Free Offers and Pricing
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MK501responseswk4.docxJoseph Doss posted Mar 8, 2018 2:53 PM
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What makes marketing work, is impacting the mindset or thinking of a customer. Coupons or free offers, does this as the consumer thinks they are getting a deal or benefit. Although, the deal may not be as wonderful as it sounds, customers like the feeling instant gratification that getting a good deal brings (marketingprofs, 2010) Almost every retail company uses promotions to increases their revenue..As stated it connects with the customer psychology of the customer and solidifies the brand (Wong, 2015). This type of marketing works for several other reasons as well:
· Deals boost overall revenue-consumers redeemed 2.84 billion coupons in 2016
· Deals encourage customers to try something new-Statistics state that over 50 % of customers made a first-time purchase because they were able to use a coupon.
· Deals influence decision making- 51 percent of surveyed consumers stated they were impacted by deals and discounts.
(Wong, 2015). Free offers appeal to consumers in much the same way, but customers who take advantage of these are likely to acquire the product just this one time. The free reels them in, but it doesn't have the same impact as being able to get a deal more than once.
Marketing Professionals (2010) Customers seek coupons and free shipping offers. Retrieved from: http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2010/3542/shoppers-seek-coupons-and-free-shipping-offers#ixzz28gf7i57W
Wong, D. (2015) What science says about discounts, promotions, and free offers. Retrieved from: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-wong/what-science-says-about-discounts_b_8511224.html
Module 4 Guided Discussion
Walter Fortenberry posted Feb 28, 2018 12:00 PM
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I can tell you from my own personal experience as an avid on line shopper, I always look for free shipping when ordering. I still use eBay quite a bit and retailers will try to hide a supposed better price for an item and you look and see an outrageous price for shipping. You have to be aware as a consumer what is best for you and make sure you are taking in the whole picture when making a purchase. Pay attention!
Similarly when trying to determine if free offers would be better than coupons, the whole picture must be looked at. Also personal preference comes in to play here. Some people live and die by coupons and even feel that if there isn't a coupon involved, it isn't a good deal. Others like myself pay more than we should because we simply don't like to use coupons.
As a business I think a combination of the two is the best policy to cover both types of people. Many companies have been doing this for a while and another example of reading the fine print. A lot of coupons that you see have small writing at the bottom which says "may not be used with any other offer". That is when the consumer must decide if the coupon or the current offer is best for them.
Having something in place for retailers is important though as nearly one-half of shoppers surveyed said they took advantage of store coupons (46%) or free online shipping (45%) when they shopped for gifts in the fourth quarter. A combination is even better when attracting customers as shoppers want instant gratification: In addition to free shipping, shoppers are most attracted to offers that provided immediate savings, such as "buy one, get one half-price" offers (37%) and instant rebates (31%) (MarketingProfs.com, 2010).
So one is really no better than the other in the big scheme of things and offering customers choices has always been and will always be the best way to satisfy the varying needs of each. Give the customer choices and let them decide what is best for them.
References
MarketingProfs.com, 2010. Shoppers Seek Coupons and Free Shipping Offers. Retrieved February 28, 2018 from
