It seems that everyone is after handsome discounts in everything these days! We are going to have a look at 8 different scenarios where the event professionals might find it difficult to deal with this discount fever.
There are many reasons that lead the clients to ask for discounts but, as a business owner you need to find an effective way to value and maintain your business relationship. There will be points when you will be able to negotiate the discounts but, there will also be time when you have to remain steady and stick to your decision. The key part is that you need to know how to manage the prices as well as maintain a good relationship with your clients.
1. Non-Profit Organizations:
Dealing with nonprofit organizations might put you in a situation where they are seeking for discounts because of small budgets. This is tough dealing for sure especially, when you are doing your business to make money. But, you need to consider good causes as well.
You need to search for opportunities to maintain both the purposes. You can write off your services for a tax break. Maybe you can charge your fee for planning the event while try and get them some discounts with others vendors.
2. Booking On Unconventional Days:
You will definitely find clients who prefer booking on an unconventional time just to avail a good discounts. For instance, if you are in event planning, wedding is one of the most common events to organize. Now people would think of seeking a date on Friday or Sunday rather than the highly demanded Saturday, expecting they will get discounts for that.
Needless to say, these types of opportunities are great ways to fill your plate with more offers. As long as you feel comfortable with it, it will be a win-win situation for you.
3. Business In Return:
Offering return business is the most common situation for seeking discounts on events. If any customer is offering you another customer in return to show customer loyalty, then its very likely they will ask for some sort of a discount. You should have proper planning to return the customer repeat custom.
If you find a loyal customer who continues to be great with your service, you need to find ways to benefit the customer. Approving some discounts from time to time is the way to do business but, it doesn’t mean you will fulfill all the expectations. You’ve set your prices at certain level to find success through it so, allowing discount every time is not good.
4. Providing Referrals;
Finding referrals for your business is a big dividend for you so, whichever customer is doing so, you need to find ways to reward them you can do this by offering discounts based on the amount of people they refer. Depending on your service and specialties, you will find ways to facilitate your customers. Eventually, you need to find ways to appreciate people who are sending businesses your way.
5. Advance Booking:
If some customers are coming to you well in advance of their events, its very likely that they will ask for discounts on booking. You must consider that having businesses locked prior to the events and a few months in advance will provide you the peace of mind. So, this might be a great opportunity to offer discounts because it is benefiting for your business.
6. Increased Potential For Promotions:
You will be in situations as event planner where the customers will ask for an event discounts if they promise to offer good exposure to the potential clients and this could really be a good deal and a worthwhile compromise that would really pay off. You just need to make sure to ask various types of questions regarding the exposure they promise to offer. You can also ask for the guest list to ensure who is attending the event.
7. Signing Multiple Events:
When a client comes with multiple packages to sign in, very likely they will look for some sort of discounts on the overall package. You need to consider the fact that this would lead to multiple opportunities for your business to make good money. Chances are there, if you do good job, they will keep on hiring you for various others projects as well.
8. Post Event Negotiations:
After the completion of the event some clients may find that their needs were not successfully met for some reasons. If you find that there were real issues from your side, you must negotiate with the customers and may be a little flexible with the pricing. But, remember that if you have done a great job, you should come to a negotiation with the pricing. Making an agreement prior to the event will make things more correct for both of you. However, you should try and convince the customers if you’ve really done a great job.
Conclusion
If a client is coming to you with new projects or referral projects, it’s always a very exciting process to learn something from. However, it always comes with its fair share of negotiations. You must remember that discounts might bring some wonderful opportunities for your business but, that shouldn’t be the regular practice.
