As above – I’m researching a service that I may offer and I’m thinking of emailing a load of potential customers asking what they think would be a reasonable price.

Stupid idea or sound?

Not daft – just understand that they’ll all almost certainly say less than they’re willing. Obviously if that figure turns out to be more than you expected, great but otherwise, you’re going to have to guess how much they understated.

Also, it’s one thing saying you’ve be willing to pay X for something and another thing actually paying it…

Another solution is really to look at the competition and find out what they charge because the relative cost is very important, particularly if it’s a service that potential customers already use and you’re looking to poach them.

No, it’s not OK. You won’t get reliable answers.
However, if you ask how valuable your service would be, that’s another matter.

Most if not all service businesses are a highly competitive market, your clients will (should) know this and will more than likely come in with a very low figure, especially if they know you are a start up.

As above look at your competitors first.

As above look at your competitors first.

Tricky really as it’s a service a client will probably only use once (clearing a backlog of ‘something’). It’s fairly niche and competitors prices are very difficult to come by as each project is generally priced individually.

The market we’re look it is doctors practices and from experience they want the service but aren’t willing to pay for it themselves 🙁

The market we’re look it is doctors practices and from experience they want the service but aren’t willing to pay for it themselves

Welcome to the service industry and have a nice day. 😉

It’s entirely acceptable to ask: “what would your budget be for this?” but you probably won’t get honest answers. Of course if you add lots of value people will pay more.

Tricky really as it’s a service a client will probably only use once (clearing a backlog of ‘something’). It’s fairly niche and competitors prices are very difficult to come by as each project is generally priced individually.

The market we’re look it is doctors practices and from experience they want the service but aren’t willing to pay for it themselves

Undertaker?

You could do a fake launch to a subset of contacts. e.g. send out an email detailing the service – as if you were launching the service – put a price tag on it and see what the response is. A more sophisticated method would be to split your contact list into 3 and send each group a different price point and see how it affects the uptake. That way you aren’t asking “how much would you pay for this?” and you should get an answer which is closer to the truth.

Don’t burn your entire contacts list on it, include a disclaimer like (price / service dependent on demand) and throw in a freebie to anyone who replied but you aren’t able to deliver for whatever reason.

Re: “they want the service but aren’t wiling to pay for it themselves” – can you partner with someone who is willing to pay for it. I don’t know how much the service costs but you might be able to get it sponsored by a pharmaceutical company which pays for all / some of the cost in exchange for exposure to a list of doctors.

Tricky really as it’s a service a client will probably only use once (clearing a backlog of ‘something’)…

The market we’re look it is doctors practices and from experience they want the service but aren’t willing to pay for it themselves

I’m guessing the backlog is old people an you’re offering lethal injections on the cheap, what do I win?