Grow Your Customer Base Without Discounting

Yesterday we talked about why regular discounting is a problem, because it destroys the legitimacy of your pricing, creates a cycle where customers are always looking for the next deal, and leads to a race to the bottom.

So how do you preserve (and ideally grow) your customer base without increasing the price?

1  //  BUILD THE LEGITIMACY OF YOUR PRICING

The best advice I’ve been given on driving sales is to STOP SELLING.  Your customers will be more apt to purchase if they think the price exceeds the value – and as distributors, we know the value of LipSense is WAY more than $25.  It’s not a commodity.  It’s an experience.  It’s about what the pricier does for you – how it makes you feel! It sounds cheesy but it’s oh-so-true.  Ask yourself, why does longwear matter?  Why does smudge proof matter?  These “whys” are what you need to focus on.

For me, sweatproof makeup makes me feel confident and strong at the gym on days I feel tired in blah. A smudge proof red lip on a Friday night means I can kiss my husband in a crowded bar and he isn’t going to worry about getting a smudge on his cheek. Longwear means I can feel like a confident girl-boss through an all day meeting because I know I look my best (and there’s nothing that takes away that feeling more for me than needing to sneak off to reapply my makeup midday).

How do you put a price tag on that feeling you’ve described in your why?  I can tell you it’s probably more than $25 and it’s about more than just lip color.  Share that with your customers – but never mention the price!

With that in mind, look at the two posts below.  Which do you think is more likely to get engagement and why?

2  //  ADD VALUE IN OTHER WAYS

Say you’ve been discounting product for a while, or you want to grow your customer base amid eager Facebook sellers claiming to be “going out of business” and offering huge discounts.  How do you reclaim the value of your product?

You have to find other things your customer sees as valuable and offer that!  Before you immediately jump to free items with purchase – STOP.  Adding value doesn’t mean decreasing your profits!  Remember, the $25 price point from LipSense wasn’t made up.  A big factor in setting that price is ensuring YOU make a reasonable profit for your effort.  If you’re giving away free stuff, you’re still destroying that profit.  And, if you’re offering cheap things to maintain your profits, it may not be things your customer actually wants.  If they don’t see the value in their gift (or the money you invest in fancy gift wrap and packaging, etc.), then you’ve not actually added value or incentivized them to buy.  You’ve created a throw-away.

The easiest way to create unique, added value without spending money is through what we call in the negotiation realm high-value, low-cost trades.  Brainstorm a list of everything you have to offer a customer, and use those to build your business.  Some ideas to get you thinking:

• Film demo videos showing how you use the products. Don’t mention how many you have in stock or where to buy them. One of my downlines is great about spur-of-the-moment “get ready with me” live videos in her Facebook group.
• Find a specific audience that you can relate to and develop advice just for them.  The more specific the target, the more likely they’ll tune in and come back to you as an expert.  Frame your advice generally (“How to blend to change your eyeshadow from the office to happy hour”), rather than about a product (“Using ShadowSense to get the perfect evening eye”).  Offer alternatives to your product but still highlight the features (“Use a darker eyeshadow to… I prefer garnet ShadowSense because it’s a cream-to-powder which I think blends easier and I don’t have to worry about it flaking under my eye halfway through dinner.”)
• Provide a free one-on-one color consult (aka a demo) or makeup application before an event to help them get ready – rather than to test your products before they buy
• Send out an application card for every product. If you don’t want to pay to have them produced, hand write them! I did this for months when I started!
• Let friends and family borrow your products with no obligation to buy.

A few things you’ll (hopefully) notice about these ideas:

• They require an investment of your time. Note I’m not recommending you repost one of those fabulous videos that gets shared a dozen times.  We’re trying to build a loyalty to YOU – and you can’t get that by reposting things from someone else.
• They require you to know your customer.  We’ll cover tips to better understand your customers in another post.
• We never talk about the price.  It’s about building up an interest in the product, which gives it value and drives them to you.  Have you ever asked your stylist if she sells that hair spray she used on you at your last appointment because your curls lasted all day?  It’s not because she kept telling you how you needed to buy it or that she had three on the shelf if you wanted one.  Same idea here.

3  //  WHEN YOU DO OFFER A DEAL

Do it for a reason

We’ve built up the value of the product and gotten customers interested.  Many will buy purely on that, but say it’s been a tough month and you need bigger sales (you’ve got a big bill coming in, want to hit a rank, etc).  You really want to run that deal, but don’t want to undo all the hard work you’ve done to develop good pricing legitimacy.

The discount has to seem reasonable and justified, not arbitrary.  (And ps. all of this logic can be applied to a free gift with purchase too – it’s not just about discounts.)  When would a discount be fair?

• When demand changes: It’s March and everyone is gearing up for spring.  Run a discount on dark winter colors to get them out of your inventory and make way for those spring and summer brights.
• When you’re trading value for value: You offer a discount in exchange for doing something. “Share this post on your wall (which drives value to you through increased exposure) and I’ll send you a code for 10% off your next purchase!
• When you can decrease the cost for you to purchase: “I’ve got a huge order going in on April 1. Everyone who preorders a color will get 5% off!”
• When the discount is not personally motivated: Offer 5% off a product and to donate 10% of the total sale to a charity or cause you support.  The discount is so you can drive more sales to give more, not to make you more money.

Create a fading opportunity

Your discount or free gift with purchase is unlikely to motivate sales if the customer believes they can get it at any point.  You’d be shocked how many messages I get a day asking if I’m offering a coupon today or if I could just discount their order because they just saw the post about an offer I ran a month ago.  If I honored the discount forever, then I’m back where I started – the products I’m selling aren’t perceived to be worth full price.

The fading opportunity has to be reasonable and real.  A discount until Friday is arbitrary.  A discount until something is out-of-stock is more reasonable.  Other ideas to create a fading opportunity:

• If you’re ordering product, set a date to place all the orders.  If they’re not on the order, they don’t get the deal.  
• If you’re raising money for charity, pick a date to send in donations.
• If you’re offering a free gift, only have a few available.  When they’re gone, they’re gone (they’re not replaced with something else free).  
• If you’re offering hand delivery or gift wrap, offer it just for a specific holiday, on specific gift sets, and set the deadline based on when you’ll be doing the “heavy lifting”.

And with all of these, use them sparingly.  A good rule of thumb is one sale per quarter – or less.  Any more than that and your “sales” start to feel more like your regular price.  

Show how others took advantage of the opportunity

Post a quick photo letting customers know their orders are going out.  Ensure the free gift is in the shot (maybe an in-process packing picture) or show a photo of the person you donated money to and how much you donated.  Customers are more apt to want a future offer if they see others took advantage of your last one!

4  //  Play the long game

Regardless of whether you offer an occasional sale, continue to invest in the relationship post-sale.

One way to differentiate yourself is customer service.  Remember their birthday and send them a private note or (gasp!) a handwritten card.  Email them to see how they’re liking the product.  Send them an application video featuring YOU and whatever they bought (“I just filmed this video on blending colors and remembered you bought Bravo and Bella. I wasn’t sure if I’d told you about this little trick so I thought I’d pass it along!”).  Don’t pitch them on other products (“If you liked X, then you’ll love Y.”).  Just make connections!

Have other ideas or questions?  Send them my way!  And make sure you subscribe to our mailing list via the box on the far right if you’d like to get more advice like this straight to your inbox.

Missed Part 1?  Reread it here.