Does anybody use flat pricing for their vehicle wraps?

[WhatsYourSign?]

The quoting process for wraps is frustrating for potential customers, having to calculate wrap coverage before being given a quote.

I think using flat pricing could alleviate some of this. Just setup prices for lettering vs partials vs fulls.

We'll come out behind on some jobs but willw come out ahead on others and it will provide a better experience for both customers and our team.


Has anybody ever done this before? What pricing did you use?

 

[Ra33it]

The places I've worked for usually had a min amount they would charge on all wraps and then adjust the pricing based on what the client wanted from there. I would say the average price, in my area, is around $2600 for a wrap job. I think having flat rates is a good idea, same as when shops have a shop minimum.

 

[Gino]

Unless you are doing quite a few wraps a week, that sounds like a recipe for disaster kinda pricing method. Maybe mags or two pickup doors, but not wraps.

 

[WhatsYourSign?]

Unless you are doing quite a few wraps a week, that sounds like a recipe for disaster kinda pricing method. Maybe mags or two pickup doors, but not wraps.

Why do you think it'd be a disaster?

We could set prices for cars, cans, and trucks separately without having to worry about the difference in Square feet between say a Prius and a Focus.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I like the idea. I've tried to do flat pricing in most all my products to make it easier on me to immediately give a client a quote, followed by a request for deposit. I went as far as putting most of my prices online for customers to see and I love it when they call and just "order" something because they did their homework on my site first.

 

[Gino]

Why do you think it'd be a dis
aster?

We could set prices for cars, cans, and trucks separately without having to worry about the difference in Square feet between say a Prius and a Focus.

Kinda like I already said, unless you're doing 3, 4 or 5 a week, what would happen if you had 5 vehicles in a row over a month's period that came up short ?? It's never a good plan to rob Peter to pay Paul. Hence, the recipe for disaster.

Sure, once you know what youre doing, you could almost shoot from the hip and tell them, that vehicle will proably be for between $×× & $××.

If someone came to resurface my driveway and didn't take measurements, pitch and whatever else is involved, I'd think they're just making it up, based on what they think I can afford, instead of having a real plan in practice.

Afterall, there is a certain amount of work and time involved with quoting and/or making signs that cost more than $250.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I disagree with Gino. Having a flat price you can quote quickly makes it sound like your NOT just making something up, and that it's standard, non-negotiable and fair because everyone gets that price. If you do 5 wraps and fall short on all of them, I would think most logical people would increase the price.

I feel some of y'all are so afraid to loose out on a nickel that it hampers you mind to be concerned about the dollars. Not to say your method is wrong Gino, I just prefer the other way. If everyone did my method, I'd not have that particular competitive advantage.

 

[AKwrapguy]

The quoting process for wraps is frustrating for potential customers, having to calculate wrap coverage before being given a quote.

I think using flat pricing could alleviate some of this. Just setup prices for lettering vs partials vs fulls.

We'll come out behind on some jobs but willw come out ahead on others and it will provide a better experience for both customers and our team.


Has anybody ever done this before? What pricing did you use?

We use flat pricing in the way that material cost this much, design time cost this much, and that our install time is this much.
You can come up with basic estimates for material and time for full wrap, half wrap and partial wrap and have it on display for the customs on the most popular vehicles. But no if someone walk in with a Chevy van we don't price it the same as if someone walked in with a Chevy pick up. I don't think that's fair to the customer or the business. It also shouldn't be that hard to quote that out.

Not wanting to sound like an asshole but you might be doing this wrong. Maybe you need to look at your process of how your doing it.
It sounds like you're giving your customers a quote before you know anything about the job.

This is often the biggest issue I have with many of the sales people I've worked with. Most of the time the first thing you ask your client is what their budget is. Than you work with that. If they only have $2000 to work with that whats the point of figuring out what the cost of a full wrap is. While I understand the need to simplify and streamline processes and I totally agree with that, but if it takes you an extra 10-15 minutes to do it right, shouldn't you?

