How Should We Discuss a Price Increase After an Overseas E-Cigarette Customer Has Paid a Deposit?

 Please ask: A customer returned the order and sold the transaction at last year's price. The customer has already paid the deposit for half a month. However, due to the change of supplier for carton packaging, the price is much higher, so we lose money. We asked many suppliers. According to the cheapest one, we also lose money.

  The previous supplier gave us cheaper prices because they often cooperated, but due to some things, they stopped making goods for us. Before the customer placed the order, we didn't know about this situation, and we had already told the customer last week that the packaging was taking samples. In fact, we were still negotiating the price with the supplier. Now my boss wants me to tell my customers about the price increase.   PS: The unit price of the product is not high. We all know the cost price ourselves. Taking into account the total cost of the product and packaging, it is indeed a loss. The customer is indeed our own responsibility, and we really should not let the customer bear it. What do you suggest I should do?   Alumni group 1 Lily Lee said:   You can recommend another packaging to the customer, say that the original packaging supplier is no longer making it, and then raise the price increase. Of course, the delivery date still needs to be coordinated.   If the customer does not accept the new packaging, he can discuss with the customer whether the company can provide bare metal to him. He will find a cooperative supplier to do the packaging. The company will refund the packaging money in the next order after it is clear.   If there is a need to increase the price, it is necessary to ask the supplier to issue a price increase statement and stamp it and sign it to prove that the price increase is caused by the market and not the company raising the selling price.   The general quotation period is valid for orders that have not received advance payment. In principle, the order has been signed and the contract has been concluded, and the company can no longer raise prices from customers.   Betty, a group of alumni, said:   First of all, I will predict based on my understanding of the customer whether he will respond greatly to the price increase. If you have a deep understanding of him, the price increase range is not large (within 3%), and you can accept the customer's prediction, then you will tell the customer the truth because the increase in raw material costs requires price increases.   Secondly, we need to look at the amount of the refund order and the loss caused. It is said that it is a refund order and should be an old customer, so go to the boss to apply if you can bear the loss. After confirming the responsibility, the customer will make it clear that you have lost money on this order. Based on long-term cooperation, you have borne the loss, but the next order will The price will rise.   Finally, if the delivery time is long and the material cost is unstable, the next quotation will have to increase at a floating rate, which will provide a redundancy to prevent the same problem from happening again.   Anna of Alumni Group 1 said:   Generally, if the period since the last order was placed is relatively long, such as more than half a year, the price should be re-checked. Salespeople need to be aware of this. Now that the customer has paid the deposit for half a month, and the product is approaching the final packaging and shipment stage. If you go to ask the customer to increase the price, the customer will definitely have a rebound mentality and think that you are not professional enough. If you are a high-quality old customer, doing so may alienate your relationship, which will outweigh the gain.   I personally think: First of all, what is the amount of this order? If it loses money, how much will it lose? What is the tax refund rate for the product? Whether you can use a tax refund to cover the loss of living. If possible, I think it's best not to discuss the price increase with the customer, but we can tell the customer the situation and let him know that you are doing this order at a loss, but based on the importance we attach to the customer, we are willing to bear the loss ourselves. Don't break your promise;   Secondly, if the loss is relatively large and the boss is not willing to bear all of it himself and insists that you go with the customer to increase the price. I think we can discuss with the boss first whether we can collect less from the customer for the loss, such as 50% for each party. Because you are also partly responsible for this situation. Maybe if you increase the price to your customer and the customer is also a middleman, his profits will be much less. He'll have ideas. Take a long-term view, and it is also very important to maintain old customers. Persuade the boss first, and then communicate with the customers;   Finally, if the boss insists that the customer bear the entire price increase, then you can make a cost breakdown form for the customer and use the data to speak. Letting him know that you have indeed lost money and raised the price as a last resort is not cheating him. At the same time, see if you can apply to send some accessories, gifts, etc. to guests. Let the customer know that you are also working hard to get discounts for them and feel better. As for whether to promise customers to give a certain discount on subsequent refund orders, I'm not sure, so you can consider it. Because subsequent refund orders will definitely increase in price, and if you give some discounts on top of the price increase, customers will not feel that they will benefit at all, and may go to other suppliers.   In fact, such problems arise because they were not thoughtful enough at the beginning and became relatively passive later. Generally, the contract needs to indicate the validity period of the quotation and the handling method for a relatively large short-term increase in exchange rates or raw materials, just in case.   