Discounts for regular customers. Building a system of discounts using discount cards in the store

Discounts have always been used as a means to attract customers. However, now that the buyer has become more aware of marketing tricks and receptions, it is not enough just to put up a colorful banner and announce the sales season. You should know your client, his needs, and use this when preparing the campaign. A discount campaign should become part of a policy to increase customer loyalty and “work” to your benefit. Let's figure out how to really develop effective system discounts

Discounts and consumer desires

If earlier such actions caused a stir, today any shopping mall is full of advertisements about discounts, and the average consumer’s attitude towards them has long changed. Often bright posters only cause irritation. Many buyers already react to discounts in their own way, relying not on the desire to save money, but on their common sense.

Therefore, you should approach your own sale wisely. To increase sales and increase customer demand, you need to get to know your customers well. The main desires of the modern consumer are to save or benefit from time, money, or their own efforts. Everyone wants to receive a service or product quickly, easily and inexpensively.

Most often, businessmen rely only on the consumer’s desire to save money, forgetting about his other needs. And in order to develop a truly effective discount system, you should learn to use the needs of your client for your own purposes.

Target audience and types of clients

The composition of the target audience depends on what properties and characteristics the company’s products have. Having already identified the circle of potential buyers, you can develop a marketing strategy. All consumers are divided into three categories depending on their needs. Of course, all clients, if you ask them what guides them when making a purchase decision, will answer that they first of all pay attention to the price. However, each type of consumer has others, no less important criteria choice.

First group: price

Buyers of the first group - the largest in number - when choosing a product, first of all pay attention to the price. It is these clients who will look for where it is cheaper, and can buy a large batch, even in bulk - as long as the price is lower. This is more than half of all consumers, and 20% of these people only shop at discounts.

If target audience company primarily consists of such consumers, then discounts will be one of the most effective tools marketing policy. In this case, the company should create a system of regular and consistent discounts. And the larger their size and the more varied they are, the better. For example, discount campaigns “30-50-70%” and the like. These are quite common examples and such posters hang in every shopping center.

Second group: price and quality

The second type of buyer looks not only at the price of the product, but also at the ratio of its cost and quality. Such clients want to know exactly what they are paying money for. An advertising campaign for such a consumer should advantageously show the level of product quality and this information should be presented competently. Discounts for the second group should not be large, they should be made better during the off-season and only to maintain demand. The discount size should not be set higher than 20% - this will attract the attention of such customers, at least force them to ask the price of a product or service, and maybe even make a purchase.

Third group: price, quality and service

And finally, the smallest category of clients, in addition to the price-quality ratio, attaches great importance to related and after-sales service. These people care about how they feel when using a service or purchasing a product. Since their own importance comes first, they should use a personal approach to the client. The discount plays a very minor role here, only as a pleasant addition. The size of such a discount is not even important here, even if it is only 5% - the very fact of its existence is sufficient. And if in the area where the company operates, discounts are not common at all, they may not be applied. Good idea in this case, there will be a division of buyers by status, for example, issuing a platinum, gold or silver client card.

Having studied your client, you can use his interests and desires in different ways. If the characteristics of the product allow it, it is worth adjusting your business to all categories at once, developing a discount system in such a way that it affects each type of consumer. Many companies promote their product to all categories of customers at once, skillfully using different packaging and different pricing policy. This division of the marketing campaign into areas will allow you to create an effective system of discounts, which will certainly bear fruit in the form of increased purchasing activity.

Cumulative discount system

VamShop also provides a system of cumulative discounts, i.e. The buyer's discount is determined depending on the amount of all purchases made in the online store.

Cumulative discount system. Quite a well-known discount system. A discount depending on the total amount of all purchases ever made in the online store. For example, you can define a 5% discount for customers who made purchases in your online store for an amount over 10,000 rubles, 10% for customers who made purchases in your online store for an amount over 20,000 rubles. etc. We will look at how to work with this type of discount correctly below.

Let's look at an example of how to set up a cumulative discount system. For example, we want to make the following discount system:

2% discount for customers whose total order amount is over 500 rubles. up to 1000 rub.

3% discount for customers whose total order amount is over 1000 rubles. up to 1500 rub.

5% discount for customers whose total order amount is over 1,500 rubles. up to 2000 rub.

7% discount for customers whose total order amount is over 2,000 rubles. up to 2500 rub.

8% discount for customers whose total order amount is over 2,500 rubles. up to 3000 rub.

10% discount for customers whose total order amount is over RUB 3,000.

We have defined the discount conditions, now we move on to setting up this discount system.

Go to Admin - Buyers - Client groups - fig. 24.

We moved on to the list of buyer groups - Fig. 25.

Cumulative discounts are implemented through groups. We have already discussed above how to set up group discounts, we will not go into detail so as not to repeat ourselves, I will only write about the differences.

Based on the example, we need to create 6 new groups. To create a group, click the Add button - fig. 26.

This takes us to the page for creating a new group - Fig. 27.

We create groups with the following data, fill in only those fields that are indicated below, do not touch the remaining fields of the form:

Group name

The name of the group being created is indicated here. We need to create 6 groups, we will name the groups in order: First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth.

Specify a discount from 0 to 100% that will be applied to each product

This actually indicates the cumulative discount that customers who reach a certain amount will receive. The discount is indicated as a percentage; the discount can be given not only to reduce the price of the product, but also to increase it. In our case, we need to create six groups and each group will have discounts: First: 2%, Second: 3%, Third: 5%, Fourth: 7%, Fifth: 8%, Sixth: 10%.

