IN today’s fast-paced digital landscape, small business owners face the challenge of capturing the attention and trust of potential customers amidst intense competition.

In this quest for success, transparency and effective communication play pivotal roles. One powerful strategy that small business owners can employ is posting the prices of their products and services on their websites and social media posts.

By embracing this practice, businesses can not only foster transparency but also engage customers more effectively, save time, and stand out from the crowd. We are also in a period where you are no longer competing for customers with other businesses in your vicinity. A customer can easily go online, visit Amazon, Walmart, or even other local businesses that have an e-commerce-ready website, and make a purchase.

Due to the speed at which a transaction can happen, businesses whicho engage in the practice of telling people online to “DM For Price” are putting themselves at a major disadvantage. What compounds this problem is that, more often than not, businesses tend to take days or weeks to provide this information — and I’ve personally seen a couple of businesses respond to queries over a year later. By that time your customer has ordered their products online and had them delivered before you even respond with a price for your product or service.

I want to give you five reasons why posting your prices online works out better for you, your customers, and ultimately your business.

Transparency: Displaying prices upfront promotes transparency and honesty. It helps build trust with potential customers by demonstrating that your business is upfront about its pricing structure. When people can easily find pricing information they are more likely to feel comfortable and confident in engaging with your business.

Timesaving: Clearly showcasing prices saves time for both you and your customers. By providing pricing information upfront you can reduce the number of inquiries and requests for quotes as customers can quickly assess whether your products or services fit their budget. This saves you valuable time that can be better utilised for other aspects of your business. No business owner should want to have to respond to a million DMs for price — that’s an undeniable waste of your time.

Competitor differentiation: Displaying your prices allows customers to compare your offerings with competitors more easily. If your prices are competitive or provide better value, it can help attract customers who are searching for the best deal. Moreover, if you offer premium pricing, clearly showcasing the added value can justify the higher cost and set you apart from lower-priced competitors.

Customer expectations: In the digital age customers expect to find information quickly and easily. If they can’t find pricing information on your website or social media, they may assume that your prices are unaffordable or that you have something to hide. By providing clear pricing details you meet customers’ expectations and create a more positive user experience.

Qualified leads: When customers have access to pricing information they are more likely to be qualified leads. By displaying your prices upfront you attract customers who have already assessed their budget and are actively seeking the products or services you offer within that price range. This can lead to more targeted inquiries and a higher conversion rate, ultimately saving you time and resources.

While there may be cases in which it’s not feasible to provide exact prices due to customisation or complex pricing structures, providing a general price range or starting prices can still be beneficial to give potential customers an idea of what to expect. We know that there are businesses which need to get information to put into their systems in order to generate a quote, and that’s why they need you to DM for the price, which is fine. It still helps, though, to provide a ‘starting from’ price or a general price range.

If you are someone who believes that having everybody DM for the price creates engagement on social media, it is NOT worth the trade-off of the perception you give to the public that your business is shady, and the annoyance people get with having to DM you and wait for you to respond (IF you respond), or having now to take time to call your business and hope you answer your phone, to get information.

If you hide prices because you believe that your competitors are watching, guess what, your competitors are in your DMs and calling your business too — and are more willing to do so than actual customers.

The beautiful thing about pricing is that people have no problem spending their money or saving to make a purchase when they understand your costs (high or low) and they view your product or service as something of value.

Take the time to learn how to communicate the value of your products, services, and your business on social media. People buy when their perceived value of a product or service exceeds the price.

Keron Rose is a digital strategist who works with businesses to build their digital presence and monetise their platforms. Learn more at KeronRose.com or listen to the Digipreneur FM podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or Google Podcast.