Marketing Alone Cannot Secure Retention in E-commerce

Understanding your company’s strategic profile is key when considering promotional and discount strategies.

For those brands competing primarily on price – or focusing on value – it’s crucial to be strong with your promotions. Frequent and substantial discounts will play to your favor.

This is not understood in general wisdom because this level of discounting had nasty side effects for many senior leaders that led retail and brick-and-mortar companies.

But the truth is those companies were not competing on price as a primary competitive edge. Being a price-forward or value-forward company demands leverage on promotions.

Now, if the strongest value you provide comes from unique products, features, services, or brand differentiation, don’t rely on promotions to generate regular purchase behavior.

Instead, let your product, your uniqueness, take the spotlight. Discounting and promotions take a backseat – reserving them for occasions on the peripherals of your main offering.

There is a caveat though: many companies I’ve seen are guilty of overestimating their non-price-based differentiators.

This miscalculation lands them in no-man’s land, as they undersell and under-discount due to an inflated belief in whatever they think their special sauce really is. They are actually viewed by consumers as requiring price-based value to compete.

A solid grasp of your competitive position – price, product or innovation – is pivotal for a successful discount strategy.

Don’t get caught in the trap of overestimating your value and underplaying your discount game.