Alumni Group 7 Kitty/Amy said:   Orders that have been received cannot be increased in disguise later. This is the reason why the factory's own cost control is not good. If you still want to continue to maintain this customer, you can explain the reason for this incident to the customer, but maintain the previous contract price this time. In the future, orders will be re-quoted, and participation will be time-sensitive. It will not be the same price last year, but will be executed unchanged this year.   Didn't you understand the situation before telling the customer about proofing? Don't you purchase or boss know about it before placing an order? Then I can only say that your process is a bit confusing. No one gave you feedback in advance on such an important matter. If it were me, there was no way to talk to the customer about this kind of thing. The company could only find a way to digest it and then inform the customer to sell favors.   Yoyo, a group of eight alumni, said:   The customer's deposit for this order has been paid, and it is not the customer's fault. You have to bear the responsibility yourself. There is no reason to ask the customer for money.   However, during the cooperation process, you can explain it to the customer that this order has increased due to the increase in the price of raw materials. However, our order has already been signed and we will not increase the price for you. However, we must explain it clearly to the customer how much the price will increase for the next order. And we must inform customers now that the raw materials have increased prices. If you tell a customer to increase the price when he is about to place the next order, he will not be prepared.   Alumni Group 9 San Francesco said:   My advice:   1. Send your previous price Breakdown to customers, of course, don't hit the profit too high;   2. Make a balance showing the loss and send it to the customer to show the fact;   3. Take advantage of the principle that price increases should be increased once and price reductions should be reduced slowly. For example, if you expect a price increase of 3% in your heart, you directly tell the customer that the price increase will be 10%(the price increase will be one-time). At this time, the customer will definitely bombard you and scold you. Please remember that any price increase customers will have the same reaction. At this time, the price increase of 1% and 10% is the same to the customer, and there is no difference. After customers bombard them indiscriminately, they will definitely bargain with you, reducing it to 5%, 3%, or even if the final 2%, ok, you will immediately stop and agree to the customer.   The purpose of our price increase is to get customers 'mental target value that are willing to accept the price increase. Once the customer's target value (2%, 3%) is reached, the effect of the price increase has been achieved, and it is time to stop. Another 2% and 3% are also good for you to recover your capital and strengthen your profits.   We need to remember:   1. In international trade, not only prices are lowered, but also prices are raised. Price raising skills are very important;   2. We must follow the principle that the price reduction should be reduced slowly, and the price increase should be increased in one time. It is enough to do something that makes customers collapse once;   3. The price we give our customers every transaction now is the highest price in the future, and the price will only get lower and lower;   4. Enterprises have no profits. No matter how many customers are, no matter how high-quality they are, they are useless. Only on the basis of ensuring a certain profit can we talk about serving customers well.   We have always been entangled in price and quality when doing foreign trade. It is like this every day, month, year after year. Price, price, price. It turns out that we have been an old customer for 5 or 10 years, and we have 5 or 10 years of experience., still on price. We can consider, as old customers who have been working with us for many years, is there anything else we can talk about besides price? Apart from price, what other advantages can we have to attract customers?   I never think that a customer who runs away because the price is a little higher is a high-quality customer. Is it because we don't understand the bottom-level needs of our customers at all? Is the relationship not established well? If it's really because the price is higher than others and you leave, then just leave. There's no pity.   All in all, our current trade must think from the perspective of buyers. We must understand the customer's purchasing standards, what standards customers like to cooperate with you, in addition to good price and good quality, there may also be the perfect management of your factory, the factory's hardware equipment, concepts and values, etc. The customer's procurement standards are a series of projects. Just a price alone makes it difficult for most customers to change the entire procurement standards to replace the supplier. So, whether you stand from the perspective of a buyer and understand the customer's purchasing standards clearly enough?   Anne of Alumni Group 9 said:   The customer has paid a deposit, and to a large extent, the customer is definitely not willing to give extra money. If you lose more or less, you have to explain the situation to the customer (why do you do this? If the customer is unwilling to increase the price in the end, you are helping him suffer losses).   Tell customers that the price has increased a lot this year due to raw materials and exchange rate issues. Last year's price is difficult to maintain. You can print two different quality samples (the cheapest packaging you found and the packaging you ordered last year) to give customers a choice. Tell customers which choice can keep the original price and which one wants to increase the price, depending on the customer's final choice. If the final customer is still unwilling to increase the price, you have to inform him in advance that the price for the next order cannot be maintained.   