HOW TO PRICE YOUR CLIENTS

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Does seeing the topic make you feel like, ‘Yes I have the answer to the question in my heart’? Well I am glad it does. I will be trying my possible best to answer the question though I am not sure how it is framed in your mind. But mind you, I won’t be telling you how much to price your clients, I will only be opening your eyes to see what should influence your pricing. Okay, let’s go!

Let’s look at what pricing means first of all. I would say it means PLACING A VALUE ON SOMETHING – A PRODUCT OR A SERVICE. This means that my service as a graphic designer should have a value placed on it which will compel people to pay for my time and resources. I spend time in working, I use light, I use my laptop, I use my notepad, my pencil, my mouse, my brain, my strength, and I eat! All these I believe, should be compensated for in pricing.

When you get a client who is ready to do a job with you, what are the things that should influence your pricing the client? Let’s look at them. The first I will say is that pricing should be influenced by your LEVEL OF EXPERTISE. Are you an upcoming graphic designer? Or are you a pro? If you are able to sincerely place yourself in the right level, this should influence your pricing. An upcoming Creative shouldn’t put so much price on his service rendered like a pro would because it won’t attract customers. Okay, look at Close Up as a brand, if a competitor starts up today and places the same value (price) that Close Up places on their products, they are likely to fold up very soon. Why? This is because, people don’t know them, people don’t trust them, therefore people would rather go for the brand they trust, even at an expensive price. Instead, as a competitor, it’s best to bring their prices low so as to call attention.  Back to Creatives, low expertise should attract lower prices to call attention to how good you are. And as people start to know you, you start to allow your prices go up.

Do you know it’s better to not have a fixed price placed on each of your services? This is because if you do, you might short change yourself with a client. The PROJECT SPECIFICATION of what your client wants done should also influence your pricing. Naturally, a logo should cost more than an e-flyer. The logo requires more time, more thinking, more ideas, more resources etc. This means a client should not expect you to put a low price on a logo because it is just ‘a’ logo, you know… just one thing, compared to an e-flyer which is a combination of elements.

The EXPECTED TURNAROUND TIME of a design job should greatly determine the price or value placed on that job. Look at this for example, if you charge N10,000 for a job which you will deliver in 2 weeks, then if the client wants to get the job delivered in one week, he or she have to pay more than N10,000. This is because of the stress you will go through, the energy you will use, the sleepless nights, the other people’s jobs that you will leave just to finish that particular job and so on. These factors should make your price increase. Now imagine if you have a fixed price for a logo design and you did not consider delivery time, and your client is now insisting on delivery the next day. That definitely will be a great loss for you.

Your GOTV subscription costs some amount of money to buy. Installation + purchase will definitely cost more than purchase alone. This is an ADDITIONAL SERVICE OR SUPPORT which definitely causes an increase in price. This is why before you sign the contract with your client, let all options and factors be mentioned and agreed upon, the commas curved and the full stops dotted. Be on the same page!. If you will be providing an additional support or service to the original one, both services must be considered and used to price the client.

Your LEVEL OF DEMAND can also determine your pricing. If you are in high demand, then you might want to make your prices high so that you get some clients off your back. Well, that’s an increase in turnover if the clients refuse to back off. If you are in low demand, you might want to bring your prices low so that you can attract more people.

The CURRENT ECONOMY of your country can also decide what your prices will look like. This is because the economy will determine how buoyant your client is in some cases. In other cases, the economy will help you so to price your service so as not to run at a loss.

Always remember, that pricing should not only be done with the mindset that you are only placing a value on the job the client wants. Your pricing should include miscellaneous which will include your rent, if you are in a shop or working remotely, light bill, petrol cost if you have to use your generator, generator maintenance fee, laptop maintenance fee, your workers’ salary, transport fares during research making for a logo, your data subscription and so on.

With these few points on what should influence your pricing, I believe you will be able to price your services properly from now on. You can check my Instagram page @lightdesigns_olamiposi for a video on pricing. Yes! I forgot to mention the book I mentioned I read some days ago. The title is LOGO DESIGN LOVE by David Airey. You can go on to download it and you can also reach out to me via mail to get it sent to you. Mt email address is olamipoada2@gmail.com.

This is my 14th post, and I am always looking forward to getting your feedback, therefore after the 15th post, I will be running a survey on how much Creatives Corner have been of help to you. What we should keep doing, what we should stop doing and what I should start dong.

See ya!!


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