I was talking to a business owner the other day who told me she was nervous about putting her prices up.
Not about doing it, mind you.
About telling people she was doing it.
She was tying herself in knots over the wording of the email. Worried about backlash. Worried about offending people. Worried customers would leave in droves.
So, I said:
“Then don’t tell them.” Just put them up.
Now before the internet explodes and somebody accuses me of encouraging corporate sneakiness, let me add a caveat.
If you’re charging clients on a recurring subscription, direct debit, membership or ongoing service agreement — yes, absolutely, people should be informed. That’s just fair business practice. Gyms, software companies, streaming services, telcos — if you’re automatically dipping into somebody’s bank account every month, transparency matters.
But for many ordinary businesses?
Hair salons. Spas. Cafes. Trades. Retail. Professional services.
You often don’t need to issue some trembling public confession like you’ve been caught embezzling from the church roof repair fund.
You just adjust your prices. Because that’s what businesses do.
Do Coles Group or Woolworths Group send you a heartfelt email every time the price of cheese goes up another dollar and a half?
No.
You walk in one day and suddenly your “special” block of tasty cheddar now costs roughly the same as a small mining lease in the Pilbara.
That’s it.
No candlelit apology.
No “we truly value your loyalty during these challenging times.”
No seven-paragraph essay blaming inflation, fuel prices, global instability, freight costs, the moon cycle and Donald Trump.
The number on the shelf just changes. And here’s the important bit…
Most customers expect prices to rise occasionally. Especially now.
Consumers are not stupid. They buy groceries. They pay power bills. They’ve seen insurance renewals lately. They know what’s going on in the world.
Streaming companies have been lifting subscription prices repeatedly over the last couple of years, including Spotify, Netflix and Disney.
Telcos have done the same thing. Telstra, Optus and Vodafone have all pushed through mobile plan increases recently.
Even Microsoft managed to anger customers with hefty increases to its Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
And yet somehow civilisation staggered on. People complained a bit.
Then most of them kept paying.
Because businesses have costs. Wages rise. Rent rises. Electricity rises. Software rises. Merchant fees rise. Insurance rises. Fuel rises. Everything rises.
Except, apparently, the courage of many small business owners. Here’s what fascinates me.
Small businesses often behave as though increasing prices is some kind of moral failure. Meanwhile, giant corporations treat pricing as a routine business decision.
Which, inconveniently, it is.
Now again, I’m not suggesting businesses should be deceptive. Quite the opposite.
If you have clients locked into ongoing billing arrangements, or contracts, or memberships, clear communication matters. In fact, regulators are cracking down on businesses that play games with subscriptions and hidden pricing.
But there’s a difference between transparency and theatrical self-flagellation.
You do not need to send every customer a formal announcement written like a hostage video.
- “We regret to advise…”
- “We understand this may be disappointing…”
- “After absorbing costs for as long as possible…”
Honestly, some price-rise emails sound like the sender is about to announce a terminal illness.
Here’s the reality.
If your pricing is fair…
If your service is good…
If your customers value what you do…
Most people will barely blink.
And the ones who do explode over a modest increase?
Very often, they were already halfway out the door anyway.
One of the biggest mistakes I see businesses make is undercharging for years because they’re terrified of upsetting a handful of price-sensitive customers.
Meanwhile their margins shrink, their stress levels rise, and eventually they either burn out or start resenting the very business they built.
That’s not noble.
That’s financially dangerous.
A business that cannot maintain healthy margins eventually becomes a hobby wearing a business costume.
So yes – use judgment.
If you’ve got memberships or subscriptions, communicate clearly and honestly. But otherwise?
You probably don’t need the dramatic public announcement.
Just quietly update the prices and keep delivering excellent service. Funny thing is…
That’s exactly what the big end of town has been doing for decades.
