Retailers responding to a question about discounts in the November/December issue of Greetings etc. magazine all said that there’s no way they’d cave in to this request.
These retailers minced no words. Some of them said they’d not been asked about discounts, but the ones who had were blunt about their policy.
Think about times when you were asked to accept a lower price.
Did you hesitantly say “yes?” Did you decrease the price just to get the sale but at the same time make yourself unhappy?
Perhaps these responses from the Greetings etc. survey will change your tune.
I simply say, ‘I am so sorry, but we are so small that we cannot afford to give discounts.’
I say NO. Does their trashman, electric company, water company give them a discount?
What do you do for a living, and may I have a discount on my colonoscopy?
Since I can remember, the gift basket industry has based itself around offering discounts for mega orders and early holiday orders.
However, after reading these responses from traditional retailers, perhaps it’s time to re-think our own strategy for 2010 and beyond.
None of us can afford to give anything away, so perhaps extra balloons or something else added to a gift, such as a slow-moving product, is enough incentive for a sale. Remember that once a discount is approved, that client will always expect it no matter what they buy.
Customers will always ask for discounts, but it doesn’t mean you have to give it.
What’s your thought about discounts? How willing are you to cave in to this request?
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Giving discounts on gift baskets is not a good idea since the contents are often food or bath products, both of which are personal intimate items. There is the danger that the client will think the quality of the contents are suspect or near the end of their shelf life.
Rather than give a discount, I suggest offering free shipping or some other valuable offer, but only if the client is making a volume order. There is absolutely no reason to give a discount for a one-time single design order. The worst part of giving in to this request is that the recipient is not likely to show gratitude by becoming a loyal customer.
Flora,
I know that many designers agree with your comments, and the ones who don’t yet agree haven’t had the “pleasure” of giving a discount and realizing later that the customer was a one-shot buyer and nothing more.