Brands Die from Lies, Not Price Hikes

Raising Prices Isn’t the Problem—Lying About It Is

Never hide prices increases.

Customers will notice regardless, and discovering changes on their own destroys trust instantly.

The anger from discovering a "hidden" price increase is far greater than from any properly communicated change, no matter how significant.

Communicate with transparency

State clearly what's changing, when it's changing, and why.

Patagonia excels at this, linking price increases to their sustainability commitments and living wage policies—turning potential negatives into values-affirmation moments.

Highlight genuine value improvements

Netflix successfully raises prices by simultaneously highlighting new content and platform improvements.

Connect price changes to tangible benefits customers receive.

This shifts focus from "paying more" to "getting more."

Provide advanced note

Netflix once lost 800,000 subscribers in a quarter after implementing pricing changes without warning.

Sudden changes trigger panic responses.

Give customers time to adjust mentally and financially to upcoming changes.

Visibility Without Trust Is a Death Sentence for Your Brand

VISIBILITY ≠ TRUST: Being discoverable solves only one piece of the puzzle.

Great SEO might get eyes on your business, but without addressing deeper psychological needs, visitors bounce.

The modern trust journey requires evidence BEFORE the first interaction.

The visualisation principle

Customers need to mentally "try before they buy."

The clearer they can envision how your solution fits into their life/business, the lower their psychological resistance.

The Founder Visibility Effect

Your face = instant trust accelerator.

When customers see the human behind the brand, trust forms 4X faster.

Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Brian Chesky (Airbnb) leveraged this principle masterfully. People buy from PEOPLE, not corporations.

“When you truly work for yourself, you won’t have hobbies, you won’t have weekends, and you won’t have vacations, but you won’t have work either.” - Naval Ravikant

You can’t promise the climb will be smooth or steep,
You can’t promise the riches you’ll harvest or reap.
But you can promise the dawn won’t break you,
That every cut, every bruise will remake you.
You owe no one victory — just your final call:
"I gave it my soul, I gave it my all."

Best wishes,

Maxi | The Warrior’s Newsletter