How to Inform Customers or Clients of Price Increases

May 25

Small businesses can’t afford to absorb substantial or unanticipated costs for long, and it’s not just tariff prices, either. There are countless examples of short and long-term price volatility causing significant price increases; bakeries were forced to pass along astronomical increases in egg prices to customers, to name a recent example. Most small businesses have increased prices due to rising labor and material costs since the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the short and long term, price volatility is inevitable, and so is informing customers of price increases.

Small businesses can mitigate negative customer feedback, maintain client relationships, and keep customer loyalty with clear, honest communication.

Four Tips for Announcing Price Increases

When you need to send a price increase notification to customers, put yourself in their shoes. What questions would you ask and what action would you feel inclined - or disinclined - to take? Every business is different, so combine these tips with what you know will work best for your organization.

1. Be Transparent

Your customers will want to know why you’re raising prices, and providing clear, transparent information is the best way to answer that question. You can explain the reason for a price increase to customers by noting:

What the additional cost is (use percentage increases or exact per-product dollar amounts)
How the increased costs impact your operations
What your team did to try to avoid or offset those costs before passing them on to customers

Justifying price increases taps into the rational thinking side of customers and pushes them to consider the upstream pricing’s impact on their bottom line.

2. Contact Customers Or Clients Directly

You don’t want a client’s first notification of a price increase to be an invoice. Provide your sales team with email or letter verbiage to send to their clients or customers, and make sure to contact clients over the phone as well. Be personable, ask questions, and clarify that you’re doing what you can to mitigate the impact on their business.

3. Give Them Options

Some customers won’t pay more; some can’t pay more. Do what you can to provide options, especially if the price increase will affect operations in the near term. Ask them to pay upfront or in full at the previous price, or provide alternative products or services that align with their budget better. It’s a good idea to identify alternative solutions for your customers before contacting them, if possible.

4. Be Consistent (and Confident)

Make sure your entire organization provides consistent messaging in its communications with clients, vendors, and industry peers. Start by giving them a clear one-sheet of talking points, and encourage them to pass along negative feedback from customers or hard-to-answer questions to management. Having a clear message and delivering it confidently shows you have a detailed understanding of your position and operations.

Handling Tariff Talk

Communicating price increases is already challenging; the political elements of tariff price increases are even more so. In May 2025, Walmart announced its plans to raise prices due to tariffs, drawing the ire of the Trump administration and many of its political followers. Never mind that raising prices is the obvious response to increased costs, or that many other retailers have signaled similar moves. Walmart bore the brunt of political blowback, ultimately giving hundreds of different retailers cover to adopt tariff pricing, too.

Divisive politics make the messaging more important; stick to the facts and numbers, and keep it positive.

The Best Channels for Communicating Price Increases

For B2B and service-based businesses, contacting customers and clients directly is always the best option, though it’s worth offering a public-facing resource for ready access on your website - again, transparency matters.
For retailers, public-facing communication should focus on channels that minimize the visibility of negative feedback. Consider using (personalized) emails to your customers, which allows customers to reply without making those responses public. Add an announcement banner to your website, and invite users to contact your team directly for more information.
Keep announcements on social media concise. You’re almost certainly going to get some angry comments, but you’ll be surprised how understanding and supportive customers of small businesses can be.

Get the Wording Just Right

Raising prices often causes an emotional reaction in consumers. The key is to provide detailed, clear, and measured details that force your customers to transition from an emotional response to an analytic one. Sovis Media has helped small businesses navigate a pandemic, historic inflation, and tariff uncertainty with cost-effective marketing. We’ve got your back; get in touch with us today.

Cody Sovis