I think there are two aspects to your boss asking you to tell customers about price increases: 1. See if the price can really be increased; 2. If the price cannot be increased, let the customer know that your company is helping him suffer losses.   Regarding not just focusing on prices, there is a problem. Customers will compare prices in the same industry. There will be more one-time price increases, and customers may run away next time. I think why the customer places a deposit so quickly is because he probably knows the market price. Comparing their products and prices, he feels that the quality of their house is ok and the price is the cheapest. That's why I made a deposit because I was afraid of raising the price later.   Next to the PRICE issue, in addition to PRICE, there are of course quality, after-sales service and trust. It depends on how long you have been working with the customer. After working together for a long time, I feel that I can better discuss price increases with my customers. If it is only the second year, we still have to stabilize first. In the current situation of oversupply from suppliers, it is still very difficult to find a customer who trusts you and is willing to place an order.   Alumni Group 9 Joseph said:   The customer should confirm the price with the seller before paying the deposit. The seller agreed to the customer without confirming the market conditions, which led to the customer paying the deposit. The seller should bear the responsibility.   Now that prices are rising, we need to inform customers why the price has increased (such as exchange rate, national policies, raw material prices), and send them to customers in the form of screenshots and text descriptions to ensure that they are reasonable and well-founded. In addition, if the factory replaces new equipment, it can take pictures to customers to inform customers that the new equipment can better ensure product quality (specific performance and parameters), which is also a reason for the price increase.   Berry of Alumni Group 9 said:   If the price drops, will it also reduce the price for the customer? Whether it is foreign trade or domestic sales, there are risks. As san francesco said, why are we all obsessed with price?   You should consider it carefully when taking this order. Cost issues and risk issues are not only the price increase of materials and product costs, but also the risk of exchange rate adjustments. Every time you face risks, you should ask customers to accept the price increase? This kind of thing is unfair to customers. If the factory has any channels to reduce costs or reduce material costs, will it proactively contact customers to reduce prices? I don't think it will happen many times.   While enjoying profits, factories should also consider taking on losses. I don't recommend asking customers to raise prices, but I can express one message to customers. Our factory is honest. Even if the materials rise and the exchange rate changes, we still abide by the contract and will not change the price at will.   This is the case with our company. After receiving orders last year, raw materials increased by hundreds of tons. We sell it by the ton. Even if we calculate 20 tons per cabinet, we will still lose tens of thousands of dollars. But we did not ask the customer to bear this, and still delivered the goods at the contract price.   Of course, this is if the order has already been received. During the quotation stage, our price is not fixed and time-sensitive. How long will the quotation be valid? It does not mean that every refund order is based on the previous price or the material price at the time. Moreover, there is a gap between the time of conversation and the time of receiving the deposit. Many times, when the deposit is received, the price has already increased and the competition is fierce.   Regarding today's topic, no matter what the reason is, we cannot blindly consider asking customers to raise prices. We can also talk from another angle and ask customers to accept the price adjustment, but when the materials are lowered in the future, we can also promise to reduce the price to customers.   Last year or the year before last, the prices of materials increased a lot. We tried to adjust the price for customers once, but if the customer refused to accept mediation, we decided not to do it. As a result, everyone broke up on unhappy terms. They were old customers for several years. Later, considering the long-term cooperation, we continued to fulfill the contract. Now the customer has been cooperating. Even if the material price is adjusted after we receive the order, the customer will not ask us to reduce the price.   It's not that our products are special cases. In fact, many of the product cost issues you talk about are due to the increase in raw materials or the temporary failure of suppliers to do anything. Our products are also greatly affected by raw materials. It is impossible to raise prices for customers all.   Zhang, a group of 9 alumni, said:   It cannot be limited to an endless cycle. I think the European market is doing a good job. For example, my customers, supposedly the European market economy started earlier than us, so they will be limited to this situation. In fact, the European market is naturally orderly and its profit margins are not lower than ours. If you think more deeply, I think they have done relatively well in these points: 1) There will be no vicious competition; 2) The market is orderly; 3) Also the most critical thing is that each of their manufacturers or distributors is thinking about making products different from their peers, innovating products, accelerating updates, increasing added value, improving competitiveness, and highlighting their own advantages.   