PR Company, Internet Marketing

Dominos Pizza

According to the Daily Mail last week, Dominos pizza add a 900% mark up on a large margarita pizza. Without going into a discussion about how much of your £11.99 is pure profit for the takeaway giant, in the JPR office we got thinking about Dominos pizza, our late nights in the office and voucher codes, how they can devalue your brand.

Over the last few years, several voucher code and cashback websites have popped up over the internet offering a range of discounts for certain retailers. If you know your stuff about internet marketing, you will be aware that these voucher code sites are actually affiliates who get a cut of the sale if a customer uses the voucher code given to them by the retailer.

This is great for the savvy customer who has the time and the inclination to trawl the internet for voucher codes, and at JPR, we support the use of affiliate marketing and sparing use of voucher codes… but what damage can you do to your brand by releasing discount codes too frequently?

- Customer expectation – if you release vouchers too often then customers may delay or even avoid making a full price purchase from your business as they believe that the next hefty discount is just around the corner, relieving you of what could otherwise have been a certain sale.

- “We know we’re expensive!” - by releasing discount vouchers too often, you are effectively saying this to your customers. The generous offer you’re making becomes normal and customers will question how your business gets by when you’re discounting the price so often and they will conclude that your original prices were simply too high.

- Bigger isn’t always better – Last year, Google made a bid to buy voucher website Groupon for a reported $6 billion. Working with huge discount websites can be difficult for small businesses as they can’t cope with the volume of custom the deal brings through the door. It brings us on to our final point:

- Where is the loyalty? - If you’re a massive brand already then the chances are that people know who you are and where to find you. If you’re a small business then you’re taking a chance that the customers are happy with their purchase or your services. The problem with offering good discounts is that often new customers are unlikely to return for full price, no matter how good you are.

Issuing discount voucher codes is a great way to reward loyal customers and attract new ones, strike the right balance with a complementary internet marketing strategy and you will protect the value of your brand.

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