Whenever I am asked advice on giving a discount, I always respond with these three questions:
- Can you really afford to give that discount?
- What is the reason you are offering it?
- What do you expect to gain from offering this discount?
What a lot of us don’t acknowledge is once we start giving discounts, we are going to have to continue to do so.
Ask yourself: where in your business plan is this discount?
When people take you up on a discounted service, the expectation is much lower than what you were expecting it becomes more of a disappointment.
If clients are coming in, and your books are filling up; then there is no real reason to be giving a discount.
It really comes down to letting people know what you can do for them.
Really take a look at your numbers.
- How much does a service cost you to offer?
- When you discount it, what are you truly making at the end of the day?
Instead of focusing on discounts, start focusing on your intentions.
Focus on:
- Planning
- Producing a marketing calendar
- Continually market everyday
- Offer and give incentives for people to visit your business
- Making sure your clients know what services you offer
If you’re giving discounts just to bring people in and fill your books, or to say you had a successful weekend–it never really works out to your benefit, because there is no plan.
Before you go giving discounts you need to take the following into consideration:
- How do you get them to come back?
- How do you know they WILL come back?
- How do you keep them engaged while in your room?
- How do you upsell them on retail?
- How do you get them to tell their friends and family about your services?
Each one of these questions needs to be considered for every one of your customers.
Looking at your business from a clients point of view can really alter how you do things.
Half of your business is providing services, and the other half is everything behind the scenes: marketing, communication, cleanliness, continuing education, etc.
When we understand everything in our business, you’re so busy that you don’t have time to be giving discounts.
It’s easy to give a discount in hopes of getting more clients, but when do you stop and say “I need to figure out if I can truly afford to be giving this discount”.
Once you stop trying to formulate the right discounts, you begin to utilize all of that energy to stay in great communication with your clientele.
Set yourself apart, customize your services, and promote yourself to your clientele without the discounts–the success you yield will be more satisfying than any discount you could give.
