Whenever you discount a product or hold a sale, always give a reason for why you are doing it.
I was reminded of this just the other day while getting family photos at Sears. They had a flier laying out on one of the side tables. On the front page, it said:
CRAZIEST DEAL EVER
Oops! Someone forgot to turn off the Paint Machine when they went on break! Now we have a surplus of Pacific Blue Kenmore Washers and Dryers — loaded with great features. Over 3,000 pairs to sell — it’s our craziest deal ever!
Buy a Dryer, Get a Washer FREE
While this copy could definitely be improved, I was impressed that a big company would even go this far to provide a reason for the sale.
The lazy way to do it would have been to merely run the sale: Buy one, get one free. They took it one step farther by turning a negative situation (too many blue washers and dryers) into a humorous story and a believable reason for a sale.
Did someone really forget to turn off the paint machine? Probably not. But it’s a fun story. We can imagine it’s true. And it’s far better than the other story: That is, nobody wants blue appliances.
Are you overstocked? Or do you simply want a quick cash infusion? Then hold a sale and give a reason why you’re discounting your product or service. Works like magic, I tell ya.
-Ryan M. Healy
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And please make sure it’s honest if it’s not a humorous reason. Twice, I’ve bought DVDs where the publisher said they had to discount them because they didn’t have barcodes on them.
The second time I thought that was weird to have happened twice so I checked and there was a barcode on it after all. Maybe I was being harsh but I thought those guys were a bunch of liars.
Don’t get me wrong, I was still glad to get a good deal but their credibility was damaged with me.
@Louis – Good point. I don’t suggest making up any old reason for having a sale. The best reasons are real.
For instance, last spring I ran a birthday sale. I even gave two reasons for the sale: it was my birthday AND I didn’t want to have to move the books.
So I took a picture of me hefting a box. I titled the post “Save a Back – Buy a Book.”
I think it’s funny that the publisher you mentioned ran a “no bar code” sale when the product clearly had a bar code. That’s not too bright.
They would have been better off just saying, “We’ve got too many of these DVDs taking up space and we need to get rid of some of them.”
One of the best “reason why” sales I remember was when AWAI had a “Hurricane Sale” after a hurricane damaged their warehouse.
Robert Cialdini in his book ‘Influence, Science and Practice’ talked about importance of giving a reason.
They tested and found that even a lame “reason” got better response than no reason at all. I coined the term “because clause” for that part of his work.
“We want to do xyz because ….”. We have to charge you more because it will require extra work.” People may not like what you said but there is at least a “because clause” to explain it (and for you to stand on).
I used this in my BtoB sales and know first hand it works.
John Deck
http://www.DirectMarketResults.com
@John – That word “because” is really powerful, isn’t it? Thanks for your comment.
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