B2B discounts and promotions - help or hinder?

Already half a year at the very top of the site of one of our competitors is information about the promotion.
Formally, there were several stocks, but as soon as one ended, the next day began the next.
With minimally changed conditions.

Is this a sign of strength or weakness? Do discount sales in B2B help or hinder?
That's what I want to talk about today.

Companies working with retail customers (B2C) have long been determined. There are a small number of brands that never make discounts. These are mainly manufacturers of clothing, handbags and luxury goods, such as jeans Levis or Louis Vuitton. As a rule, they have no or very few seasonal collections. So, the goods will never become obsolete (the Levis 501 jeans model has been produced since the company was founded), therefore there is no reason for a sale.
')
All other brands arrange sales according to a long-established schedule (the main one is Christmas and New Year), as well as transferring the unsold remnants to specialized discounters. True there may not be the desired model or size.



But this is not the case in the B2B business, where sales go primarily to legal entities.

First, such purchases are not spontaneous. It is necessary that all stages of the sales funnel be completed (identifying a problem - finding a solution - choosing a product - planning a budget).

Secondly, several people are involved in the process. For example, in our case it is:

• a business customer (a manager who wants to know what his employees are doing);
• representative of the IT department, which is engaged in implementation and testing;
• professional purchaser, matching price and contract parameters.

That is, you need to interest one person, the whole preparatory process will hold another, and the price will excite the third.

And the buyer is not interested in the business benefits that the company will receive from the implementation of the system. He does not care how much labor productivity rises after the implementation of the monitoring system, he will not benefit from the fact that the company will identify idlers and pests. His premium depends only on the size of the discount, which he will beat out from the manufacturer.

And now imagine that the testing process is completed, a specific system is chosen, the purchaser meets with its manufacturer and demands a discount in the forehead.
“No,” says the manufacturer, “we do not give discounts.”
The buyer is crumpling, trying to reduce the price, threatens (gently) the purchase of another product.
But since the policy on discounts from the supplier is tough enough, and he cannot sabotage the purchase, he gives up.

A completely different conversation takes place when the purchaser opens the manufacturer's website and pokes a finger into the action.
-Well, that's it! - he rejoices, - you give discounts. So give us too!
And here begins a long and tedious trade.



Believe that the buyer will squeeze the maximum possible. And the impossible.
And even if the action was, but it has already ended - they will still require a discount from you. In the extreme case, they will say - well, then we will wait for the next action. And what will you answer?

And quite badly, if, like the example from which my article began, the action is held virtually constantly.
For the purchaser, this means only one thing - the starting point for trading is not the base prices, but the prices, including the stock.
The logic here is simple and clear - “promotional” prices are always available, and now let's talk for an additional discount.

I’m not even talking about the fact that the trust in the product or service on which such constant discounts are valid is not great. Once the shares are held constantly, it means that there is a breakdown in sales, which means that either the seller and marketing are bad, or the product is terrible and not needed by anyone.
Do you, for example, believe in the high quality of goods sold in the “All for 40 rubles” shop?

Now, about personal experience

Do we give discounts? Yes, we give. But!

First , it always happens individually, for a fairly small number of customers.
Secondly , we almost never reduce prices, but offer either additional licenses or additional time by subscription.
Thirdly , we do not offer discounts just like that. Want an extra 3 months? Buy at least 100 licenses for at least a year and pay no later than the 31st.

And here you can already bargain. Because if usually purchasers exchange a discount on the fact of purchase, in our case, we exchange additional goods (the costs for which are not large) for fulfilling certain conditions (the fact of purchase is not disputed).

Good luck with your pricing.
And in business in general :)