 

[WhatsYourSign?]

We use flat pricing in the way that material cost this much, design time cost this much, and that our install time is this much.
You can come up with basic estimates for material and time for full wrap, half wrap and partial wrap and have it on display for the customs on the most popular vehicles. But no if someone walk in with a Chevy van we don't price it the same as if someone walked in with a Chevy pick up. I don't think that's fair to the customer or the business. It also shouldn't be that hard to quote that out.

Not wanting to sound like an ******* but you might be doing this wrong. Maybe you need to look at your process of how your doing it.
It sounds like you're giving your customers a quote before you know anything about the job.

This is often the biggest issue I have with many of the sales people I've worked with. Most of the time the first thing you ask your client is what their budget is. Than you work with that. If they only have $2000 to work with that whats the point of figuring out what the cost of a full wrap is. While I understand the need to simplify and streamline processes and I totally agree with that, but if it takes you an extra 10-15 minutes to do it right, shouldn't you?

I understand the points you're making but the difference is that I'm looking at things from the perspective of what creates the best customer experience and you're looking at it from a numbers perspective.

The focus for us in all areas of our business is providing the best possible customer experience that creates loyalty and keeps people coming back to us. That's worth more to us than making a slightly higher margin per job.

Take 30 minutes sometime and call 10 or so places to get quotes on vehicle wraps. The majority will tell you they'll have to call you back with a price and others will say you'll need to bring your vehicle in for measurements before they can give you a quote.

If somebody is price shopping, do you think they'll drive to 3-4 locations to get all the quotes or do you think bring the shop that made pricing easy at an advantage?

I understand the challenges that come with what I'm proposing but I'm confident this is a scalable and profitable business model that will simplify the sales process and improve the customer experience at the same time.


If anybody has gone this route that would be willing to share your prices, it's be greatly appreciated!

 

[AKwrapguy]

I understand the points you're making but the difference is that I'm looking at things from the perspective of what creates the best customer experience and you're looking at it from a numbers perspective.

The focus for us in all areas of our business is providing the best possible customer experience that creates loyalty and keeps people coming back to us. That's worth more to us than making a slightly higher margin per job.

Take 30 minutes sometime and call 10 or so places to get quotes on vehicle wraps. The majority will tell you they'll have to call you back with a price and others will say you'll need to bring your vehicle in for measurements before they can give you a quote.

If somebody is price shopping, do you think they'll drive to 3-4 locations to get all the quotes or do you think bring the shop that made pricing easy at an advantage?

I understand the challenges that come with what I'm proposing but I'm confident this is a scalable and profitable business model that will simplify the sales process and improve the customer experience at the same time.


If anybody has gone this route that would be willing to share your prices, it's be greatly appreciated!

Your incorrect in where I'm coming from. I believe that relationships with the customer makes all the difference, and it's these relationships that will keep them coming back even if someone can do it a little cheaper. So no I'm not coming from a numbers perspective.

Again I think that you might be either overthinking the process or missing a step.

If a customer calls up up and ask for an estimate on a wrap, you they don't need to bring the vehicle down there. You should be able to get the year, make, model and color, get the template of the vehicle and now you have all the measurements.

You ask them what their budget is and what their looking for. This is where you start building a relationship with them. Ask them some questions, about their business and what the purpose of the design or warp is if they know what their demographics are etc. Ask them questions spend a few minutes with them.

Once you have that info you can throw together a proof to send to them with in a few days with an estimate. There is little to no effort on the client, you took the time t listen to them and ask questions and deliverd a proof/estimate within their budget and in a timely manner. They didn't have to do anything except talk on the phone and deal with some e-mails.

Worst case scenario on some custom vehicle you might have to go out there yourself and take a few pics and measurements yourself.

 

[ikarasu]

I don't know. Would you want to wrap a Lamborghini for the same price as a Camry?

Every car is different. Different curves, different techniques needed.... Some will take a day, some can take 4 days .

