CRAZYTANK News vol.211／What is needed to raise the price of goods and services

CRAZYTANK News started in July 2020 and has been a weekly newsletter of about 2,000 to 3,000 words, providing information on "CRAZYTANK's current situation“. We are very grateful for the feedback we have received from our subscribers. However, due to feedback from subscribers, we have decided to make it available in NOTE for a fee starting in late October 2021. In addition, we have decided to start offering the service free of charge on a trial basis from October 2023.

This is the place where each week we will tell you about what we are doing and what we are thinking. CRAZYTANK always values to be a "party that continues to take on challenges" as we look toward the future. We hope that we can be a catalyst and a driving force for you to take on the challenges of our changing society. Please drop by whenever you feel like it.

CRAZYTANK News vol.211

The heat continues to be intense day after day. In addition to this, the Nikkei Stock Average in Japan dropped sharply yesterday, causing havoc in the market, and we cannot help but feel the changes to our daily lives from various directions.

This week, we are in the midst of a struggle between the continuing high prices that are affecting our lives in general and whether the market will accept the "price revisions" that many companies have been forced to make to their existing services and goods.

In this context, we have written our thoughts on what is necessary to raise prices appropriately, using CEAZYTANK's efforts as an example.

Please read on.

What is needed to raise the price of goods and services

The Japanese yen has been weakening since around March 2022, about two years ago  (although it has been appreciating since mid-July 2024), and the state of sharp price hikes has become firmly felt in our immediate vicinity since the beginning of this year.

Japan is a Galapagosized country, and we are "finally" at the stage where the general public is beginning to feel the impact of the yen's depreciation in their daily lives.

We heard this story about two years ago from a company that we at CRAZYTANK are involved with.

“Our company has managed to do without charging the price of materials that have skyrocketed in price."

The form in which companies that provide goods and services are unable to pass on expenses caused by changes in the market to their prices...is not a healthy situation.

However, it is also true that it is very difficult for companies to "raise prices appropriately" because of the significant rejection of price hikes by people on the receiving end of services.

Raising prices appropriately is a necessary process for any company to achieve sustainable growth.

We at CRAZYTANK have been involved in the "保けん野菜（Hoken Yasai)" service operated by Michikusa LLC as an advisor since two years ago.

We have developed this "保けん野菜（Hoken Yasai)" service with a focus on "appropriate vegetable pricing" in order to ensure the sustainable growth of our partner farmers. For this reason, we have set the price 1.6 to 2.2 times higher than the normal vegetable price from the 2022 stage.

Of course, we have received many comments from people considering joining the program that it is expensive.

At each meeting, we carefully explained the current situation faced by farmers and future predictions of what will happen in the future. As a result of these efforts, the number of subscribers has gradually increased.

In addition to fostering understanding on the part of consumers, we have enhanced our value-added events and unique services so that subscribers will find them fun, educational, enriching, and trustworthy.

We are trying to go beyond the general "vegetable purchase subscription" service, which exists in many other areas.

For example,

Learn and enjoy the richness of life through vegetables.
"Investing in the vegetables themselves and in organizations and people you can trust.

We are trying to create the value of services that are "appropriate" to the situation.

By doing this, we create a situation where consumers are convinced to "raise the price to an appropriate level".

This requires "effort" and "creativity" on the part of the service provider. It is necessary to be prepared to create originality that is not found in other services.

A subscriber who has been a subscriber to "保けん野菜（Hoken Yasai)" for more than a year initially said this while listening to an explanation of the Hoken Vegetables service.

“It's expensive. I don't understand what is the added value of this service.”

However, he later joined as a result as he grew the service well. And now he has grown to the point where he explains the following to those around him.

“We are now working hard to raise the price of our products, just like "保けん野菜（Hoken Yasai)" . To do so, we must create our own added value.”

More and more, various companies will have to consider increasing the prices of their existing services.

In order to do so, it is necessary to make a determined effort to grow and develop their services once again. It is never about raising the functionality of services or goods at the expense of additional expenses. That would be price competition forever.

That is why we will need "the power of ideas".

At CRAZYTANK, we provide companies involved with this "idea" based on future projections, and offer tailor-made proposals.

If your company is currently at a turning point in its existing business or facing challenges, please contact us for more information.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)