For example, if a colleague makes 40 grams, I will customize 45 grams, if a colleague makes carton packaging, I will make wooden box packaging, etc. Although the cost has increased, the profit margin has also increased accordingly. At present, the thinking of most domestic colleagues is that if you add 30% recycled materials, I will add 35% recycled materials to reduce costs and win orders. This is why so many sales talk about the high prices of customers 'leisure time and the lowest prices of our peers. In fact, we are pushing ourselves step by step towards desperate situations.…… Therefore, while everyone only reduces quality and prices to win orders, they are also digging a hole for themselves. Overall, what I mean is to look at the long term, innovate thinking, innovate products, and make more changes, even if it is only more than peers. So little added value.   Alumni Group 9 Tany said:   This situation also depends on the type of customer you have worked with for a long time, if you tell the customer the truth, the customer will agree to modify the price for you. If you only focus on the price and the customers you place the order, it will be more difficult to raise the price. You can only make this order at a loss for him. Either we modify the production plan and ask the customer if they agree.   This time, the factory made a mistake on the specifications of one product. The contract was signed and the deposit was given. When arranging production, the factory said that the specifications were wrong and the price had to be adjusted. We adjusted it by almost 10%. We calculated and added tax rebates. We still made a profit. We didn't talk to the customer about the price increase. We could only tell him how much the price would be for this product according to the specifications you wanted, so that they could know. Next order, the price will be increased.   Alumni Group 12 Angel Xiaolian/Utopia Sunflower said:   You can increase less to maintain long-term cooperation with your customers, if the customer's potential is good. Or see if there are alternative relatively cheap packaging that can be used this time, of course, if you have to first look at the price level of your peers at the moment.   In fact, many times the customer doesn't understand it. He thinks that your quotation has been calculated. Even if you lose money, it is caused by your own mistakes. It has nothing to do with him. If the customer is worth long-term maintenance, the loss this time does not matter. Next time, we will cooperate more. A little more and make up for it, but you need to talk to the customer and let him understand, otherwise he will think that you make a lot.   Ford, a group of 13 alumni, said:   You can tell your customers about the price increase in materials, saying that if the cost is high, the company will lose money based on the previous order price, and negotiate with the customers whether the price can be increased. Alternatively, you can tell your customers that if the purchase price is not adjusted, the materials used in the product will be reduced, but this is definitely something that the customers are unwilling to accept. Conduct psychological warfare with the customers to see how the customers react.   If you disagree with the price adjustment, the order may be cancelled. If you want to compensate the customer for the loss, it depends on how much the compensation will be paid, and compare it with the increased cost after the material price increase. whichever is more cost-effective, the company will choose the plan.   The worst plan is to refund the deposit, not make the order, not compensate, and you will lose the customer.   Alumni Group 13 Stone said:   When dealing with cost increases, there are differences between profit size (ability to resist decline) and customer importance (model customers, entering the target market or entering the customer's supplier list). Specific countermeasures are different.   Based on what you said about low cost and the customer's cooperation several times, my approach is to give the customer a plan and current price as it is, and then give a customer a good packaging around this price. Combined with the rising costs, we asked the customer if they could accept the second packaging. If not, we will still ship the goods as usual at the original price.   Customers are advised to quote to their customers at the current price when quoting in the future. Core values: Give customers two choices and choose their own questions. In addition, this is your own problem. Don't push it to the customer after something goes wrong, or you will lose the good relationship established by previous cooperation.   Because I have worked with many customers, my philosophy is that I will bear the responsibility for the mistakes I make on my side. Put yourself in your shoes and think about the kind of supplier you want to cooperate with.   Don't be afraid of problems. Solving problems is also a good opportunity for crisis marketing. Think about whether you have a better impression of maintaining the price after the price increase when you buy something or if you have other behaviors.   David, a group of 14 alumni, said:   Since it is a refund order, it must be an old customer. I will explain the specific situation to the customer and ask for the customer's understanding. My customer will usually add some accordingly. But if the customer doesn't agree and I will do it for him if the loss is not much. At the same time, I will tell him that I am doing it for you at a loss this time, and I must let him know that we are losing money. There will be refund orders in the future, so you can slowly earn them back. It is recommended to confirm the price with the supplier before receiving orders in the future, especially for refund orders with an interval of more than half a year.   Share two of my own stories with you:   Story 1: The customer has placed a small order for supporting products. I purchased it from domestic Alibaba without a deposit. Before shipping, the customer said that the price of the same product he found from international Alibaba was much lower than mine, and asked me to reduce the price, otherwise I don't want it. I just said directly, don't ask for it. I don't do business with people like you. I only lost a little this time. I'm afraid I'll die if I have big orders in the future. Later, the customer asked me and I refused to do it for him. People without integrity cannot do business, and we dare not make this money.   