550: Pricing is a Signal
Brought to you by: Pet Sitters Associates. Use ‘Confessional’ at checkout
What does your pricing say about your business? We start with a recent update on the BOI filing requirement for US businesses and then dive into how pricing acts as a powerful signal, shaping client expectations and perceptions of our services. We explore the importance of aligning pricing with professionalism, trust, and value while steering clear of the temptation to lower rates to match competitors. Instead, we focus on using client feedback and market insights to refine our messaging and emphasize what makes us unique. We discuss how pricing helps guide resource allocation, influence client behavior, and reflect demand. Whether it’s adjusting for high-demand seasons or crafting premium offerings, our pricing tells a story about who we are and what we deliver.
Main topics:
Pricing communicates professionalism and trust
Market competition and pricing strategies
Client expectations and perceived value
Resource allocation based on demand
Intentional and budget-driven pricing
Main takeaway: Pricing tells your clients a story about who you are, your business, and what they should set their expectations at.
Pricing isn’t just a number—it’s a message. It communicates your professionalism, the quality of your service, and the value you deliver. Whether you're positioning yourself as a premium provider with personalized care or an affordable option for budget-conscious clients, your pricing shapes expectations before you even meet.
When you align your pricing with your branding, marketing, and client experience, you create a story that resonates. Your clients will understand not only what they’re paying for but why it’s worth it.
So, what story does your pricing tell? Let it reflect your commitment to your business and your clients.
Links:
We talked about the BOI back on episode 522
Doug Keeling also put together a how to video
ProTrainings: For 10% off any of their courses, use CPR-petsitterconfessional
Give us a call! (636) 364-8260
Follow us on: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, & TuneIn
Email us at: feedback@petsitterconfessional.com
A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
beneficial ownership, Corporate Transparency Act, FinCEN guidance, price signals, client expectations, market competition, professionalism, reliability, quality, demand and availability, resource allocation, client surveys, pricing strategy, client value, business signals
SPEAKERS
Collin, Meghan
Meghan 00:01
Hi, I'm Meghan.
Collin 00:02
I'm Collin,
Meghan 00:03
and we are the host of pet sitter confessional, an open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter. We appreciate you joining us today and going on this journey of 550 episodes with us. Thank you also to pet sitters associates and our Patreon people for supporting today's show. A patron is someone who listens to the podcast and loves it and wants to give back, so we keep producing episodes. If that sounds like you and you have found value in the show, you can go to pet sitter, confessional.com/support, to see all the ways that you can help out. Here in the United States, we've been dealing with a new filing requirement on beneficial ownership information. We talked all about this back on episode 522 the deadline was going to be December 31 2024 however, there has been some recent news on this. A federal judge in Texas has issued a nationwide preliminary injunction halting the enforcement of the corporate Transparency Act, the CTA, which mandated that certain entities had to file the boi. But the court found that the CTA is likely unconstitutional, so it is suspending the compliance deadline pending further legal proceedings. So if you did file, there's nothing that you need to do, but if you did not file yet, you do need to be keeping up with this in order to know whether this is going to be ruled finally ruled unconstitutional or not.
Collin 01:11
Yeah. So there are three things that we as businesses need to do. First one, we need to understand that that reporting deadline has been suspended. So if you were required to do this. And basically, if you had an LLC you were required to do this, you're no longer obligated to meet that now. However, we do need to be awaiting further guidance on this. The FinCEN, that's the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, has yet to issue guidance in response to this injunction as to whether people should go ahead and file or wait. So we need to stay informed about this. Go to the boi website, make sure that you are getting the you can actually sign up for email newsletters and alerts from them, which has been very helpful throughout this entire process. And then also, even though this injunction is in place, preparation is still recommended. So it is advisable to continue to prepare your information to ensure your readiness if the injunction is lifted or other requirements are reinstated. So if you have everything all gathered, keep that file nearby. Keep it on your desktop. Keep it close by. Don't just pitch it out. Keep that just in case you need to move forward with this. And
Meghan 02:15
again, if you have no idea what we're talking about, go back to episode 522, where we outline it all. And it really only takes 510, minutes. It wasn't that hard. It just now, you may not have to do it, depending on what they rule.
