How to communicate the price increase to users in five steps
How to notify end users that a price increase is coming? We went through it on the example of water, which was discussed at the Water 2022 conference organized by Komunal magazine, so here is the summary:
🎯 Timely communication
Customers, for whom services such as utilities are necessary for their quality of life, should be informed about the price increase in time, and not announce the price increase “from today to tomorrow”.
🎯 Clear communication
Transparently state the reasons for the price increase and the benefit that the end-user will have from this change while using multiple communication channels – classic mail (bills), media, and directly in the community. Try not to justify the price increase by the fact that you don’t have money for employee salaries – this will never be an acceptable reason for users. Such statements most often end up in the media and create additional dissatisfaction among users and the public. On the other hand, positive news, such as the news that price increases have been lifted, very often remains only at the level of local media.
Explain in a simple way what was done within the rationalization measures, and before the final increase in the price of the service to users.
🎯 Highlighting the positive effect of the company in the community and the benefits that users receive
This is not an activity that is done when an increase is announced, but continuously throughout the years, and its value is shown in crisis situations like this.
🎯Internal communication
Each of your employees is your ambassador and should know the basic explanation, the reasons for the price increase, and the effect it will have on the customers – which includes her/him, family, and friends. The same applies to (political) partners, who will be happy to go public with criticism if they are not sufficiently familiar with the reasons.
🎯Good customer service
“The customer is king” should also apply to public and utility services, but until that happens, try to make yourself available to users and patiently respond to the increased number of inquiries and complaints, and perhaps offer discounts to certain groups of users.
Tags: crisis communication, comunal services
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