I just acquired a small business similar to my current business, but their prices are lower and their credit card processing fees are higher, how do you recommend proceeding? – Lincoln, NE
Acquiring another business can present many challenges and most of them revolve around pricing and the customer experience. I am assuming the acquisition of the business was accompanied with specific terms, such as naming rights, operational procedures, and maybe personnel. If you plan on keeping the name for a certain amount of time, most customers hopefully won’t even know the business has changed ownership, but a certain percentage will definitely know if prices are increased significantly. I would recommend to make changes gradually and to be clear in your communication on the reasons behind in the changes. Customers seem to respond better when a clear line of communication is set and there is enough time to process the changes. If pricing changes are evitable, set a reasonable date, employ multiple lines of communication, such as letters and emails, and allow them a direct line of communication to voice their concerns. The market is always changing and most customers are used to a reasonable amount of change. What we don’t want is to alienate our customers by changing things abruptly with no reasoning or accessible information. Many times changes such as this may present an opportunity to reach out and contact customers to notify them of changes. This is especially a good idea for the larger, more profitable customers. Talk to them and let them know what is going on and how maybe your changes may effective their personal situation. You may even have an opportunity to up sell or cross sell a different product that is more beneficial to all parties.