Whether your business offers software as a service (SaaS) or sells a single product with saleable options, your pricing page design is where the bullet meets the bone. All of the eye-popping graphics and killer content you’ve worked so hard to create lead ultimately to one all-important page where the sale is won or lost.
No matter what you’re selling, simplicity is key . With that in mind, here are some points to consider for designing a pricing page that will make the difference between sign up and sayonara.
Be Prepared To Be Compared
Consumers almost always shop around before making a decision. One of the hallmarks of e-commerce is that it enables customers to see numerous offers, literally, side by side at the same time. Since the majority of users start with a quick price comparison, displaying yours in a way that’s clear and easy to understand is a key to matching up to the competition.
Take Boost Mobile’s approach, for example. One nice, round number jumps out in the center of the page, and all the details are spelled out right beside it. You don’t even have to scroll down the page to see all there is to know about the offer.
Compare this with Verizon‘s list of monthly pricing plans. Right away, it’s obvious which one is simpler and more inviting to customers. There are overage costs, special conditions and fine print that make it much more difficult to figure a final cost.
Naturally, with these well known brands there are other factors to consider when making a purchasing decision, but where simplicity and clarity are concerned, Boost’s page is far more inviting.
Drop A Hint
When offering a choice of plans for service, consider your target market. It’s likely that there will be an option that offers a good balance of price and features that will appear as the most logical choice for customers.
Take the pricing page at Sendible for example. Of the four plans listed, the second choice is highlighted and emphasized, and it is aimed directly at the small business user who is deemed the most likely to choose the company’s service. Sendible takes it a step further by attaching a title and description to each plan to further emphasize the potential match for their target users.
Hootsuite, by comparison, uses a similar strategy for highlighting a particular choice. However, in this case the option featured is the one that offers a low monthly price of $9.99, while the other two list no cost.
By glancing just below the featured pricing plans on the Sendible page, we see that they too offer a $9.99/month plan. While the two companies offer essentially the same option, the strategies employed on their pricing pages make them appear to be quite different. Thus, at first glance Hootsuite appears to be a much better value. Well-played, Hooters. Well-played.
Fire By Trial
One technique that many SaaS have embraced is the use of free trial periods to minimize the sense of risk for customers. The added value of offering a free trial is that it allows the customer to gain comfort and familiarity with what you offer, and lets your service sell itself.
While some companies, like Trackur, lean right in with the trial offer, others, such as Viddler, use a more subtle approach to avoid looking overly eager. However they’re featured, free samples are a great way of putting your money where your mouth is and showing customers that you’re confident about what you offer.
Photo Credits
FreeDigitalPhotos.net / FreeDigitalPhotos.net / Trackur.com / Hootsuite.com