Some.will come.in with a ton of chips that need to be filled and primed... Some will be pristine.

I'd stick to.giving an estimate/ base price .you can average the sqft of cars, trucks, vans, etc and give a price on material, then tell them labour will be between xx and xx depending on the vehicles condition and difficulty.

Most people who've called into us think a full wrap is going to be $1000. The ones.who realize it's going to be $2-3000 know it's going.to cost that much, and don't mind waiting 10 minutes for a call back and an accurate quote.

We have a shop that advertises wraps for $500 and up. Of course the and up is in small text... One day I decided to email them for a quote on my suv, and it of.course came nack a more reasonable $3000ish range. I asked what $500 would get me... And he said maybe a hood wrap. Maybe advertising so low gets him a ton of calls and upselling them gets him more clients than he otherwise would normally be getting, I don't know.

So maybe a set price will get you.more clients... Maybe it'll stop all the tire kickers wanting a wrap for $1000 and not realizing the true price... I personally think it'd cost you more than you'd earn... But you could always give it a trial

For one month only, flat rate vehicles wraps! Xxx per car, xxx per truck, xxx per subject on all standard films!


Then your only.commiting for one month, it might bring more people in because it's a "special", and you can cancel it if you're not getting the results youd like.

 

[AKwrapguy]

Most people who've called into us think a full wrap is going to be $1000. The ones.who realize it's going to be $2-3000 know it's going.to cost that much, and don't mind waiting 10 minutes for a call back and an accurate quote.

Most wraps up here start around $4000.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

The focus for us in all areas of our business is providing the best possible customer experience that creates loyalty and keeps people coming back to us. That's worth more to us than making a slightly higher margin per job.

Bingo, 100% with that line of thinking. It's this line of thinking that shakes an industry up and gives you that competitive advantage. You want to make the process of someone with $$ wanting a product as EASY as possible to purchase that product. The more obstacles they have to go through to buy a product, the less happy they will be, and more likely will be to abandon you.

When I started, I took all the problem areas I experienced working at another sign shop and figured out ways to eliminate them.

• Having flat pricing that I could easily and quickly quote over the phone. Having that pricing ONLINE and available for the customer to make the decision on their own without calling me to discuss options.
• Being able to take deposits / payments online or during that phone call
• Resolving ANY problem with an order as fast and easily as humanly possible, regardless of who's at fault and if it costs me money.
• Unforeseen extra work? I don't charge extra for it, I go above and beyond my job and do it with a smile (even if I am annoyed).
• Fast turn-around and NEVER miss a completion deadline.
• Communicate via the method the customer prefers... e-mail, text, phone or in person. Most like email, many are now prefering Text and I will text invoices and design proofs!

With Google, we can... on the first phone call, get a view of their building, MEASURE their building (and sign) with amazing accuracy, give them a quote and be available to take deposit during that first phone call. You wouldn't elieve how impressed clients are with that after calling around and hearing.."well maybe we can get out there this week"

 

[Jester1167]

Flat pricing doesn't make a lot of sense to me either. ikarasu posted good reasons above. My philosophy is to tell the client a range for a known vehicle like a Ford van and explain how their vehicle compares. Basically all your trying to do is get rid of the tire kickers and find clients who are really interested. During this discussion you need to be able to read the client. I can't tell you how many times I have given a price for a full wrap and sensed that the client was stunned. That is when you know they were talking about cut lettering. Somehow the word wraps has become synonymous with graphics.So, as you can see you need to be ready to pivot to a partial wrap or cut vinyl as you read your customer.

You don't have to close the sale and get a deposit right then and there with real customers. Take the time to get them a serious quote based on the difficulty of their vehicle and project. If you want to quote flat square foot pricing, there are apps for your phone that can do that in seconds - The Wrap App.

