Too many discounts?

I know that we used to run a special offer promotion on ebay twice a year (1 at easter and 1 just before xmas) which always worked for us, but these last 18 months we find that we run a single promotion contantly as we seem to battle the Unlimited brigade with $2 a year plans
 
A perfect example of discounting going awry is JCP. For years they ran promotion after promotion, then they decided to abandon that in favor of "everyday low prices," which turned out to be a dismal failure. Their customers grew to expect their sales promotions and abandoned them. So now they're back to offering sales promotions, but the damage was done and they're having a hard time recovering. I was in JCP just last month and a lot of the cashier stations were still unmanned.
 
easyhostmedia said:
I know that we used to run a special offer promotion on ebay twice a year (1 at easter and 1 just before xmas) which always worked for us, but these last 18 months we find that we run a single promotion contantly as we seem to battle the Unlimited brigade with $2 a year plans
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What's bad is that the price for a simple hosting plan nowadays (even ours) is less than what you would spend on a hamburger from Mcdonalds. Now that plan's price is for a 30 period and in that time how many Mcdonalds burger has the client consumed who want's 50% off your lowest rate.

I can see the next generation of ad's - "Come Host with Us - We will Pay You!"

Or maybe send them value meal coupons from Mcdonalds for signing on with your service...
 
SHC_techsvcs said:
What's bad is that the price for a simple hosting plan nowadays (even ours) is less than what you would spend on a hamburger from Mcdonalds. Now that plan's price is for a 30 period and in that time how many Mcdonalds burger has the client consumed who want's 50% off your lowest rate.

I can see the next generation of ad's - "Come Host with Us - We will Pay You!"

Or maybe send them value meal coupons from Mcdonalds for signing on with your service...
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i have even had people contact me through the ebay system still wanting it cheaper, even after i tell then what the actual plan is on our website, they still want it cheaper or unlimited space
 
easyhostmedia said:
these are not playing games its up to the business on where and how they use promo codes.

if they have a promo code then they are running a promotion.

we have used promo codes to gibe the first month free rather than provide free trials and have placed the promo code above the order link, but also added the promo code to the order link, so the discount is already applied to the order. this way is stops spammers that do searches for free trials so they can take the free trial and abuse your server during the trial period
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There is no point in this. Better to have a sale than a promo code. You are making the customer work for a discount you are happily giving anyway. (as my previous post mentions, I am talking about promo codes that are nearby the buy-now button). I think its a gimmick, not an anti-spam device.
 
webhostors said:
Most customers are signing up only if there is any discount. People are much addicted to discounts.
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I dont think everyone wants discounts, but want you to run their businesses for them.

attached is a recent chat transcript with such a person from india. I blocked his IP and closed the chat
 
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easyhostmedia said:
I dont think everyone wants discounts, but want you to run their businesses for them.

attached is a recent chat transcript with such a person from india. I blocked his IP and closed the chat
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That was really funny. I better give them the discount that they request than running their business.:crash:
 
easyhostmedia said:
but he said he did not want the deal



what he wanted was an Alpha Plan with me telling him how much money he will make
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That's right. An open ended question for which only he needs to find the answer but unfortunately he is looking for an answer. And moreover expecting definite profit in the first month itself.:shaky:
 
webhostors said:
That's right. An open ended question for which only he needs to find the answer but unfortunately he is looking for an answer. And moreover expecting definite profit in the first month itself.:shaky:
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yes, but when you read through the whole transcript i can after 11 year hosting conclude that i would have been spending all my time nursing him and his clients as that is also what he wanted for me to support his clients for free and on a £13 a month plan this is something i was not going to do
 
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easyhostmedia said:
yes, but when you read through the whole transcript i can after 11 year hosting conclude that i would have been spending all my time nursing him and his clients as that is also what he wanted for me to support his clients for free and on a £13 a month plan this is something i was not going to do
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I can't remember where I read a response from a Host why they had different tier plans, but it said (paraphrasing) that people payed more for his top tier plan because they wanted excellent service, and those that bought his discount plan KNEW they were not going to get the same level of service because they bought the least expensive plan.

I thought maybe this guy hosts on a different planet, because my experience is that no matter what the price the customer pays, they all expect (sometimes unrealistically) top shelf service and we try our best to give it to them.

