Offers, offers everywhere! Are we sick of them yet? ‘No, never!’ we hear the crowd cry. This may well be the case for consumers but as a business owner they mean more work and effort and worse still, a reduction in profit margin.
As with all things in life, there is most definitely right ways and wrong ways of using the power of special offers. If you are slashing margins and getting either no response or the wrong kind of response (ie cheapskates who won’t be repeat customers or those who are customers and would have bought at full price anyway) then it’s time to get creative.
It would be easy to throw the baby out with the bathwater by saying that ‘offers don’t work for my kind of business’ or that ‘I don’t make enough profit to give discounts’ but they are excuses and not reasons that have any depth. Maybe your competition are thinking a little harder about it.
Remember that people buy to feel good, it is an emotional decision. Before you start thinking that doesn’t apply to you, it does! Whatever logical steps are taken, decision is ALWAYS made on a feeling. (There is a mountain of scientific research to prove this point.)
Therefore, the prime purpose of a promotion is to add some good feeling or to reduce a negative emotion that may be holding them back. Perceived value and ‘wow’ factor are what it’s about. Get them excited so they feel special or clever about buying now.
Still think 10% off is a good way to go?
Whether you are retail, B2B, a service provider or product seller, there are good opportunities for making special offers profitable for you.
If you are a business member here at thebestof, you have the benefit of network experience that I can pass on to you. There are thousands of businesses from across the UK who have tried and tested all sorts of different offers.
Get on touch and I can provide advice on what will work best for your business.
