Deciding What to Include in Base Pricing Vs. A La Carte Extras

If you’re new to the portable sanitation industry, you may be wondering, “What should I include in base pricing?” Base pricing is what’s included if a customer buys from you with no add-ons. It is, therefore, flexible and completely up to each PRO to decide what comes in their base pricing package. The very basics that come with all base pricing are usually: a standard unit with a urinal and toilet paper.

What Can Be Added to Base Pricing?

Any other features, really. Some PROs will add nothing, charging for every other item that the customer wishes to add. Some PROs will throw in small things like coat hooks, shelves, even lights to entice the customer toward their business. Very few will ever add anything large like a sink. Sinks, if desired, are usually standard with what a PRO might call a deluxe unit.

What Are A La Carte Extras?

These are basically anything you don’t include in your base pricing. You may decide to include coat hooks and shelving for free but charge a fee for hand sanitizer. The hand sanitizer, then, is on your a la carte menu while the coat hooks and shelving are included in your base pricing.

How Do You Decide What to Include and What to Charge For?

Deciding what to include is a balancing act. If you’re confident of getting customers without including any add-ons, it might be worth a shot. If you think your business would improve by adding some features to your base pricing, then go for it. The important thing to remember is to strike a balance, i.e. don’t include so much that it impacts your profits, but don’t include so little that the customer doesn’t value the addition.

Pros of Including Add-ons

Might help you land customers – If a potential client is shopping around and they see one PRO that just offers the standard supplies, while another will include extras, they may be more likely to go with the latter.

Cons of Including Add-ons

Risk of not making money – You need to maintain healthy profits. The client might be expecting to pay for the extras. Therefore, you’re missing out on easy income.

Our Conclusion

We think that including small items like coat hooks, shelves, and cup holders is a great idea. It is a small initial cost and doesn’t add anything to your overhead, and may be a selling point for the customer. Make sure your sales staff inform customers that these are being included free of charge, so customers know they’re getting a bargain. For more on how to increase value with upsells and add-ons, click here.

It’s important that your sales staff is trained in tailoring a la carte extras to clients’ specific needs. For example, a night event might not realize they could use solar or tap lights; a music event might be interested in insuring their units with a damage waiver fee; a large event may not know they need ADA-compliant units.

For a great run-down of the most popular add-ons and upsells, check out our infographic here. We hope that after reading this you’re now closer to deciding what to include in your base pricing!

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