How to communicate price increases to existing customers?
Yesterday, I asked how you set your pricing strategy and discounts (you had some interesting insights and experiences to share – Thank you!).
Setting prices is one thing, but what about increasing them?
Customers can be very sensitive to price changes (especially upwards).
How would you communicate price tier increases to existing customers?
Do you use any justifications? Compensations? (e.g. in the form of adding some exceptional features)
If possible, feel free to share your template on how you communicated this without losing them.
Replies
Atlas
Following 👀
I think it's pretty natural for prices to increase...inflation and features being added. It's not a great feeling to experience it as a customer, but I think there's also some threshold of tolerance.
I really liked this video
and he references this blogpost as a great example on how to tell customers about the price increase. https://web.archive.org/web/20201001064206/https://carthook.com/blog/announcing-a-change-in-carthook-pricing-and-process/@laura_cruickshanks I haven't seen this particular video, but I trust Rob Walling's insights. I read his book on micropreneurship (do not remember the name), and even though some of it is a bit dated, he has a wealth of experience and gives really solid advice — including on the various ways you can raise pricing and what the tradeoffs are.
@laura_cruickshanks @olga_shiryaeva1 I see Rob for the very first time, so I dive deep into his content creation. Thank you forthe recommendation on this content :)
Depending on the market, if you use ai api, I fear they will look for better alternatives, this is also the general problem, people are only open to pay what is for them right. So if you are open for why you increase and also what they get in return, that would work best. Be open and honest
@sietse_schelpe The worst scenario is when you are a user and you are dealing on X API :D Prices are ridiculous :D
Price increase is a sensitive topic..You should manage it carefully. You should show the increase with the broader possibility they get unless they will search for a better solution. It means, just raising the subscription price without the extra useful features,- your churn rate is getting bigger shortly. Start with the purpose to improve the service, adding features, 24/7 support, money back policy, show a long-term relationship (idea: increase a monthly payment, but hold a year-subscription) for your clients, underline the importance of your user (user- centric solution), summarize all together for justify the price increase. And Good 🤞
@monolgaz Thank you. You outlined good examples to compensate that inconvenient feeling :)
@busmark_w_nikaI am always happy to bring to the table ideas, solutions and to overthink the importance of each step.
@monolgaz Appreciate it :)
@chris_wyatt2 Do you mean they should be prompted to cancel the subscription plan?
@chris_wyatt2 aaa okay, I understood it backwards :D
"But I keep fricking paying for two years and I dont even use it." :D wow this is so strong emotional attachment :D
@abe_qarm Do you have your own newsletter to remind people periodically?
@abe_qarm :D looking forward to upgrades :D
Brand Stori
Great question one that every growing SaaS business struggling with.
Here’s what worked well for us:
1. Segment before you announce.
We differentiated our communication between power users, early adopters, and inactive accounts. The messaging and rationale varied depending on their usage pattern and value perception.
2. Anchor the price increase to value expansion.
Rather than saying “we’re raising prices,” we framed it as:
“We’ve added 6 major features, upgraded our speed by 40%, and introduced priority support so your plan is evolving to reflect that.”
We included a short changelog-style image to visualize the progress.
3. Offer a ‘thank you’ window.
We gave existing users a chance to lock in old pricing for 30–60 days or pre-pay for a year at the old rate. This softened the blow and converted many into annual plans.
4. Keep the tone transparent, not apologetic.
Something like:
“To continue investing in the things you’ve told us matter most reliability, speed, and AI accuracy we’re updating our pricing.”
5. Bonus: We personally emailed our top 10% users with a message that said, “We’d love your feedback before we finalize the change,” which turned into valuable product input and zero churn from that group.
Would love to hear what others have tried!
@anuraag_tyagi I am curious about the customisation of messaging. How did it differ between various target groups (power users, early adopters, and inactive accounts)?
Point 3 is pretty valuable for me – thank you for sharing.
Brand Stori
@busmark_w_nika Glad point 3 helped!
We customized messaging like this:
Power users → Highlighted new features they already used + offered early access perks.
Early adopters → Framed it as a continued journey together, appreciating their trust early on.
Inactive accounts → Focused on what’s changed since they last used us, with a “come back” nudge and limited-time old pricing.
Tone and CTA varied, but core message: “Your experience matters, and here’s what’s in it for you." I hope this helps?
@anuraag_tyagi Power users – that is really well down. I need to somehow use this for next time. Thank you!
IXORD
I would explain to the client why we’re doing it this way and why the product is worth a higher price. The key is to have clear reasons for it. If there are none, it could have a negative impact on the clients
@ixord Basically, I would like to have some examples of assertive communication of this fact. Because I received things like "we don't care that you onboarded new people in your team and you developed a better version".
Upp.Vote
I've done it just once. Simply emailed all the lower-tier customers and informed them the reason we're doing it. About 10% complained; 5% said they can't afford it and the rest didn't care.
@kaustubhkatdare Was it worth? I mean, did you expect better results in terms of churn rate?
Upp.Vote
@busmark_w_nika - yes, definitely worth it. It helps the business and allows us to invest more in business that ultimately helps our customers.
@chris_wyatt2 We do this as well but some meantime cancelled and then returned and then they are surprised that there is price change :D
Warmup Inbox
It depends a lot on your situation.
Is it a pure price increase, or are you also adding a feature?
If you add new features, it is quite easy. You can simply create a new plan with those features and encourage your current users to upgrade.
Best practice for SaaS is to have 3 to 4 plans, so if you have fewer than 4 plans, adding a new plan is a good way to increase prices.
Are you grandfathering your existing customer?
You can choose to keep the existing price for existing customers. That gives a strong incentive for those users not to churn, as they would need to pay more if they come back.
You can even leverage this to run an upsell campaign. Phantombuster for example, sends an email to all users saying they will increase pricing at the end of the month but if you upgrade before the end of the month, you will keep the current price forever.
@fabian_maume New feature is the most convenient scenario because you have a proof for a real change, but it is worse when you onboard a new developer (who is the reason for cost increases and price increases). 😅 Hard to negotiate. :D I like the second strategy, but what industry you operate in is harder for acquiring new clients, and you need to increase the price for existing ones anyway?
@dbul I think that for all scenarios, you need to prepare well well-crafted template for email, because I know how some people get mad at you when they need to pay more :D assertive communication wins :D
Few things that can help:
Give customers a heads-up at least 30 days in advance. Be clear about why the price change is happening, whether it’s due to new features or a shift in the value you’re delivering.
It helps to tie the price increase to something meaningful: what’s improved / what’s coming next.
Offering a way to “lock in the current price” for a limited time is also a great way to reduce friction. Make users (especially early adopters) feel like they’re getting a deal, not just paying more.
@ngorgiashvili Good points :)