Is it on sale?

Who are the people that buy products on sale and what is the difference between them and loyal consumers? Who provides the most value to the products or brands? As a marketer I am extremely concerned when it is suggested the only thing left to do is to discount. Unless of course I was marketing a discounted brand model, like say Jetstar (recently hash tagged as Jetstarsucks). Then it would be perfectly legitimate because we truly would have nothing else to give the consumer except the cheapest possible price ... and because of this the minute that a consumer could book a cheaper flight they would. So for a discount strategy to work well it has to be a consistent approach, the business has to be "set up" to regularly deliver a discount.

Once you start conditioning the customer on the hope of the big discount it is extremely difficult to successfully stop discounting. Like a chronic junkie everyone involved sees the benefits of coming off, but just can't execute it for very long. However as usual Tom Fishbourne's Groupon Post (12th June 2011) sums up promotions perfectly http://tomfishburne.com/2011/06/holy-groupon.html

"The sales windfall is tempting, but cautionary tales abound. One cafe owner recently described a Groupon promotion as “the single worst decision I have ever made“. Not only was it unprofitable and a bad fit for her business, it attracted mainly one-time deal hunters.'

Discounting is occuring in businesses more often than we might think, and not always with a profitable return to the bottom line. In terms of the brand, discount promotions are against the basic principles touted by marketing experts on how to build a brand and the benefits of doing so to a business. Does brand equity still hold value in a depressed retail environment? Maybe not, but also is a depressed retail environment a permanent declining one or is it cyclical. I'll be sure to ask Phil Ruthven (IBISworld chairman, and regular BRW columnist) next time I see him which one is more likely.

So do I have the answers? No. Have I ever had the balls to run a business, be a CEO or go it alone? No, I'm just one of those side liners that wants to comment on things I have little financial investment in. For what it's worth customer service needs to be any company's biggest priority - marketing can sell a dream, create a need, and put a solution in your face when you most need it. They can build a brand and work to cement an emotional connection to it, but at the end of the day if the products aren't available, if the quality is faulty, if the service is not available then maybe all that's left is to rebuild the business model (take out training, customer service, maintance, quality and push the bottom line in every possible area) and follow Jetstars lead.