Collin 02:26
That's all with the current boi filing requirements. But for future considerations, we need to understand two things. First one is that the Department of Justice may appeal this ruling, which actually may expedite a review. So even though it's injunction right now, it may speed up the process where they say, okay, in a week, it still needs to move forward. The timeline of all of this remains totally uncertain, so that's where we need to stay on top of this, stay in tune with what's going on, and then also check with your state guidelines. Because regardless of this federal injunction, several states actually enacted or were considering enacting their own transparency laws similar to the boi filing information. So you need to be aware of your state and local requirements for this and so be in touch with a good attorney and with your State Department of Labor to make sure that you are staying up to date with all of these things. So
Meghan 03:17
again, if you've already filed, you don't need to do anything. If you have not filed, keep all your material just to see what's going to happen. You may need it with the election a few weeks behind us and 2025 coming online in a couple weeks, Collin and I have been talking a lot about price in our business in life, what it means that it signals something to people. So we wanted to talk about that today, what price means as a signal that phrase plays a crucial role in shaping a lot of things about our business, client expectations, guiding our business strategies and our goals for the future, and then also market competition. So there are five ways the pricing signal applies to us. The first one being it signals quality to clients. If you are like me and you like massages, and you go to a masseuse and they have a really high price for an hour massage, you go, Oh, wow. Well, they must do really good work. If you see someone only charges $25 for 60 minutes, you go, Oh, I don't know if I want to go to them, because they charge so little and it's a little bit of a turn off. So when you see someone with high prices, there is this part of your brain that it signals a premium service. It signals professionalism. They may have additional certifications or trainings, like they're insured or they give personalized attention for the pet sitting and dog walking industry. This may mean, when you have fear free certification and are insured, have a website and are overall professional and top notch in your pet care. But on the other hand, if you have low prices, it may indicate to clients that you are budget friendly, or you are a hobbyist. You don't do this as your full time job. It's on the side. It could also raise concerns about reliability or quality. If you only charge $5 for a dog walk, people may jump at that, but there are a sector of people that may go, oh, well, that's really cheap. I don't know if the quality is going to be there. So for instance. You are a premium dog walking service charging higher rates, that signals to clients that their pets are going to receive top notch care, potentially even including enrichment activities or detailed updates. Another thing that price signals is your demand and availability. When you have rising prices, it can indicate high demand people want to use you a lot, especially during the holidays, as we're seeing or limited availability and encouraging clients to book services earlier because you may not be available for last minute services or when they need you same day. On the other hand, falling prices could signal to clients an effort to attract more customers during slow seasons or areas where competition is fierce. So a lot of us increase our prices during the holiday time. That can indicate to clients that our services are in demand, that there may not be a lot of spots available because either we are taking time off or we're already booked for that time.
Collin 05:49
You are using this as a signal to say that your time is valuable, that your time is important, that you are trying to actually keep more people away from using your service during that particular busy time and you're trying to make it worth your time when you are out doing those services. How
Meghan 06:04
and what we price our services guides our business decisions. When we monitor market prices and look at other pet sitting and dog walking businesses around us, we can adjust our offerings or pricing strategies. If another dog walker charges really low prices, it can signal the need for us to better communicate our selling points, what makes us so special, or improve our efficiencies so that we are competitive. We don't want to lower our prices necessarily, but maybe we need to do more education to the client. If you are looking around at the market and going, Wow, all of these companies charge so much less than I do, it can signal a shift in the competition, which may prompt us to emphasize the high end premium, one on one, attention that we provide to our clients. It's
Collin 06:45
definitely important to remember to not lower your prices just because somebody else does. When that happens in your local market, you have to look at what your offering is. Maybe shift that around, maybe less time for service, but you're still charging, you know, $1 per minute, or a little bit over $1 per minute. So it is still valuable to you and worth your time. On the other hand, that's where we have to not shift our prices, but shift our marketing, shift our education, shift our communication to our potential clients and our existing clients, to remind them of that value and exactly what they are getting. Because sometimes, especially when clients are price sensitive, it is hard for them to see a an imperceptible value versus the value of their finances, and we have to help guide them through that and help them understand that the value they get at the end, when they expend their finances for our services is way more above and beyond than what they actually spent well,
Meghan 07:38
especially for a service based business. Because with a product, you can go, okay, I can use this product multiple times, or I can get a lot of joy out of this. But for a service that clients don't necessarily see or interact with except they get the bill or they get the visit report at the end, we have to make sure that we are communicating exceptionally well the value for our service.
Collin 07:56
We don't ever want the clients to just think about us when they get the invoice or when they see their credit or debit card statement and go, Huh, yeah, I don't feel like that's what I'm that's what I'm getting out of this. We have to be in front of that. We have to stay ahead of that with reports and with everything, with all the touch points that we have with them through their entire client journey with us.
