Should I be lowering my pricing at the moment to attract more business?

There’s no blanket answer to this question, but I would like to give you some things to take into consideration when making the decision. 

1. Do you need to lower your pricing, or just your minimum?

If your service is tied to a number of people, keep in mind these numbers might be significantly lower for quite some time. For example, couples might only need to feed 50 people, instead of 150, when it comes to their wedding reception dinner, or cake. Does this mean you need to lower your minimum? Remember: only do so if you remain profitable.

2. Is your product or service considered a “luxury” or a “necessity”?

If what you have to offer can fall into the category of “essential” to your target client or customer, then chances are they will be able to continue justifying this purchase or investment because they NEED it. However, if what you sell is thought of as more “nice to have”, this could be a harder sale to make in tough economic times. Either think about how you can reframe your marketing to be seen as more “essential”, or alternatively look at how you could potentially tweak your product or service to lower your overheads to help justify a lowering of your price while remaining profitable.

3. Will altering your price negatively impact the reputation of your brand or the clients you attract?

This might not be your primary consideration, but don’t discredit it! If you’ve spent 5+ years building a reputation as a high-end service, a sudden and drastic drop in your prices will mean attracting a very different clientele, which you will also need to build your way back from at some point. 

4. Will you still be profitable if you lower your price?

As I’ve alluded to above, it is never, EVER a good idea to lower your price if it means you will no longer be profitable. It’s okay for your margin to take a hit and be taking home less profit if it still means money in the bank, but if you’re already tinkering on the fine line of profitable / unprofitable, do NOT lower your prices to attract business UNLESS you can also lower your costs to remain in the black.

Ultimately, the decision about whether to drop your prices is up to you and your business / financial situation. Hopefully this has given you some considerations to weigh up before making that next step.