I never include design in the the wrap quote. That is always a separate process and based on their ability to communicate what they want and possible provided you with images and logos. "design is like a cab ride, if you know where your going we can get there quickly. If you don't, we will be driving around looking for the location, and the meter will be running the whole time." If you have been in the business for awhile you've experienced the client, who you thought was the decision maker who loves the design but has to run it by "wife, partner, committee" and then the revision from hell begin. I'm not giving my time away. Each part of the process needs to be accounted for and profitable; design, production, and installation. In reality production is the only processes that lends itself to square foot pricing.

 

[equippaint]

I dont think its a bad idea at all. You dont have to flat rate everything either, maybe stick with the more common commercial vehicles. It would save a bunch of time too.
We flat rate paint jobs on standard construction equipment. I dont have enough time to run all over the place surveying machines and writing up quotes. Its $x and includes xyz, Additional work, cleaning etc is billed t&m but we have to have the machine at our yard to know.
If you flatrate you can close the sale before the customer calls for another price. Its fast and simple to say the price plus design fee by the hour and get a commitment in the same call. Get 20% down and tell then youll have a mockup inba few days or whatever.
Saying wraps starting at $500 is a good way to have every ahole waste your time and piss off everyone else when you give them the real price.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I think when some of you hear "flat rate" you think ALL wraps are X dollars. That's not what I'm talking about. Commercial vans, are X... 15' Box trucks X ... Sedan Full wrap X, Sedan half wrap X, Van/SUV is X...

Develop some simple categories and price them out. I ALWAYS separate design time and tell them is X$ /per hour that will be added to finial cost at pickup.

 

[WhatsYourSign?]

I think when some of you hear "flat rate" you think ALL wraps are X dollars. That's not what I'm talking about. Commercial vans, are X... 15' Box trucks X ... Sedan Full wrap X, Sedan half wrap X, Van/SUV is X...

Develop some simple categories and price them out. I ALWAYS separate design time and tell them is X$ /per hour that will be added to finial cost at pickup.

Exactly - that's what we've done is setup flat rates based on the type of vehicle.

We've setup rates for:

• Lettering
• Lettering + Printed Graphics
• Partial Wrap
• Full Wrap

Cars, vans, and trucks each have their own rates.

We haven't published our prices online (yet) so our competition doesn't easily undercut us by a few bucks but we probably will at some point as you suggested.


I'm new to the industry. I owned a digital marketing company and within the past few months purchased a sign shop so I'm still learning a lot. However, the biggest thing I'm trying to do is completely revamp all of our processes to provide the bet possible customer experience. Looking around at our competition, none of them approach things in this way and I know that's something that will pay for itself in due time.

I've never been a big fan of the status quo or doing things a certain ways just because that's the way they've always been done. I'm much more interested in finding ways we can make improvements that will help us differentiate ourselves from our competition.


I wasn't expecting this to be a controversial post but it's been great to read the different perspectives!

 

[player]

Make money on every job. EVERY JOB. If you are not making money, don't do the work. Why would you? So it's easier to quote? Easier to go out of business.

 

[WhatsYourSign?]

Make money on every job. EVERY JOB. If you are not making money, don't do the work. Why would you? So it's easier to quote? Easier to go out of business.

I never suggested we'd lose money on any jobs. Yeah, maybe on one job we may make ($x - $100) but on others we'll make ($x + $100) where $x = our target margin on jobs.

Are you pricing your wraps such that if you make $100 less on a job, you're losing money? We're not.

 

[unclebun]

We don't flat rate wraps, but when people ask we do give ballpark prices for the various types...partial car, full car, partial truck, full truck, partial van, full van, etc., with the proviso that we are only giving them rough estimates so they can have an idea. Probably 90% of the people who ask then back off from the idea of getting one when they find out how much they are. Most of them have the idea that it will only be a couple of hundred dollars. That's also where we find out that the idiots have destroyed customer intelligence, and most times when people ask how much wraps are they really didn't want a wrap at all, but instead just wanted their business name put on the door or window. But we have so many people who've entered the industry lately that only print everything, and call everything wraps, that this is what the customers think all signs are called.