Meghan 08:15
Another thing that price signals is allocating resources. So prices help our business decide where to allocate the resources that we have. Maybe it's adding more staff during high demand times, seasonal workers during Christmas and New Years, or expanding services in areas where there's higher willingness to pay. So if you know a sector of the homes in your city are all manufacturing people or all healthcare workers, and you want to target those people, go to where they are, expand your services in that area, or just have one service and target those people in a niche market. For example, if we notice that our adventure hikes, which is our most premium service, command significantly higher prices, we might allocate more resources to marketing and staffing those areas, or buying more leashes and gear for those things, follow
Collin 08:59
the money. Where are your clients spending money in your business? What are they willing to pay for? What are they willing to upgrade for, to get an experience for their dog or for themselves personally? That will signal to you where you need to reinvest, where you do need to allocate those resources of time, attention and other resources so that you are keeping up to that. Because if it is working in one area, you can double down and try it. That's where we know, okay, I can grow in Adventure hikes because people are spending money on that. So I know I need to spend money so I can keep up with that and keep that demand flowing. We've already talked about the perception of quality and how it relates to the pricing of a service. It also influenced the perceptions of value to our clients and potential clients. It actually can signal what clients value most, whether it's the convenience, the customization, the safety, whatever that may be for you, and we have to, we can adjust the messaging or our offerings based on what higher or lower prices signal about the client's priorities. So we always put this into perspective of clients have a hierarchy of needs that they are trying. To fulfill, and when we are matching our marketing efforts, our communication efforts, with what we think justifies our price, through client surveys, through good feedback, we can see why clients are actually paying that price. Of Well, I sent out my client survey, and I thought they would have loved the all the updates and reports that they get, but what everybody told me was was the convenience and customization so we can play back into them. So you may try offering something about like a mid tier pricing to highlight the balance of affordability and professionalism that's going to attract clients that want quality without paying those extreme premium prices. Or you can lean into the very extreme high end premium and make sure that all of your communication and education and marketing balances that out so that people know exactly what they're getting, which
Meghan 10:45
is why it's important to have multiple channels that you're talking to people through, not just Facebook anymore that did and does work for a time, but you need to not have your market on rented land. So build your email list so that you can talk to people, and if Facebook shuts down one day, you're gonna be okay, because you have your email list that you can still talk to your people and still sell to them,
Collin 11:03
and always ask that question, why are you using me? Why are you here? What attracted you to our business? Through those good email newsletters, through those client surveys, through those touch points that you have, so that you can stay on top of that people, it doesn't matter about what the price point is, but if you're at $35 for a 30 minute walk. Sure, that's amazing, and some people may be paying for it. But do you understand why? Do you know what keeps them there and what locks them into you and your business? We have to know that. We have to understand why people are there, and that's where the perception of value comes in, and really understanding our client avatar, understanding our potential clients in their purchasing, their buying habits, so that we can meet those with how we present them our offerings and our services. So we
Meghan 11:47
just talked about the five points of what price signals to our business. If you don't know what price to charge at all, you do need to do a budget for your personal life, for your business, to see how many visits a day you need to meet your
Collin 11:59
Yeah, it's not just about throwing out a number and hoping that it works. And it's also
Meghan 12:04
not just about doing a market analysis and going the top 10 dog walkers near me are charging this. So I must need to charge this, or I'm not yet experienced enough, so I need to charge a couple dollars less. No, you need to do your finances in your life and figure it out from there. Because if everybody is charging $10 for a walk, but you actually need $18 for a walk. Well, you're not gonna be able to pay your bills with visits. Well,
Collin 12:25
then it means, okay, maybe you start at 10, but you have to have an aggressive plan and marketing strategy to get to 18 as fast as possible. So you can make this a thing, make this something that works for you. And it's the intentionality behind our pricing that we miss a lot. Is we may just throw out a price and say, Well, that sounds good, that sounds fun, that sounds something like I would pay. That's what we fall back on. What would I personally pay for a service? We have to remember that a lot of times we are not our own ideal client. We are not who we are supposed to be serving. We need to be focused on who that is. Understand what that person wants, what that what that person's motivations are, and what a price would make sense to that person, given the value and quality that they are expecting,
Meghan 13:07
something that is definitely worth the price is pet sitters associates, as pet care professionals, your clients trust you to care for their furry family members, and that's why pet sitters Associates is here to help. For over 20 years, they've provided 1000s of members with quality pet care insurance. Because you work in the pet care industry, you can take your career to the next level with flexible coverage options, client connections and complete freedom in running your business. Learn why pet sitters Associates is the perfect fit for you, and get a free quote at pets@llc.com you can get a discount when you join by clicking membership Pet Sitter confessional, and use the discount code confessional when you go to check out, check out the benefits of membership and insurance, once again, at pets@llc.com, so let's put this whole thing into practice. Let's say a pet care business emphasizes their high end premium services. So what do they need to do? Well, higher prices signal professionalism, trust and reliability. So you need to meet all of that criteria. You need to adjust your prices based on demand. So if it's a holiday time, you need to have a premium holiday rate that's going to enforce the value of your services, and then you do need to monitor your competitors prices, because when you do that, it will tell you when there's a shift in client behavior or market conditions, and again,
