Why discounting on Black Friday and XMAS is a dangerous game!

Why discounting on Black Friday and XMAS is a dangerous game!

Ok, I understand discounting to entice people to try a service or a product as the customer feels they are getting a deal.

The first philosophy we have at LTYB is to ADD and not Subtract. What is an example? Say we have a promo, we would rather add value for no extra cost, than discount the base price. Sure, there is an argument they are the same thing, but they are not.

Say there is a membership at $55 per week, you want to give something extra as a sweetener, rather than discounting to $45 per week, we would rather add in 2 bonus weeks to try out, therefore there is no confusion about the price value. Or another example on a pack maybe say a 50 session pass at $800. Instead of Dropping to $650 as a promo, we would keep the pack at $800, then add 8 -10 bonus sessions. Then, if they enjoy it and want to continue, they will likely renew the $800 without the bonus rather than going from $650 to $800. Do you get me??

I see many fitness businesses offer promotions for Black Friday and then in December for XMAS when we know leads/sign ups dry up a fraction, revenue can slow a fraction. Yep, it happens.? Please don’t get me wrong, we absolutely want to be marketing, pushing out content/brand awareness and play hard.

Anyway, to keep this simple, here are 5 reasons why fitness businesses shouldn’t adopt a discount to death strategy and the benefits long term by staying true to your value proposition.


  1. Believe in your service-First point, if you believe in the benefits of your service/product, money shouldn’t really come into it.
  2. Price point-Fitness business should have their standard price point competitive and not inflated which means if there is a big discount, are they over-priced for the service provided. There is an example of a beauty business who always advertise 40% off all year round it feels like so obviously their RRP is 40% less than the perceived norm and the promo is used to trick people into thinking they have a deal on at the moment. Feels like that is an exhausting tactic. When does the river run dry on that one? Or even worse, what happens when they go back to their normal price?
  3. Customer Loyalty- I would say the biggest reason not to succumb is loyalty to your members. If you offer new members a discount or train for free until Jan 1 like many brands do, you are really throwing mud in the face to your number 1 asset and that is your loyal members/database. In theory, the whole database should get the same offer. ?What does that do for your cashflow?
  4. Ongoing retention-If you squeeze your margins right down to get people in, that will be the perceived value so why would they stay when your normal price kicks in. ?So you will roll out the red carpet for the wrong customers, then they burn you chasing the next deal and then you need to go back and kiss butt to the same loyal members who are probably with you through thick and thin.
  5. Suppliers won’t discount-The last one is why discount when none of your suppliers are discounting, not should they! Lets say you discount 30%, then I am certain you can’t get 30% of your payroll bill, your landlord won’t ring you and offer a discount, power and associated running cost will be normal. Therefore, there must be a cash deficit from the strategy. It may even be diluting service of full paying members which could increase churn which as we know will cost you 1000% more revenue. This is why there is a saying discount to death.

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Summary, sure add value like give extra items on top of price points if you want a promotion where required, be consistent to all members, believe/value in what you do and lastly, make sure you are profitable enough to trade healthy which then means you can achieve your purpose and that likely to change lives of those in your community.

If customers complain there is "No Deal" on when other competitors are offering it, they may complain more if there is a "For Lease" sign on your business.

Back yourself and stay true to what you do!

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Happy for comments/thoughts on this blog?

Richard Toutounji

I help health & fitness businesses grow and dominate their local market through strategic storytelling content.

3 个月

Yeah well read Ben. I think this is a great insight to think about about us Fitness business owners and the industry as a whole.

Shannon Downey

Head of Sales - REA at MyConnect Utility Services

4 个月

You never discount on your rates ever.. that’s my opinion. You can give, however , never discount

Megan McKnight

Sales & Digital Marketing 20yrs. Leading teams to deliver digital marketing strategies that grow businesses.

4 个月

Spot on Ben! Valid points and a great way to drive growth. Black Friday is a huge opportunity to be online with an offer as it’s now the biggest sales opportunity for the year. There are so many different ways you can entice people in to yor business without discounting which generally de-values your offer. As a digital marketer, my advice is, consider what your audience is doing/ looking for at that time of year and customise your offer to suit. Eg. Is December when your audience is looking to join a new gym. If yes, great, a value add offer encouraging them to a trial will work. If not, maybe you can offer a content offer (gated content) around staying healthy/ fit/ looking after yourself over the summer eg. Top 9 tips to avoid summer blow outs and stay on your game. It’s the busiest time of year for many, so anything to help them get through will be welcomed. Don’t forget to capture their first name, last name and email address so you can add them to your email marketing campaign ?? This way you can then reach out to them at a better time (late Jan) when they are in the right mindset to join/ trial! On customer loyalty - It’s a great time of year to delight your clients and turn them in to promoters!

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