Good, Better, Best Pricing: A Guide for Service Businesses
When it comes to service business pricing, striking a balance between turning a profit and winning the job is a challenge. After all, your customer has a budget to work with and you have bills to pay.
That’s where good, better, best pricing comes in. It’s a pricing model you can use to set fair prices for your services while letting your customers select the option that best suits their needs (or finances). But for it to be successful, you have to approach it strategically.
Use these tips and tactics to implement good, better, best pricing to serve more customers, meet your profit margins on every job, and grow your business.
What is good, better, best pricing?
Good, better, best (or ‘g b b’) pricing is a tiered pricing model that offers potential customers three levels of services to choose from.
Unlike fixed pricing, where each customer receives the same service for the same price, each tier is priced incrementally higher than the last and offers a higher perceived value.
Think bronze, silver, and gold service packages.
It’s sometimes called ‘Goldilocks pricing’ because it helps potential customers choose the level of service that’s “just right” for them.
Good, better, best pricing examples
The good, better, best approach works well for services you can easily package together, like house cleaning, car detailing, or lawn care.
Here are some examples of good, better, best pricing in action to give you an idea of how it’s structured.
Lawn care tiered pricing example
A lawn care company could implement good, better, best pricing as follows:
- Good (basic): Weekly lawn mowing, trimming, and grass clipping clean up.
- Better (standard): Weekly lawn mowing, trimming, grass clipping clean up, plus monthly weed control and fertilizer applications.
- Best (premium): Weekly mowing and trimming, monthly weed control and fertilizer, plus seasonal aeration, seeding, mulch, and flower bed maintenance.
House cleaning tiered pricing example
A house cleaning business might offer good, better, best pricing like so:
- Good (low option): Vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms, inside windows, and kitchen surfaces.
- Better (middle option): Everything from the low option plus stove top and microwave cleaning, bathroom tile and grout scrubbing, and changing bedding.
- Best (premium option): Everything from the first two options as well as cleaning the fridge and oven interior, baseboards, cabinets, and vacuuming upholstered furniture.
Car detailing tiered pricing example
Good, better, best pricing also works well for car detailers and could look something like this:
- Good (most budget-friendly): Basic dusting, vacuuming, and exterior wash and dry.
- Better (average cost): The basic package plus wax, polish, and upholstery cleaning.
- Best (most expensive): Everything from the first two packages as well as headlight restoration, ceramic coating, and a full interior deep clean—including steam cleaning and stain removal.
Pro Tip: Cover the full range of your services between packages to appeal to the largest target market.
How to implement good, better, best pricing
Follow these four steps to implement price bracketing in your service business:
1. Choose the services you want to package
Make a good, better, best pricing sheet by listing out your services and grouping them together based on:
- How they complement each other
- Which services clients frequently request together
- What service customers choose the most
…if you offer a service, […] for example, soft washing the house, what’s another service that you offer that complements the soft wash? So for us, it would be window washing because once we soft wash your home, you might want a window cleaning. Those two go hand in hand.
Try to keep your packages simple and straightforward, and avoid including unpopular or niche services that won’t appeal to most customers.
2. Understand who each package is targeting
Each tier of service is targeting a different type of customer. What you offer in each package needs to appeal to the clients you’re trying to attract.
Some of your customers may be no-nonsense, budget-conscious homeowners, while others may care more about luxury than how much they spend.
For example, for your ‘good’ tier, consider the most basic services you offer and who purchases them. The package you offer should provide a basic level of service while still meeting customer needs.
Whereas for your ‘best’ tier, you can add services that aren’t always necessary but provide a premium experience. Like ceramic coating on a vehicle or custom fertilizer based on soil tests.
Pro Tip: Make sure each tier clearly offers more value than the last. If the increased price doesn’t reflect an obvious increase in perceived value, customers will stick with a cheaper option.
3. Price your services
Once you have good, better, best packages in mind, and you know who your target customer is for each one, it’s time to get pricing.
Your goal is to set prices that make it easy for your customers to choose the level of service they need. Price jumps between packages should feel more like gradual progressions (not leaps) and reflect an increase in value.
To get it right, consider these strategies:
- Take a look at what your competitors are charging to see what the going rate is in your area.
- Price out each service in your package individually before adding them up and applying a discount to ensure you charge enough markup.
- Estimate how long the work will take for each package and calculate the price based on your hourly rate.
Pro Tip: If your competitors also offer tiered pricing, consider where and how you can offer more value than they do. For example, by adding a small service to your low option or pricing your premium option slightly lower.
4. Include pricing options in your quotes
While you should present tiered pricing options in a variety of places, such as on your website and in your marketing materials, one of the most effective places to communicate good, better, best pricing options is in your quotes.
Using quoting software like Jobber, you can outline different packages directly in your quotes and estimates, giving customers the power to select the option that best suits their needs.
With Jobber, actually with all the optional line items you can put on a quote, you can turn a $500 request into a $2,000 quote. […] A client says, ‘I want my gutters clean.’ Well, you know what? We can also wash your whole house, wash all your windows, wash your driveway. It’s only $3,000. And they say, ‘Yes, talk to us about that.
Why should I use good, better, best pricing?
Good, better, best pricing provides many benefits to both service business owners and their customers. This value-based pricing model comes with the following perks.
1. It fits multiple budgets
Good, better, best pricing provides clients with multiple pricing options, allowing them to choose the package that works for their needs and budget. This prevents price-sensitive customers from haggling or coming to you with pricing objections.
Offering different price points also helps you to bring in more leads since you’re targeting a larger market.
2. It boosts revenue
When you offer customers a low option, middle option, and premium option, you encourage them to spend more money on higher tier packages because they’ll feel like they’re getting ‘the most bang for their buck’.
Think of it this way: if you could get more out of a service for just $20 or $30 more, would you? A lot of potential customers would say yes, and those added extra dollars add up, boosting your profit margin.
3. It’s a soft selling tactic
If traditional selling tactics feel too pushy or ‘salesy’, a good, better, best pricing structure might be the right sales strategy for you.
It’s a great way to upsell your services and close deals without using aggressive sales tactics because it presents different pricing options to your customers, giving them the power to choose the level of service they want.
“Look, a lot of the upsells that my company does with gutters is we put these strainers in the downspouts. No one calls for those, but we install them in almost like half of our homes because they’re so important.” —Christine Hodge, Clearview Washing
4. It focuses on value
While pricing plays a major role in every service business, offering tiered packages puts the focus on value over cost.
For example, let’s say you offer gutter cleaning with three levels of service:
- Good: Clean debris from inside gutter
- Better: Clean inside and outside of gutter
- Best: Clean inside, outside, and pressure test downspouts
A customer who only wants the inside of their gutters cleaned will be able to go with option one and feel as though they’ve received the best value for their needs. Whereas a customer who needs their downspouts inspected will automatically know to choose option three.
This makes the customer feel like they’re getting the service they need instead of the only one you offer, shifting the conversation from cost to which package best solves the client’s problem.
Win more jobs with good, better, best pricing
Good, better, best pricing targets a larger group of customers, fits different budgets, and offers opportunities for you to upsell your services. By adding it to your service business’s pricing strategy, you can win more customers, drive revenue, and grow your service business.
To make the most out of this pricing model, don’t forget to bundle your services consciously, price incrementally, and prioritize value.
Originally published in May 2021. Last updated on October 8, 2024.