Should Therapists Publish their Prices?

One of the most common questions in marketing a practice is should therapists publish their prices on their website. Clients naturally ask about price, but when you’re offering a service like hypnotherapy, pricing isn’t just about cost. It’s also about value. So should you publish your prices, or not?

Should You Put Therapy Prices on Your Website?

Let’s start with the obvious. Along with ‘Will it work?’, most potential therapy client understandably want to know what your fees are. Many of them have not seen a therapist before, and have no clue whether your prices are nearer £5 or £5,000.

A lot of businesses consider it essential to put their prices online and when you’re selling a product like shoes or tins of peas, this seems very sensible. Imagine buying from a site like Amazon or eBay if they removed their prices.

But when you’re selling a service, like therapy, it’s not just about cost, it’s about value as well. You might feel that publishing your therapy prices doesn’t allow you to demonstrate that value. So how do we resolve the question posed in this article?

Reasons Not to Publish Your Prices

• Other local therapists (i.e. your competition) might see them and decide to undercut you.
• ‘Sticker shock’: the client may see the price and decide it’s too expensive without considering value, and the impact that seeing you will have on their lives.
• Your prices might vary depending on what the client needs.
• It encourages ‘value conversations’. People who are interested in what you offer will call, and you can help them see the benefits they’ll gain, before telling them the cost in pounds.

Reasons to Publish Your Prices

• You might prefer to let clients who are primarily price-oriented go elsewhere.
• It reassures clients who might assume you are more expensive than you are.
• It gives transparency and allows potential clients to make informed choices.
• Publishing prices tends to reduce the number of enquiries you get, leading to a reduction in the time you spend on the phone or answering emails.
• There are also SEO (search engine optimisation) benefits. For example, people often search for “hypnotherapy prices” or “cost of therapy”, and pages that include this information are more likely to appear in results. If you’re the only one in your area who doesn’t include prices, searchers may not see you at all.

How to Decide Whether to Publish Your Prices

As you can see, there isn’t a single right answer when it comes to therapy prices on your website. In the end, the choice is yours, but remember that many of your clients have a finite amount of income. However well they understand the value of what you are offering, your price is likely to be a consideration.

It works with some, but therapy is seen by many people as a luxury item rather than a necessity. These clients are making a choice between spending the money on you, and on something else that they need or value.

Just a personal aside here. I have never really gone along with that idea that says, ‘If you make them want it enough, they’ll find the money’. It really annoys me if I email someone enquiring about prices, and get back a blurb about how wonderful their staff or services are, or inviting me to phone them, with no price included. This is sensible enough with a fitted kitchen, as they can vary a great deal. But with something more predictable, like therapy, I’d expect at least a rough guide.

When You Should Put Your Prices on Your Website

Seriously, you probably should publish therapy prices if:

• You have plenty of clients and would prefer to spend more time seeing them and less on answering queries.
• You have a website which is crammed with information that makes the value of your service obvious.
• Your services are well-defined and contained; for example, you have a set price per session or package.
• You feel awkward or defensive when discussing price with clients in person, e.g. on the phone or by email.

When It Might Be Better Not to Put Prices on Your Website

Take your therapy prices off your website if:

• You would like more clients, and want to encourage people to call you.
• You are a good sales-person and enjoy talking to people about the value of your services.
• You have a high conversion rate from calls.
• Your prices vary depending on what or who you are working with. (Though you could include a guide, perhaps with anonymised case studies illustrating the top and bottom of your range).

Of course, you can always change things around and see what works for you. Put your prices on the website when you’re too busy to deal with a lot of enquiries, and take them off when you want to encourage contact.

Ultimately, whether (or when) you publish your therapy prices comes down to how you want to position your practice, and how you prefer to work with clients. There’s no single right answer, but now you can make a decision based on how you prefer to work.

Disclaimer
The information and ideas shared on this blog are based on the author’s professional experience, research, and training. They are intended for educational purposes and to support reflection and professional development. Therapists should always apply their own professional judgment and consider the needs of individual clients when using any techniques or suggestions discussed here.
While every effort is made to ensure the information is accurate and helpful, no responsibility can be accepted for any loss, damage, or difficulties arising from the use or misuse of material contained in these articles.