Why You Should Never Discount
Discounting is a common marketing strategy for retailers. The idea is to create an item that’s so low in price that it creates urgency and encourages people to buy now instead of waiting for the price to go back up.
While there are many reasons why this is a good idea in the short term, it usually doesn’t work out well in the long term. This strategy could actually end up doing more harm than good.
In this blog post we’ll discuss why you should never discount your products and how it can hurt your business.
You devalue your products/services
Everyone loves a good discount.
A discounted product may get more customers in the door, and may give people that final push they need to make a purchase, but it could also be changing the way they think about the product.
Although price isn’t always an indicator of quality, people tend to treat it that way. So, there’s a very real chance that once they see a “sale” tag on an item, they’ll immediately think they’re getting lower quality.
The reasoning behind this: they assume that a retailer wouldn’t want to lower the price of something of great value.
It’s unfair to those who paid full price
There will undoubtedly be people who paid full price for your product/service prior to you discounting it, which isn’t going to sit well with them.
Imagine being the person who bought something at full price on Monday, only to find that the price had been reduced by 50% the following day.
This type of thing is bound to lead to resentment.
People will get used to lower prices
Once people get used to lower prices, they’ll be expecting them all the time.
If you’re in a competitive market or are always trying to one-up your competition with price discounts, it may eventually lead customers to feel entitled and expect those prices all the time.
This will make it difficult for you to raise prices or even return items to their original price in the future.
It’s hard on the business bottom line
Discounts can be bad for business because they could end up costing you money.
Depending on how heavily you discount, there’s a chance you discount yourself into the red. This involves selling items below the price you paid for them.
If you’ve been holding inventory for long enough, you might forget what you initially paid for them, and end up selling below their wholesale price.
People will wait for you to discount
Discounting regularly will result in your customers waiting for your next discount before they buy from you.
They’re used to prices being lowered, and because you’ve done so in the past, they know it’s only a matter of time before you do it again.
Which means they’ll never pay full price again, not from you.
You’ll seem desperate
People will know you’re desperate if you discount constantly.
After all, they’ll think it’s a sign that you need to sell your items because you’re strapped for cash.
This removes the power from your hands and puts it in theirs. They’ll see that you need them more than they need you.
You’ll start a race to the bottom
Discounting heavily will result in a race to the bottom, meaning you’ll be competing with others and lowering your prices more and more just to stay competitive while they do the same.
Eventually, prices will be so low that no one in the industry will be making a profit. This can lead to bankruptcy as you struggle to stay afloat.
Conclusion
In generally, it’s best to avoid discounting, but I appreciate that there are times when a discount makes perfect business sense and can work wonders for your company.
If you’re going to discount, you must be strategic about it – don’t act from a place of emotion or desperation.