I’m launching a letting agency any day now, and we’re a bit different from our competitors in the way we charge landlords. We charge a fixed fee to find a tenant and the monthly management is fixed too.

I’ve been in sales & marketing 20 years and i’m honestly torn on wether to name some of our competitors in the area and their prices they publish on their websites.

I’d like to reference them and their prices as they’re so expensive in comparison, it would make us look really good VFM, but is it un-professional???? providing we declare our source of info?

Can’t you just anonymise the pricing comparison aspect and list the other’s prices but label them “Other local agencies” or similar ?

Do you consider your customers to be smart or intelligent?
Shouldn’t you be selling to your strengths and not the oppositions’ weaknesses?
I find, personally, that issuing other prices as off putting in that you have nothing much else to offer than a cheaper service & I’d probably be sticking with the devils that I know.
I don’t know your market, so treat my pov with caution.

as someone that works in design/marketing id suggest that you want to outline your services in the way thats as easy as possible for your target market to understand.

if the audience is used to comparing what x does versus what y does then go for it. name names if required (and be totally transparent on like for like/sources etc) ive learned that being subtle or assuming folk will join the dots themselves isn’t often the right approach.

If they change their prices you’ll have to change your comparison.

Are the comparisons exactly like for like? I’d leave them out.

If you’re the new kid on the block – unless you’ve got very deep pockets – I’d avoid getting into a overt price war with established competitors – they can afford to drop their prices until you’ve gone bust then put them back up again.

I’d just state your fees clearly and state why you think that makes you good value. Nobody is going to sign up with the first agent they find so allow the customers to make their own comparisons. As someone looking into Letting Agents at the moment its off putting enough that many agents don’t make their costs clear at all – they’ll tell you their Gold service is more comprehensive than their Silver one, but they won’t tell you what either costs. So from a customers point of view if you can make you the prices clear from the outset you’ll stand out from the competition.

+1 macruisin.

I’d avoid making direct comparisons, just clearly say why you are different.

thanks guys, you’ve all made valid points i’d considered, i think i needed to hear them from others.

I wouldn’t do it in my business, but it’s fair game to quote against unnamed competition (in my field, it would usually be comparing efficacy or performance rather than price but the ideas’s the same – 15% more effective than leading brand alternatives, for example

If they change their prices you’ll have to change your comparison

You can overcome by a little disclaimer in the T&C ‘Prices correct as of ddmmyy’ but as others have said, you’re asking for a price war and someone to counter on their literature quickly enough.

As above – do you need to be cheaper, maybe a price driven model isn’t what you want. Can you offer more for the same price and win that battle instead – and being a letting agent surely you can modify your terms with anyone you contract for anyway, so you can tailor price if you need to on a case by case basis?

Not mentioning the competitors is the standard thing in the UK. In the USA it’s no holds bar slag them off in every advert.

I can only think of the big four supermarkets who do it on the price of a basket of groceries that week.

I’d avoid it, but accentuate your competitiveness with comments like…’ Will beat any genuine quote’

My employers never named their competitors although the products were never sensibly compared on price

I think price comparisons to unnamed competitors are worthless (as a consumer). I mean, I could be right at least FIVE TIMES MORE than other posters but unless I told you who it was…

We charge a fixed fee to find a tenant and the monthly management is fixed too

– Isn’t that the same as every letting agent? Not come across one round here who doesn’t follow that structure.

Anyway, as soon as I see someone slagging off the competition I know that they cannot beat the competition with their own product. Just really sell why you are good.

Most I’ve met want half the first months rent and a % monthly after that.

What a second…did you just admit to being an estate agent…..on an internet forum?!