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Discounts and why you probably shouldn’t be offering them.
There has been a lot said on this topic, but I wanted to share with you my viewpoint on discounts and why I think they’re dangerous.
Groupon and other group-buying websites have been growing at a ridiculous pace in the last 12 to 24 months. You’ve probably used the site yourself. The concept is simple: one website organizes a bunch of wallets to head to one place. It’s not exactly a new concept; stores have been using ‘loss-leaders’ for decades.
Lately, I’ve seen local photographers advertise “90% off studio fees” or “buy one print, get 5 free” or other crazy deals like that. What’s the first thing I think of when I see that? It’s probably garbage photography. It might not be true, but that’s honestly the first place my mind goes. If they’re willing to reduce their price so much, they must not be that good (or else they wouldn’t need to discount). That might be extreme, but tell me you haven’t thought that.
By discounting your product, you are telling your customer the pricing you have initially offered is too much for the value you are providing. You’re telling them that you’re not worth as much as you said you were. You’re teaching them to expect that if they wait just a little longer, they’ll get an even better price. That is a dangerous precedent to set.
If you haven’t been on the weddingwire.com bride forums or any other open discussion website, check one out today. Brides talk to each other. They will openly share that they saved 15% off at caterer so-and-so by simply asking. Or they will advise tactics like threatening to walk out the door to get that discount. More than ever before, couples are armed with this kind of information. Once you get a reputation of any kind—be it for discounting or anything else—it will take a long time to change.
Think about how you feel when you hear that smarmy “Oh Boy!! You lucky consumers, you!” from the automobile industry. “You get the opportunity to buy one of our shiny new cars for the same exact price that our employees pay!! Congratulations!” That always drives me nuts (pun intended). You don’t walk away thinking, “Man. That car will be the car of my dreams.” Instead, you walk away asking yourself whether it’s really how much the employees are paying. The bottom line is you’re still thinking about price and you’re wondering, “I wonder if I could pay even less had I just asked?”
My favourite author, Seth Godin, said this in a 2007 blog post: “Maybe the reason it seems that price is all your customers care about is… that you haven’t given them anything else to care about.”
By offering discounts, you’re taking the conversation away from the experience of working with you and the amazing film you’re going to make, and you’re spoon-feeding your customers to be thinking about negotiating prices.
Be firm on your pricing. Have enough confidence in the art you make to walk away if you have a couple who demands a discount. Another couple will walk through the door. A cinematographer friend of mine from Australia named Dave Cowling pointed out this website to me a few years back, which talks about discounting.
I’ll add one more thought that may help you as you continue to grow your business. In my opinion (and there will be some people who disagree), there is a benefit to forming a strong relationship with a particular planner and sharing privately that you will give their clients special privileges based solely on working together. I wouldn’t advertise this, but I would argue at this point it’s not called discounting, but merely offering a reward to clients of ‘so and so wedding planner’ as a thank you.
One other thing that you may do which I don’t believe to be harmful is giving repeat customers a slight break (your bride from last year’s sister is getting married and now is calling you). Again, the difference here is that you’re not reducing your price in order to get a sale; you’re rewarding a good customer with a generous offer. That would be the only way I would ever say discounting is a good idea.
Bottom line: discounting on a site like Groupon is fine for restaurants that have 100 seats to fill each night, but we are not in a volume industry. We are not selling toothpaste. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Even if you have three or four teams, I still would not recommend discounting. It’s only a race to the bottom.
