Business Virus.
Discounting is an awful disease.
More often than not it starts small and then quickly grows once the habit is formed.
If it doesn’t kill your business it can cause serious damage.
So why do so many companies do it? And what can you do to arrest it or better, not start it at all?
Broadly, there are three causes and please consider these questions which will help to diagnose your discounting issue:
1. If you truly believe that your price is out of kilter with the market then why are you asking it? To me, any company doing that suggests they hope some mug comes along every so often and pays full whack. Which isn’t very nice is it?
2. If on the other hand, as I suspect is far more likely to be the case, you discount so as to not lose the deal, then is it in fact your product or service that needs attention? Is your offering the same to all intents and purposes as a cheaper competitor? If so, then perhaps you’d do better to create a clear and compelling differentiation that customers will pay for.
3. If your pricing is commensurate with your offer and you have something that’s genuinely worth more but still find yourself discounting then that’s down to presentation and sales skills.
I’ve pointed this brutal reality out to many people over the years and often hear in reply, “But all my competition do it, I have to as well.” But that’s not true is it? (Please review the questions above again).
If you’re proud of your products and services, if you know that others are inferior in one or more respects, if you know that you deliver better value, then hold out for your fair and appropriate price.
An excellent proponent of this is Riverford Organic Farmers – https://www.riverford.co.uk/ – they do offer a discount I approve of: a 0% one.
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