Collin 14:10
not saying that we monitor the market or competitors pricing so that we can lower or match it or whatever. It gives us signals for how we need to adjust our marketing, our education, so that we can stay ahead of that so people understand why we are priced the way we are
Meghan 14:25
pricing isn't the only signal out there in business. We're going to look through three other signals besides pricing and compare them. So the signal is priced, it can signal value, affordability or exclusivity based on the pricing structure. So for example, a premium price signals personalized high end services, while a lower price, as we talked about, signals affordability or basic care, run of the mill, no frills care, price isn't the only signal to others in our business, a lot of times, dog walkers and pet sitters will use the same type of language on social media and in on their websites and in their marketing messaging. And a lot of times we'll use professionalism. Well, what does that actually mean to a client? It could mean trustworthiness and competence through certifications and insurance and membership. It could mean for a dog walker, highlighting your fear free certification or your pet first aid training, that you have that commitment to the higher standard of care, that I'm not just out here, just walking your dog to the end of the cul de sac. I'm really committed to this. This is my full time job in my career. When we throw out a word like reliability, it can signal to clients dependability through consistent communication and updates. When we send GPS tracked walks and photos that could mean to clients that they can trust their dogs with us. They know exactly where we're going. Our integrity that when we say we're going to go somewhere with our dog, or we're going to do something, that we actually do it, it proves our integrity, and they can trust us. Many
Collin 15:47
businesses will talk about their quality of service, and this has a meaning behind. This signals something to potential clients. This shows them a level of previous client satisfaction or our attention to detail through our reviews and testimonials. So in order to have this or to convey this, it has to be backed up by having testimonials about your excellent care during your walks that reflects a focus on client satisfaction and overall pet well being. The importance of all of these signals is to really understand that they complement one another. No signal exists in a vacuum just because you have a high priced dog walking service, sure, it may imply exclusivity or exceptional care, but that perception of the potential client must, and this is really critical. It has to be backed up by other signals, like your professionalism, your reliability, your quality, if you just have an empty promise, if you just have a blank canvas of it's it's $45 for my walk, but nothing to back it up, it will go nowhere, and clients will actually come to perceive you as just being not professional and not actually in line with what your pricing is demanding.
Meghan 16:56
When you have a high price paired with strong reviews and certifications and reliable updates that you showcase on social media. It reinforces the idea that the service is worth the cost, that yes, you may be more costly than anybody else in the area or in the top couple, but it is valuable, and clients should choose you over anybody else.
Collin 17:15
It is so important to remember that price is a signal, not price is the signal. It is up to us as the business owner to understand how all of the signals that we are both putting out and receiving about our business combine to reflect what we actually want. That price is a signal to our clients, and pricing is a signal to us about the conditions of the market and client expectations and value
Meghan 17:41
and our budget, we cannot forget about that. When you go to price your services, you have to look at your budget. So important, yeah,
Collin 17:48
and how everything puts together here. So if we know I have a lot of reviews, I have all of my training, I have all of this stuff, and I can demand a higher price through that, that is a great signal to you to give you confidence to move forward with that price increase, especially moving into a new year, or just if you need to do it for any other reasons. Pricing also tells your clients a story about who you are your business and what they should set their expectations at through your services, being intentional about our pricing and understanding that it is connected to everything else in our business, that we need to have everything in alignment allows us to make sure that we are actually running the business we want to reaching the clients that we want to at price points that work for us.
Meghan 18:29
But there's a fine line, because you also don't want to be defending your prices either. When you are talking to clients, you don't want to say, I charge $45 for a 30 minute dog walk. And I know it's a little expensive, but gas has gone up and groceries have gone up, and I kind of like apologizing for your high prices. You should not be doing that.
Collin 18:46
Yeah, especially during a meet again, our view of a meet and greet is this is the last final step to either get the seal of approval or to deny service to people. This is not a chance to or an opportunity to sell the service at all. We believe that all of that prior communication about the value add, about the reliability, the professionalism, the quality of service, all of that has previously been communicated to the client through our marketing efforts, through our online presence, through the onboarding process, into our company, so that by the time they reach that meet and greet, that new client, onboarding and consultation, they are they are sold on us, and don't need that justification, because they've seen what they get and what the possibilities are going to be for them in their life.
Meghan 19:25
We know the pricing topic can be a little sensitive sometimes. So if you have thoughts on that, you can email us at Pet Sitter confessional@gmail.com or look us up on Facebook and Instagram. At Pet Sitter confessional, we appreciate you listening to this today and any of the other 550 episodes that you have listened to. If you enjoy them, please share with a friend. Thank you also to pet sitters, associates and our Patreon members for supporting today's show, and we will talk with you next time bye.
19:50
You.
