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

乌特帕·M.多拉奇亚　刘妍/译

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 its 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.

很多企業，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.

許多广受欢迎的品牌，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 brands 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].”

“（品牌）会定期评估自身定价以确保客户、合作伙伴和市场三者需求的合理协调，并根据评估和反馈的结果做出调整。（产品的）年度价格将从（X美元）调整为（Y美元），自（具体日期）起生效。”

For years， the company has used the same cookie-cutter explanation to communicate price increases of different products it sells in markets around the world. At best， the brief explanation is baffling. At worst， it will alienate customers. Another problem with the message： using the third person instead of “we，” reinforcing the lack of empathy conveyed by the rest of the announcement.

多年来，该公司一直用相同的陈词向全球消费者传达其不同产品价格上涨的信息。最好的情况是，这则简短的公告只是引起困惑；最糟的是，会疏远消费者。它的另一个问题是：主语用的是第三人称而不是“我们”，这凸显出公告其余内容缺乏同理心。

Research shows that after the size of the price increase， the perceived fairness of the motive for it is the second-biggest driver of how customers react. The prospect of inflation， widespread shortages， rising input costs， and the return to normalcy after the pandemic are on everyones mind these days. Under such circumstances， when customers receive word that the brands price is increasing， it simply confirms what theyve been expecting. It is worth making the effort to craft a short and forthright explanation for why the brand is raising prices.

有研究表明，企业涨价动机的公平感是影响消费者做出反应的第二大因素，仅次于涨价幅度。当前人人都在考虑通货膨胀、普遍短缺、投入成本上升和疫情后恢复常态的前景。如此环境下，当消费者获得品牌价格上涨的信息时，也只是证实了他们一直以来的预期。所以，花些工夫针对品牌涨价的原因做一个简短又坦诚的解释很有必要。

Link the price increase to a customer-centric value narrative.

将价格上涨与以消费者为中心的价值叙事联系起来。

The most effective price increase communications are customer-centric. They provide a value narrative—a vivid and compelling story for why the price is being increased that focuses on customer value. As an example， when United Airlines raised prices of its United Club membership， the company provided this explanation：

與消费者沟通涨价事宜最有效的就是以消费者为中心进行沟通。这样的沟通会提供一种价值叙事——用一个生动又吸引人的故事来解释涨价原因，强调对消费者的重视。比如，美联航在抬高其贵宾室会员价格时做出了如下说明：

To provide a more productive and relaxing experience， were investing more than $100 million in renovating existing locations and building new spaces with expanded seating areas， more power outlets and upgraded Wi-Fi. Were also investing in a brand new complimentary food menu that you can now find at most of our hub locations across the U.S. and will be available soon at the rest of our locations.

为了提供更加高效、轻松的用户体验，我公司投资超过1亿美元翻新现有场所并建造新空间，用户将会拥有更大的座位区域、更多电源插头和升级的无线网络。我们还制定了一份全新的免费食单，各位现在可在全美大多数美联航贵宾中心享用到这些食品，其余的贵宾中心也会很快落实。

This explanation tells United Club members that prices are increasing to give them more benefits theyve been asking for. A compelling value narrative establishes the sequence of actions for the price increase. It starts with customer feedback， then leads to identifying unmet needs， followed by a significant investment by the brand， which results in new features， and finally culminates in the delivery of benefits that customers value.

这则公告向美联航贵宾室会员解释，涨价是为了给他们提供更多他们所一直要求的利益。一项令人信服的价值叙事可确立品牌为实现提价而采取的系列行动顺序：由获取消费者反馈开始，然后确认尚未满足的消费者需求，接着进行重大投资来打造新亮点，最后让消费者获得其看重的利益。

As the United Airlines communication illustrates， the value narrative is concise—only a few sentences long. But it provides a credible explanation for the price increase that resonates with core customers. Most importantly， it places the customer at the center of the price increase story， linking the price increase to substantial added customer value. A well-crafted value narrative conveys to customers that the brand has undertaken the effort to understand how its customers derive value and factored this knowledge into the pricing process.

正如美联航的公告所展示的，价值叙事贵在简洁——几句话足矣。但它可为品牌提价提供可信的理由，从而在核心客户群中产生共鸣。最重要的一点是，这个提价叙述要以消费者为中心展开，将涨价与大幅增加消费者价值关联起来。精心策划的价值叙事向消费者传达的信息是，品牌已全力以赴了解消费者如何获取价值，并将这一信息纳入定价过程。

A value narrative can be effective even when the price increase is predominantly due to an increase in input costs. In such cases， tell customers that the brand can only continue to provide the current level of benefits if it raises the price， and is choosing to do so rather than degrade the products quality is a powerful argument. It reinforces the brands values to the customer. Such a value narrative works in the same way as the renewal of wedding vows， as an opportunity to remind customers why they started the relationship with the brand in the first place.

即便價格上涨主要是基于投入成本增加的因素，价值叙事也依然能行之有效。在此情况下，告知消费者，品牌只有提高价格才能提供当前水准的各种福利，选择直言提价而非降低产品品质，才具有强大的说服力。它向消费者强化了品牌价值。这样的价值叙事与重温婚礼誓言有异曲同工之妙，企业可趁此机会提醒消费者最初缘何同该品牌牵手。

The crux is that managers should approach the unpleasant task of communicating a price increase to customers with the same degree of sincerity， attention to detail， and customer focus that they bring to other brand-building projects like introducing new features or extending product lines. Such effort will be rewarded with a price increase that sticks and customers that feel like valued partners of an authentic brand with their interests in mind.

关键在于，品牌经理在向消费者传递涨价这一令人不快的消息时，应该像对待其他品牌建设项目（诸如推介新功能或者拓展产品线）一样，付出同样的诚意、对细节的关注和顾客至上的努力。这样的努力换来的不仅是让涨价得到普遍接受，消费者还会觉得自己是一个可靠品牌有价值的合作伙伴，且己方利益得到了对方的重视。

（译者单位：对外经济贸易大学）