Lowering the price of the service often seems like a quick solution to sell more. In competitive markets, many companies resort to discounts, reduced monthly fees or proposals below the ideal value to attract customers, overcome objections and close contracts more easily. The strategy can work in specific situations, such as entering a new market or one-off trading, but it becomes dangerous when it becomes the rule. The problem appears when the company sells more, works more and still makes less profit.

For Robson V. Leite, agency mentor and digital strategist, pricing is one of the most sensitive decisions for service businesses, especially in digital companies, agencies and consultancies. When the price is set only to “beat the competitor”, without considering margin, delivery and positioning, growth can turn into overload.

Constant discounting can be more expensive than it seems

The discussion is not just commercial. The study “The Hidden Power Of Pricing”from McKinsey (a global reference consultancy in strategy and management), shows that an improvement of just 1% in the average price can generate an increase of 8.7% in the operating profitconsidering the stability in sales volume. The same reasoning works in the opposite direction: small, poorly calculated reductions can quickly erode profitability. The consultancy itself also points out that up to 30% of pricing decisions made by companies leave money on the table due to a lack of structure and analysis.

The data helps explain why the constant discount may be more expensive than it seems. In a service company, low prices rarely only affect revenue. It influences the type of customer that comes in, expectations about delivery, pressure on the team and the ability to invest in improvement. When an agency reduces values ​​to close contracts, but maintains the same level of service, meetings, production and monitoring, the account usually appears in the margin.

“A low price can even accelerate sales, but it can also attract misaligned customers, increase operational demand and reduce the perception of value. The company needs to understand whether it is selling cheaply due to strategy or commercial insecurity”, analyzes Robson V. Leite.

Strategic vision is essential

This strategic reading also involves the way the company structures its operations. According to Robson V. Leite, many agencies try solve margin problems just adjusting price, when part of the challenge is the lack of clarity about processes, tools and delivery capacity. Before hiring a new platform, expanding the team or offering a discount to close a deal, you need to understand whether that decision makes sense within the company’s real structure.

When working with mentees, the specialist states that this diagnosis is essential to avoid impulsive choices. “When we help an agency look at the operation, the objective is not to indicate tools based on trends or cut prices to sell faster. It is to understand which technology, process or adjustment makes sense within that structure, at that moment and for that type of challenge. This strategic vision makes all the difference”, he explains.

Customer stops comparing value and starts comparing only price

The difference between a healthy commercial action and a weak pricing policy is in the intention. A discount can make sense when there is criteria, a deadline, a clear objective and a calculated impact. The recurring reduction, used as the main selling argument, tends to educate the market to buy at a bargain. Over time, the customer stops comparing value and starts comparing only price.

This movement also affects positioning. Companies that always compete for the lowest price enter into a competition that is difficult to sustain, because there will always be someone willing to charge less. To escape this logic, it is necessary to make clear what is included in the delivery, which results are expectedwhich problem will be solved and why that solution has a specific value.

In the digital agency market, this point is even more relevant. Many services involve strategy, analysis, creation, service and ongoing monitoring. When all of this is sold as a cheap package, the company can end up stuck with contracts that require a lot and return little. The result is a cycle of overworked staff, dissatisfied customers and difficulty maintaining quality standards.

How to set prices without compromising profitability

According to the digital strategist, pricing well does not mean charging more without justification. It means understanding cost, margin, delivery capacity and perceived value. “The price needs to support the promise made to the customer. If the company charges too little to deliver well, at some point it will sacrifice profit, quality or team. None of these paths sustain growth for long”, he explains.

The solution is to treat price as a strategic decision, and not as an immediate reaction to market pressure. More mature companies analyze customer profileservice cost, team time, recurrence, expansion potential, necessary tools and margin before defining a proposal. This reading allows you to reject contracts that look good in terms of revenue, but compromise the health of the business.

Low prices can open doors, but they can also close paths. When the company depends on it to sell, it loses strength in negotiations and reduces its ability to build value. The challenge is to find a point where the offer is competitive for the customer and sustainable for the business. Without this balance, sales come in, but profits fall by the wayside.

By Eluan Carlos