However like you said, sometimes you have to put your foot down and say enough is enough, because the person is taking your time and resources from your higher paying clients.
 
SHC_techsvcs said:
I can't remember where I read a response from a Host why they had different tier plans, but it said (paraphrasing) that people payed more for his top tier plan because they wanted excellent service, and those that bought his discount plan KNEW they were not going to get the same level of service because they bought the least expensive plan.

I thought maybe this guy hosts on a different planet, because my experience is that no matter what the price the customer pays, they all expect (sometimes unrealistically) top shelf service and we try our best to give it to them.

However like you said, sometimes you have to put your foot down and say enough is enough, because the person is taking your time and resources from your higher paying clients.
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we give all clients the same level of service no matter if they pay £2.99 or £30 a month, but we are not here to actual run any of our clients businesses for them, that is their job. It is also a resellers job to look after their own clients, we have enough work in running our own businesses. we have in our TOS that if a resellers client wants our help direct then they can for a charge of £10 an issue to be paid in advance.
 
That's the proper way to do it, have it all in the TOS upfront, I just couldn't believe when I read in another forum that someone actually believed that a person chose a lower tier plan with lesser expectations.

We too try our best to provide quality service from our lowest tier plan to the highest tier.
 
As long as the discount isn't a huge difference from the regular price, it's a good thing for both an owner and consumer. If it is, then as stated earlier, it can backfire on the business giving the discount.
 
SHC_techsvcs said:
I can't remember where I read a response from a Host why they had different tier plans, but it said (paraphrasing) that people payed more for his top tier plan because they wanted excellent service, and those that bought his discount plan KNEW they were not going to get the same level of service because they bought the least expensive plan.

I thought maybe this guy hosts on a different planet, because my experience is that no matter what the price the customer pays, they all expect (sometimes unrealistically) top shelf service and we try our best to give it to them.

However like you said, sometimes you have to put your foot down and say enough is enough, because the person is taking your time and resources from your higher paying clients.
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This is where a single unlimited plan shines. Since about 100% of personal and small biz websites suitable for a shared hosting environment are under 5 GB, what is the advantage (to the customer) of trying to select form a myriad of plans somewhere between 1 GB and 10 GB? For the host, its obvious: Why sell a 3 GB customer a 5 GB plan when a host can sell them a more expensive 10 GB plan

If one doesn't like the idea of unlimited then why not a single plan at say 10 GB? Hec, make it 5GB. Almost all the sites will be under 5GB anyway. What does a host have to loose except the profits from selling resources customer does not need? Ooops, I just let the proverbial cat out of the bag.
 
I remember a discount that we had where I work that was only supposed to go for 3 months. Some customers how ever got the discount for a year or more. The owner of the company found out people were getting it longer then they should and put a stop to it. Every one was then made to pay the full price. Lots of upset customers but it all worked out in the end. Most people just thought we increased the price but they were just paying less then other customers.
 
As hardware prices get cheaper and cheaper, discounting hardware becomes easier, and just like a b&m store, everyone competes with each other.

It's nice if you have a nice mix of long term/strong relationship customers who care more about quality rather then how cheap the service is, and new customers going to you for prices.

Unfortunately discounts also bring the scum out occasionally (e.g. spammers).
 
We don't prefer discounts at all. We have set our prices so low that we believe there is no need for separate discounts or coupon codes.

Discounts are a good way to attract customers and to make them feel they have to buy your service right now before it expires. I personally don't like that type of advertising.

If you can afford it, just put the prices lower by default. The customers don't mind if the price is $10 with or without a discount, as long as it's affordable.

This is just my opinion though. I bet someone finds coupons a good way for doing business.
 
EasyAsPie said:
We don't prefer discounts at all. We have set our prices so low that we believe there is no need for separate discounts or coupon codes.

Discounts are a good way to attract customers and to make them feel they have to buy your service right now before it expires. I personally don't like that type of advertising.

If you can afford it, just put the prices lower by default. The customers don't mind if the price is $10 with or without a discount, as long as it's affordable.

This is just my opinion though. I bet someone finds coupons a good way for doing business.
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Coupons are a good way to attract new business, people like special offers. Depending on the value of the discount the first month can be a loss maker though if you provide a quality service then those clients would most likely stay vs move to another host.
 
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