If You’re Going to Raise Prices, Tell Customers Why如果想涨价，原因须说明

Covid restrictions are lifting in some parts of the world and the economy is booming in some sectors. Some labor and material costs are rising due to shortages， as is customer demand. Many brands have high pricing power at the moment， making price hikes almost inevitable. Brand managers may be clued in on the size of their price increase， but it’s no easy matter to communicate this unwelcome news to customers.

世界一些地区的新冠限制政策正在解除，某些行业的经济也蒸蒸日上。与此同时，一些劳动力和材料因短缺而成本上升，客户需求也呈现出同样趋势。目前，不少品牌拥有很高的定价权，于是涨价便几乎势所难免。品牌经理们可能清楚其价格的涨幅，但要把这个不受欢迎的消息传递给消费者却实属不易。

Many companies， and even entire industries， routinely raise prices without ever telling customers. In the consumer packaged goods space， for instance， it is common practice to reduce quantity （the grammage of a package， item count， etc.） and maintain the price. This increases the per-unit amount paid by shoppers but keeps the more visible package price unchanged. Alternatively， brands may cut down on trade promotions， couponing， and other forms of discounting， raising prices indirectly. For instance， when faced with a shortage and soaring prices for chicken， KFC recently removed in-store promotions for its crowd-pleasing $30 fill-up bucket.

很多企业，甚至整个行业，往往会在未告知消费者的情况下抬高价格。比如，在包装消费品领域，减量（包装克重、商品数量等）不减价已成常规。这种做法使消费者支付的单位金额增加了，而更为显性的一揽子价格却维持原状。另外，品牌可能会通过减少促销、优惠或其他折扣，间接实现商品提价。比如，面对鸡肉短缺和价格飙升，肯德基近期取消了店内促销，推出了迎合大众的30美元套餐桶。

However， these below-the-radar options are unavailable for products sold with subscriptions， leases， or contracts. In these cases， the manager must communicate to customers that prices have increased before the next billing cycle. This task is mined with pitfalls. When performed poorly， the news can lead to undesirable outcomes like customer complaints， social media outrage， and even worse， having to walk back the price increase， or losing customers altogether.

然而，这些悄摸摸的方式并不适用于那些通过订购、租借或者合约来交易的产品。此种情形下，品牌经理必须在下一个计费周期开始之前告知消费者商品价格已经上调。这项工作往往埋藏着一些隐患，处理不当就会带来不良后果，招来诸如消费者投诉、社交媒体狂喷，甚至更糟糕的是，企业不得不撤回之前的涨价，或者彻底失去消费者。

To avoid such fiascos and to blunt customer resentment， here are three actions that managers should take when communicating a price increase. They are backed by evidence found in academic research and my own experiences working with companies.

为了避免如此溃败和缓和消费者的愤懑，经理们在与消费者沟通涨价事宜时可采取以下三种方式。这些建议既有学术研究成果支持，也是我自己在与企业共事过程中得出的经验之谈。

Call the action a price increase， not a price adjustment， a price change， or another euphemism.

直截了当承认涨价，而不是采用调价、改价或其他婉约之辞。

In emails and letters to customers， well-loved brands such as Netflix， Microsoft， Sling， and YouTube TV have all referred to a price increase as “updating price” or “adjusting price” in the past. This is common practice because managers are naturally reluctant to tell customers they are raising prices. While this may seem like a small thing， euphemistic messaging can cause serious harm， fraying the relationship with loyal customers. Decades’ worth of consumer psychology research has consistently found that attempts to obfuscate bad news rarely pay off for brands. Customers know that brands are trying to influence their opinions and behavior and appreciate it when they use helpful， transparent， and informative influence methods.

许多广受欢迎的品牌，比如奈飞、微软、Sling和优兔影视，以往在发送给消费者的电邮和信函中都称涨价为“价格更新”或者“价格调整”。这种做法很常见，因为经理们自然不愿意明晃晃告诉客户产品涨价了。这么做看起来似乎无伤大雅，但其实这种含糊其辞的做法很可能招致严重后果，一举摧毁品牌与忠实客户的关系。消费者心理研究数十年来的相关成果都发现，有意模糊化坏消息的行为几乎不能为品牌赢得什么收益。消费者深知品牌方总是想方设法来影响他们的想法和行为，他们其实乐意接受对方所采取的有益、透明且能提供有效信息的切实措施。

Authenticity and honesty matter to customers， especially for bad news. When a brand uses a euphemism to convey a price increase， it does not distract customers or dilute the negative impact of the news， as managers may believe. Instead， it arouses suspicion， making recipients more vigilant and critical of the information contained in the announcement. Some customers may interpret the euphemistic phrasing as talking down to them. It may stoke indignation in others， leading to venting on social media and the potential to snowball into widespread anger. Even customers who are on the brand’s side may feel that they are being deceived or patronized. Where communicating price increases， it is best to call a spade a spade.

消费者看重真实和诚信，尤其在面对坏消息时。企业关于涨价的委婉说辞并不能如经理们所愿转移消费者的注意力或冲淡该类信息的负面影响。如是做法反倒会引起消费者猜忌，使他们对企业公告中所包含的信息更为警觉和挑剔。一些消费者可能会将这种婉转措辞视为居高临下的言论。其他消费者也可能会因此感到忿忿，蜂拥至社交媒体上宣泄，这种不满还会像滚雪球一样膨胀为广泛的愤怒。即便品牌的忠粉也可能感到自己被欺骗或怠慢。所以，在告知消费者价格上涨时，最好的做法就是直言不讳。

Explain the reasons for the price increase clearly.

解释清楚涨价原因。

When it comes to communicating a price increase， many otherwise confident managers become reticent and shaky. They see this as an unpleasant task to be gotten over with a minimum of fuss and attention—and detail. Consider this announcement from a major software company：

很多原本自信的品牌经理一谈到涨价事宜就变得沉默寡言、惴惴不安。他们认为这是项不讨喜的任务，想尽可能低调、粗略地处理。比如某大型软件公司发布的告示是这样的：

“[Brand] periodically assesses its pricing to ensure reasonable alignment with the needs of customers， partners， and the marketplace， and may make changes in response to that assessment and feedback. Effective [date]， the annual price of [the product] will change from [$X to $Y].”