Coupon desperation: Don’t discount your profits and brand
I know many business owners and managers have great difficulty in finding the right marketing approach, but giving away their product is never a good strategy. Online or offline, coupons and discounts are ineffective substitutes for real marketing programs. There are two main ways in which coupons are often poison to business. Firstly, a large discount or 2 for 1 offer is basically saying to the consumer that, “our product is not very valuable so we can afford to discount it”. This runs counter to the desired strategy of maximizing perceived value of your product and brand. Secondly, discounts attract the type of consumers who care more about price than value, quality, service, etc. We advise every business we speak with to focus more on value consumers. The coupon consumer will always be there. Businesses need to communicate more to the value consumers…before they join the coupon-led group. — Darren Ballegeer
