Creative businesses are often very resistant to setting a fixed price for their services. Goods and products? Sure. It would be weird to put your jewellery or garments on Etsy without attaching a price—but for services, it just seems wrong. It’s a strategy worth thinking about, however, if you have a service-based offering that is always the same and results in a definite outcome for the client. It’s an even better idea if your offering includes both a service and an additional product, like a wedding photographer.
Package (or bundled) pricing means setting a fixed price for a fixed offer that has a predictable outcome. That price includes everything so that each component, whether product or service, is not charged for separately.
Many creative practitioners are able to create a package price for their work. Some examples of a packaged creative service include:
- a simple logo design;
- a composed musical ‘sting’;
- a short written report or article;
- a video or animation that is fixed in length and style.
The price can be fixed because the core value of the service is not measured in how long it takes but in the predictable outcome. Having said that, some package prices might include a time component, but it’s generally better and easier for both you and the customer if there’s no commitment to how long the package will take, only a commitment to when it will be ready. In fact, the less time it takes, the better a package works for you as a source of income.
Package prices can also work for the client because a fixed price is predictable and trustworthy. You’ve guaranteed that the work will cost $500 (or $50, or $1000), and that can be budgeted for. The outcomes should be clearly explained, and as long as you meet the criteria you’ve set all will be well. How long the work takes becomes irrelevant.
Not all a creative person’s work can be neatly packaged, however. A design overhaul, or a long video, or a piece of creative writing, or the score for a TV show cannot and should not be packaged. It’s dangerous for a creative to offer all their work as a package or fixed price—this sort of thing should be properly quoted for because there are too many variables.
However, offering a combination of packages and proposals is a low-risk way of bringing together both options. Develop packages for some common, simple projects or certain types of client work. Use your proposal or quote process for more complex projects or clients who need something unique to them. This allows you to offer flexibility, meet clients’ needs, and still make money.
Lots of creative people also hate putting prices of any kind on their website, because they worry that it will fix their price point or because their competitors will see their pricing structure and undercut them. In terms of fixing price, that’s definitely an issue, which is why it’s important to explain in your marketing that some offerings are packaged, based on strict criteria and outcomes, and the rest are not.
And in terms of competitors? Some will certainly undercut you, and if your clients are shopping for cheap then they’ll be attracted elsewhere. Let them go. There’s nothing you can do about senseless competitors and cheapskates, so stop worrying and concern yourself with customers who are shopping for quality, not price.
Besides, if you have no prices on your website then clients might think you’re too expensive for them. After all, “if you have to ask… you can’t afford it!” A lack of clear packages could be turning off good clients with money to spend.
Here are some tips for devising your Package Price.
Work it out properly. Your package is not based on the time it takes and you won’t be reimbursed for expenses, so whatever you’re creating needs to be efficient and repeatable. If each package takes hours and hours more than you’ve anticipated or involves lots of expenses, you’ll be out of pocket. Your package needs to be template-based, or parts need to be automated, or a system needs to be created (See our article on creating systems). If costs are also at a minimum, and it doesn’t take you too long to create the Package, you’re in the best position to make money.
Clearly define what is included. It’s vital to set clear expectations for your customers about the scope of the work and what the package includes. What will be delivered? What’s the timeframe? What does the client need to contribute? Will there be any extra costs or add-ons? Be specific to avoid confusion, otherwise, you’ll have unhappy customers and chaotic delivery of an uncertain package.
Make it clear that you’re open to custom. Packages don’t work for everything—or for everyone. Some clients will need or want more than your package includes. Make it clear in your marketing that you can devise a quote or create something custom that fits outside the strict parameters of the package. This is not an either/or scenario—you can do both Packages and unique quotes for your creative work.
Offer more than one choice. What’s better than one package? Many packages! Some clients still like to choose, even if the choices are limited. Packages are pre-set and pre-priced, so must be inflexible. You can address this with multiple package options at different price points. You could offer Small-Medium-Large options, Good-Better-Best, or Basic plus Add-ons. Be clear on the differences between the packages, and you’ll provide your clients with choices and the possibility of an up-sell.
Package pricing may seem at odds with creative work, but if you have something wonderful you can offer to clients that is efficient to produce, consistently repeatable, and delivered to a high standard with a predictable outcome, the package or bundle pricing could work. When done properly, packages can save you time by eliminating the need for individual quotes on certain kinds of work—clients have clear expectations about outcomes and so tend to be better behaved—and from a marketing angle a package can open up additional money-making opportunities. Saving time, happy customers, and making money? Package pricing might well be worth a try!
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