If you want to do something for free in a specific market, say for a charity, that is fine but everyone else should pay the correct price. Certainly, don’t do work for free or give away goods on the “sprat to catch a mackerel” principle. We’ve all done it. Tried to get a new customer or client by offering discounts or doing work for free only to find that as soon as you want to return to the full price, they lose interest and go elsewhere. Doing things for free or full price is effective but not discounting.
Black Friday is a typical example. Suddenly companies all over the country are discounting products and services like there is no tomorrow. This can only mean one of two things. Firstly, they are overcharging for the rest of the time or secondly, they are trying to dump stuff but persuade people they are getting a bargain. Either way, it’s not effective.
If you want to be effective, decide on the correct price and stick to it. If you discount, then you will almost certainly be doing so at the expense of your good customers / clients. If you believe in your price then stick to it, if you believe it is wrong then change it for everyone. Don’t discount, it’s the slippery slope. It takes guts to stick to your guns but every time I have discounted to get a client it has always gone wrong. Either the client has proven to be a pain and / or I have had to turn down a better job which appeared just after I had travelled down desperation alley.
Stick to your guns. Free or Full Price.
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