'll play with the prices just a little more and see where it goes. If the market isnt accepting of it then I'll lower a tad and go from there.. But I definitely dont want to be labeled the "cheap" place lol. Thanks for the help you guys

 

[trevm999]

Don't be afraid to charge more as long as you can offer a better service. Since virus removal is your specialty, that's what I would market. You are a malware specialist. A business doesn't have to worry about having to drop off a computer, wait two or more days to get it back, then have the virus reappear and then have to pay more for a reload and get all their software and data installed and transferred. I'm sure many small businesses have had experiences with that and have lost valuable uptime. You can get it done onsite with less chance of something being missed, without having to do an OS reload. I would also get some kind of managed AV to sell and patch management so you are not only the guy who can fix things thoroughly and quickly, but you also can keep them protected.

Until you get a good rep, maybe some promotional discounts will help get some businesses to try you out, but make it clear this is not your regular rate and your services are more valuable.

 

[MikeLierman]

I'm going to chime in as well, to say, don't be hesitant to charge what you know your services are worth. Here in my area, there are a lot of cheap places around that offer $49 for virus removal. But you know what they don't do, pretty much everything. These guys will run a scan in MBAM, delete what's there and write up the invoice. Customers come to my shop and are willing to pay extra because they KNOW everything will "just work." And if something doesn't work, they know that they can call right away and get an answer in minutes. This is so critical because computer places around here take days for warranty work or simple things they may have forgot. People don't want to deal with that. Time is money. Think quality of service. Consistency. By the customer choosing you, they know they know they will receive consistent, high-quality work.

 

[Markverhyden]

Hey guys, so I have a question about pricing.

Over the last few days I've been finally getting the infrastructure up, finishing the website, finalizing designs, ect.. And I decided it was time I find out what my competitions prices were.. Well, I was shocked and a little let down to say the least.

Now dont get me wrong, every since my mom got our first computer its all I've known from then on.. And I love all things tech. That said, the major players in my city (the ones that have storefronts and have been here for 5+ years) are charging around $40-$80 for virus removals, which I'm assuming will be my main service judging from past freelance experience. Now thats pretty low, right? I mean the cities population is only 20-25k and neither of them offer on-site (as I will be, which will be a big selling point). So how on earth do these guys stay afloat while also having at lesat 1-2 employees each? My original plan was to charge below what Staples and GS (despite being a city away) charges and I assumed my competition was doing the same..

So do you guys think I should stick with my prices (100 in-shop virus removal/ 150 onsite with similar pricing around the board) and project a more professional persona like Geek Squad does to justify the higher prices, or lower them to be competitive and hope it makes enough to be worth it in the long run?

Any opinions welcome. Thanks.

I don't mean to toss a wrench in the works but you had better be thinking way beyond that. Just being honest.

To begin with the consumer market will continue to change dramatically and not in a direction favorable for our businesses. As consumers adjust their lives more and more to smart devices they will eventually stop using regular computers for the most part.

And that same trend will be happening in the business world to a certain extent. Granted businesses are more willing to spend money for quality the whole smart device trend is making things difficult. And they will still need traditional computers, printers, etc and the services associated with those devices.

Not trying to discourage you in any way. People are still opening shops and doing well in many areas. Just pointing out that the traditional services we have all been used to offering, and customers needing, is shrinking.

 

[GlitchGuards]

Thanks for all the responses guys. After reading through everything and running test by some of my friends and family I've decided to (at first) lower my prices slightly as to not go too far over what the local market will stand. I think my first mistake was getting a little too amped about competing with Geek Squad and thought too far ahead in the years. Instead, I'll focus heavily on what we have over the local competition through ads (without mentioning names of course) and give out moderate discount coupons to get the customers in and give them the time of their life. As for the rest of my prices, I'll keep them where they're at and hope people pick up on the ole, "You get what you pay for" thought process when shopping around.

Also, to markverhyden, youre absolutely correct. I'm more than willing to adapt and overcome in the industry over the years, though I still believe computers will have a place in the world for decades to come . However, out of the gate I'm going to be offering screen repair focusing heavily on tablets until I can either get confident about iphone repairs or find someone who can. I'm also looking into app development and web design, but we'll see about those. Either way, only time will tell if any of us are truly ready for the future.

Thanks again guys, and goodluck to all!

 

[LifelineIT]

I've still never gotten around to completely finishing my website, but my prices are mostly all listed. When I first opened 4 years ago, my prices were WAY TOO LOW, and I've been slowly increasing them for about the last 18 months to avoid shocking my clients. I'm way lower than all my competition (damnit!), save for the pizzatechs, but I don't concern myself with those folks.

I personally try to work it out so that I average $50-65/hr for my own time. Certainly doesn't always work that way.

Here's my link.

 

[PCX]

I've still never gotten around to completely finishing my website, but my prices are mostly all listed. When I first opened 4 years ago, my prices were WAY TOO LOW, and I've been slowly increasing them for about the last 18 months to avoid shocking my clients. I'm way lower than all my competition (damnit!), save for the pizzatechs, but I don't concern myself with those folks.

I personally try to work it out so that I average $50-65/hr for my own time. Certainly doesn't always work that way.

Here's my link.

Just a few thoughts.

If your competition is priced much higher than you are and they are still in business, then there is absolutely no reason why you should not increase your prices SO LONG AS your quality and level of customer service justifies the higher rates. If you believe that you can provide higher quality and better customer service than your competition, then you need to be charging more. This is also assuming that your competition is long standing and have had some level of success, otherwise their higher pricing (if too high) could be their undoing.

You say that you are concerned about shocking your clients (and possibly losing them), but honestly, those clients who do not understand that you MUST charge what you are worth are those who are not worth keeping. In fact, it is those who do not understand this and would rather shop around, who are faithful to no business and would eventually leave you anyways. By raising your prices to what is appropriate and to what can be justified by your level of quality and customer service, you will absolutely lose some customers. This is a blessing in disguise. What will ultimately happen is that you will eventually gain better quality customers and make more while doing less. This also means that you will have more time to grow your business rather than work your business.

The longer you procrastinate, the more likely you are to fail due to lack of financial support and or burnout.

 

[LifelineIT]

Thanks, and absolutely. I'm still a side-business so I'm in no danger of going out of business right now, but you're 100% right about pricing...and just like everyone else here, I'm WAY better than my competition and able to do a LOT more.

I'm planning on tearing down the business and rebuilding it this year anyway, I've been way too sloppy with a lot of the administrative stuff.