Fresh Thinking for Uncertain Times

Copyright 2008 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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I responded to another of Ted Hurlbut's columns http://blog.inc.com/retail/2008/10/fresh_thinking_for_uncertain_t_1.html

What Ted wrote above is what Jeff & Marc Slutsky (of Streetfighter Marketing streetfightermarketing.com) call "price credibility". (It can also be called price integrity.) I'll paraphrase & embellish on what they wrote.

If people think they can wait to buy until you decrease prices, they'll wait. You'll get fewer sales while they wait for lower prices. When you finally figure you have no choice but to stimulate sales by decreasing prices, then you'll reinforce their belief & habit of waiting for lower prices.

You can still offer lower prices, but blame/credit somebody else for the decrease.
Example- If any local employers (or nonprofit organizations) have workers (volunteers) who are members of your market niche, you should work with them to attract those workers. You can offer a major employer gifts or bonuses for the workers. If the firm's profits increase (a relatively easy goal) 5%, the workers can get a 10% discount off of the price of product XYZ.

If the employer's goal is hard, they might not achieve it. Then you wouldn't gain anything & neither would they. These gifts & bonuses should mostly be for boosting employees' morale. These can also be incentives for people to work diligently. Incentives can improve worker retention & recruiting.

If you show you firmly believe in the value of what you offer & present benefits to these employers, they may pay you to offer their incentives, so employees will get discounts.
These workers shouldn't always expect the 10% discount because it was a one-time bonus from the employer.

If you tie your promotion to something they'll occasionally achieve, you won't have to offer a discount regularly. You can do something like this & not tie to an achievement, if you feel you can afford more frequent discounts.

If other customers want a similar discount, encourage them to talk to their employers about it. Your price credibility will be preserved because the discount is sponsored & may be subsidized by an employer. In effect, somebody else is offering the discount instead of you.

Why do I think you'd possibly offer this?
1- You need to consistently make valuable offers.
2- The employer would probably be willing to print & copy your offers of their bonus on their letterhead. You'd get an implied or overt endorsement.
3- They'd paid for the printing & distribution.
4- If you do what Ted suggests (& you should do it) in his post, you're apt to get more sales of other products.
5- Even if some of these new customers don't buy anything else, they'll probably see other things you offer. It'll be like advertising.
6- Depending on the values you offer, employers may subsidize some of your discounts. They may buy gift certificates from you.
7- For a while, when the workers go to work, they'll remember your store.

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2008 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
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