Fixed Price Services - Increasing Customer Experience & Eliminating Complexity

There has never been a more relevant – or difficult – time to provide price surety. As an industry, we are facing complexities outside our control; from the skills shortage, which leads to problems for you and your customer, right through to extensive supply chain delays. However, by providing fixed-priced services you can get ahead of the competition, delivering your clients with price and service surety. This will actively help both businesses to thrive, leading to more profit for each of you.

But delivering profitable fixed-priced services is no mean feat unless you have the right approach. After all, you need predictability and certainty, too. The only way to guarantee this is by finding a partner who is willing to support you in your fixed pricing model and who genuinely wants you to succeed. Importantly, as a true partner, they need to be willing to take on some of the risks present in every project.

Firstly, here’s why you should be delivering fixed-priced services to your clients.

You can remove risk

There’s going to be an element of risk in providing services, and pricing in that risk, whilst keeping competitive, is a delicate balance. Delivering any service, either on an ad hoc basis or as part of a large project, carries both financial and service risks.

A little time lost here and there, or a series of small additional expenses can quickly get out of control. A cost blow-out, even if it’s due to circumstances outside your control, can cost you more than just your profit. Sometimes it’s your biggest customer who can end up hurting you the most financially.

Similarly, in every customer interaction, there’s a risk that the customer experience won’t go to plan. If you’re under-resourced and staff are over-stretched, mistakes can easily slip through. This can cost you your reputation and future business – a double blow.

This risk needs to be accounted for in your quote. But if both you and your partner are pricing in this risk, it leads to wastage and an uncompetitive quote. The right partner needs to be willing to carry a portion or all of that risk for you in their own fixed pricing.

Annihilate complexity

The simpler you can make delivering services, the smoother and more profitable delivering them can be. Quoting without fixed prices can become an overcomplicated process. It requires more resources which pile on the costs, well before a job has even been won. Then, should the quote need to be amended, the process begins again, wasting already scarce resources.

By providing fixed-price services, you can drastically simplify this process. Instead of trying to account for every possible issue which could arise, why not look at your average costs for a service and price per unit. This will simplify both the quoting and delivery of your services. It also means your staff won’t have to delve into a full-blown risk assessment for every quote, and that’s a definite win. Instead, all they need to know is what service the client needs and how many units they require.

Eliminate margin leakage

Nothing hurts more than margin leakage on what you thought would be a profitable job. Without a predictable margin, you’re putting the profitability of your company at risk. This level of financial uncertainty can be very stressful for you and your staff, not to mention downright damaging to your business.

By working with your partners to achieve fixed-priced services, that pain goes away. Working in units that are priced on average costs for a service paves the way for predictable margins. While some jobs may require a little more time or resources, others will require less. This means you can rest assured that your margins will be predictable across your entire business.

No surprises in project delivery

If the past two years have proven anything, it’s that you simply can’t account for everything. Despite your best efforts, sometimes you need flexibility in your service delivery and your workforce. However, this shouldn’t mean unexpected bills for your client. This will only hurt your customer’s experience and your reputation.

Fixed-priced services will allow you to provide flexibility, without nasty surprises. Providing your services based on outcomes means your client will know exactly what they’re in for, leading to a far more positive and smooth process for both parties.

Fixed-priced services can revitalise your business and profits. If done correctly and with the support of the right partner, you can remove risk and annihilate complexity. Furthermore, this ideal approach allows you to eliminate the pain of margin leakage and ensure your jobs run smoothly, without any nasty surprises in delivery.