09/17/2026
Raise prices on the new customers who come in first, and move your recurring customers up CPI plus one.
Most people would agree that is reasonable.
What happens is businesses really hold back on increasing prices.
Their costs go up, then they do one inflated price increase, and it hands them to the startup competitor in your market.
If you just send a letter and an email out saying products are going up three point one percent and services are going up two point eight percent, most customers will not even think anything about it.
But when an appetizer goes from eight ninety-five at happy hour to eighteen ninety-five after, that is surprising when you walk in.
I would be very careful about moving customers up too fast.
Your margins go up, but you lose the people who were loyal.