Story 2: Another new customer told me a week after receiving the test order, the packaging was seriously damaged, nearly half of it, and it should be a problem with the express delivery. However, he did not open the box and inspect the goods in person, so he failed to seek compensation from the express delivery. I repurchased the products, and I paid the freight to the customer and sent them to it. Now this customer has more and more orders, and it should be slowly transferring the previous orders to me. One would rather lose money than give it to him, and the other would do it at a loss and he gave me all the orders.   Bruce Lee of Alumni Group 14 said:   Generally speaking, once the contract is signed, the deposit is paid. The rest is the supplier's problem. The problem now is like the sharp appreciation of the RMB some time ago. You have received the deposit. Are you going to tell your customer: The RMB has appreciated too much. We have not settled the foreign exchange yet. This price cannot be made now. I will quote you according to the new exchange rate, and you will pay me again? The same is true now. However, for most China suppliers, doing business is still more human. A contract is just a formality. Therefore, most people will still ask customers for price increases.   My suggestion is to calculate the cost first, and if the loss is not much, just do it directly. Just like lowering the price of raw materials, will you tell the customer and then reduce the price for him? You will only be secretly happy because you make more money. If the loss is too big, just tell the customer. If there is no problem with the customer, there is nothing to say. Again, if a business wants to last for a long time, grow bigger, create a brand, and create a market, it relies on integrity. Today, you feel that the customer has agreed to your price increase and you feel that you have passed the hurdle. Tomorrow, there will be a good supplier who will immediately pass you away.   Have you ever thought about how you would ask him to change if the customer is a middleman, trader, or importer and he signed a contract with his customer? What does foreign contracts mean? Who will make up for the customer's losses?   Moreover, I suggest not to mention to the customer at all that raw materials have increased and you have lost money. The customer will not think that you have suffered a loss for him, but will only think that there is a problem with this supplier's cost accounting. Ask me, which customer would be willing to cooperate with such a supplier? Will this kind of problem arise in the future? Next time, will you have to ask me for money?   Jack of Alumni Group 14 said:   First of all, you have already received the order, signed the contract, and received the deposit, which means that everything has come into effect, and your reputation abroad is greater than everything else, especially for European customers. A customer of mine usually tells me the quantity on WeChat or Skype when placing an order. Once what he says is related to the order, he never makes any changes. So don't use this domestic thinking to say a few words to raise prices;   This problem is not an unforeseen natural factor, it is entirely caused by your own reasons. What's more, you told the customer that you were making samples. We can tell the customer the actual situation and what price we have paid for this order, but this order must be carried out under the previous contract.   Felix, a group of 14 alumni, said:   Leon, a group of 14 alumni, said:   This is a very common case for a customer to increase the price after placing an order.   First, the factory evaluates whether the loss can be affordable. After all, it is an era of small profits. If it is a large order with huge losses, who will be willing to do it if the factory closes down? If the loss is not large, the factory can bear it. The priority is to bear the loss itself, serve the customers well first, flow slowly, and make money back on future orders.   Since I am an old customer, I think there is still room for communication. Make the actual situation clear to the customer. Many uncontrollable factors such as rising prices of raw materials and exchange rate changes lead to increased costs and the need to increase prices. Many times, customers can understand it. If he often purchases things from here and finds that other things have increased in price, if you don't increase the price, he may think how profitable your products are. Therefore, making it clear will also be conducive to future cooperation. There is still a chance to raise the price with customers. If you don't say anything, you will really suffer a loss.   To sum up, it is nothing more than maintaining good communication with customers at all times. Generally, if there is any change in product prices, the customer should be informed as soon as possible so that he can understand.   Jessie, a group of 15 alumni, said:   This kind of problem is very common, especially now that the exchange rate is low, so many things are lost.   Option 1: Confirm how many customers deposit in total per year? At the same time, confirm whether the number of color boxes can be provided, so that the price on the supplier's side can be the same as the previous price? Where are the guests? It is easy for ordinary European guests to understand.   Option 2: Tell the customer that the price of all raw materials in China has increased, so you are losing money when making this order. Most customers can understand, because he is definitely not the only one who mentioned the price increase. This is very common. Ask him if he can help raise the price, list the cost situation in detail, and give him a clear excel sheet. Your email should be written very difficult, and you should also write that you have used many methods to solve the problem, but there is no way out, so I had to come to him as a last resort.# p#pagination title #e#