Discounts may sound like a good thing to offer customers, but some may actually undermine relationships. Here’s why.
These discounts have the potential to devalue customers’ experiences, according to service expert Brian Cantor.
- First-time customer promotions. When companies and their contact center agents offer discounts or promotions in an attempt to gain new customers, they alienate long-time customers, who’d like those deals for their loyalty. Fix: Extend first-time customer deals to loyal customers.
- Limited-time offers. These make customers feel rushed to make decisions on something that’s important to them. Fix: If customers ask for a discount that’s been discontinued, extend it to them.
- Limited exposure discounts. Businesses sometimes offer sales or discounts that are only available if customers are in the store, calling or checking online on a certain day or week. Problem is, if they’re special only because customers dropped in, customers may start to wonder if they’re overpaying at other times. Fix: Limit these kinds of discounts to few and far between.
- Value-added discounts. When an agent offers an upgrade or add-on at a discounted price, loyal customers may start to feel as if they aren’t getting what they deserve from the “base model” product or service. Fix: Try a combination of including extra values in products and services and offering some upgrades on occasion.
