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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.

Andrew Sorlie

Andrew and Emily Sorlie are the owners of Honey & Dear, a successful Toronto, Canada - based wedding cinematography company. They attended their first [In]Focus conference in Austin, Texas in 2010, and it radically changed the direction of their company. With the knowledge and experience they gained, the Sorlies rebranded their now-flourishing business from Sorlie Arts to Honey & Dear. Together, they have filmed more than 80 weddings all over the world including Australia, Dominican Republic, Singapore & Canada.

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Make More Money With What’chya Got from Ryan Koral on Vimeo.

writer’s note – In addition to running a successful wedding cinema studio, I spent this fall coaching freshmen football at Rochester Adams High School.   It was my third season coaching – it’s a great way to get outside, work alongside some other great coaches, and spend time with some great young men.

At Epic Motion, we spend a lot of time and money to win new business. If we didn’t, we probably wouldn’t be too successful in the long run. What we must not forget is the importance of maximizing potential sales that we have right in front of us.

Our studio has tons of upgrades, including our same day edit, wedding trailers, love stories, photo montages, super 8mm film, and engagement shoots.  Other successful companies offer such features as save the date videos (StillMotion), honeymoon highlights (Soulbox Productions), and other concept video productions (Studio MSV).

Haven’t people asked you this question before during your sales presentation, “What do people usually get?” They want to make sure they’re not missing out on something and by you educating them on your other products and services, you are giving them additional opportunities to not miss out on anything else.

A month after you book someone, have an automated email that goes out and says something like, “Three of our most popular products are X, Y, and Z.” Continue sharing why they are your favorites (and/or your clients’ favorites), and include links for them to see what it is that you’re selling.

You can’t sell it if you don’t offer it…there is power in suggestion.

Epic Koral

Ryan Koral

Epic Motion is a photo + video studio specializing in weddings and events. Based in suburban Detroit and led by Ryan Koral, Epic Motion has been named one of the Top 25 Event Filmmaker Studios in the World.

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