Cumulative limit

Here we must indicate the limit, in other words, the total amount of orders, upon reaching which the buyer automatically falls into this group and receives an appropriate discount. In our case, six groups will have the following cumulative limits: First: 500, Second: 1000, Third: 1500, Fourth: 2000, Fifth: 2500, Sixth: 3000.

Cumulative statuses

Here we must indicate which orders will be taken into account when calculating the total amount of the buyer’s purchases and on the basis of this, the discount that the buyer will receive when the cumulative limits are reached is determined. Obviously, only paid orders should be taken into account. In our example, we mark the statuses: In Progress, Delivered, Delivered.

Thus we create six groups:

First: 2% discount, cumulative limit 500

Second: 3% discount, cumulative limit 1000

Third: 4% discount, cumulative limit 1500

Fourth: 7% discount, cumulative limit 2000

Fifth: 8% discount, cumulative limit 2500

Sixth: 10% discount, cumulative limit 3000

This completes the creation of a cumulative discount system!

Now any buyer who has reached the specified limits will be automatically transferred to the appropriate group and will receive a discount corresponding to the group.

Everything will happen automatically when the order status changes, i.e. When the administrator checks orders placed in the online store, it is when the order status changes that the total amount of the client’s purchases will be calculated and if he reaches the specified limits, he will be automatically transferred to the appropriate group, receiving the discount specified in the group settings.

When the limits are reached, the client and the administrator will receive messages by e-mail with information about receiving a new discount and the limit reached.

A few notes on cumulative discounts:

You don't have to reach the limit in one purchase.

When determining whether the buyer has reached certain limits or not, all orders ever placed by the buyer in the online store are summed up.

When a buyer reaches any limits and transfers this buyer to a new group, the buyer(s) and the administrator(s) of the online store receive notifications by email with information about receiving a new discount and about the accumulated limit.

N.A. Abramova General Director of TH "Alfa-Service"
Magazine “Planning and Economic Department”, No. 3 for 2011

New Year, February 23, March 8... During the holidays, the number of customers in stores increases. And so that everyone leaves the store happy and with a lot of purchases, you can unobtrusively push him towards these very purchases. The main thing is to correctly calculate the size and duration of discounts in order to cover momentary losses by increasing sales volume. The seller’s hesitation is always understandable: excessive extravagance, without leading to a noticeable increase in sales, guarantees a decrease in profits; excessive caution, especially during the holidays, will lead to an outflow of customers and a decrease in sales volumes. How to find golden mean, which will allow us, sellers, to make a profit, not lose customers, and increase sales volumes? Let's figure it out.

If you ask sellers for what purpose they provide discounts, you can hear different answers:

• Everyone gives discounts, and so do I. Buyers are not interested in goods if there are no discounts on them;
• if the buyer doubts whether to purchase a product or not, then the easiest and most effective way to persuade him is to provide a discount;
• market prices for the same categories of goods are approximately the same. To attract a buyer, you need to offer a discount.

First, let's look at the times when discounts are ineffective and don't live up to expectations. The first mistake of the seller is that he did not calculate the economic efficiency of the discount provided, did not estimate how much the turnover should increase in order for the discount to pay off and income not to fall. A small calculation (below we will see how to do it correctly) will show that a 5% discount requires an increase in turnover of at least 30%, and this is a significant increase.

You won't surprise anyone with discounts now. And sellers often do not take into account that many buyers believe that sellers first put the product up for sale at an inflated price, and two weeks later they put up a discount label and began selling the product at the “correct” price. To be honest, sellers often do this. Therefore, before buying an expensive durable product, such as a refrigerator or a car, buyers will visit several stores, search for information on the Internet, and only then make a choice in favor of one store or another. And the main element of choice for the majority will be the final price and quality of the product, warranty periods for the product, but no discount provided.

FYI. Human psychology is structured in such a way that the first noticeable and significant number for them is 15%. Whether their salary was increased, whether they were given a discount, or the price of gasoline was raised - most people will pay attention to this only if the size of the change exceeds 15%. Therefore, discounts of 5 or even 10% will not add noticeable attention to the product. And vice versa, if the buyer likes the product, he will buy it without a discount.

For any buyer, the value is the product itself, the purchase of the right to own it, and not its cost. Price targeting begins where there is a lack of information about the product itself, or where the market is oversaturated with goods in one category. After all, you can take a different path and not provide a discount, reducing the price of the product, but, for example, offer a bonus, a gift that increases the value of the product itself, or some related product. But these should not be old 3.5 floppy disks for a computer that no one buys, and other unnecessary stale goods. But free delivery of heavy goods will definitely interest the buyer. This will be a good counterbalance to discounts, which also really works.

Pay attention! It often happens that the seller reduces his profit by offering discounts without first calculating their cost-effectiveness. But sometimes it is easier and more economical to resort to other effective methods.

So do you need discounts or not? And if necessary, in what cases will their use be most effective? What will help the seller do right choice- common sense, pursuit of public opinion or precise calculation?

So, the seller must understand that discounts are not a necessary evil, but a means of increasing income. The most effective in practice is not one or two discounts on a specific product, but a whole system of discounts, simple and understandable to both employees of the trading company and customers. Discounts burdened with additional conditions should not lead employees and customers into the jungle of these conditions. The use of a discount system creates a bright, accessible and understandable advertising campaign from bright stands at the entrance and inside the store to announcements and commercials on television and radio.

By and large, the variety of discounts applied can be divided into the following groups.

• Temporary discounts. They are provided at a certain time interval (morning, night), during the season (summer, winter) or on holidays.
• Segment discounts. Provided to a specific circle of people or social group(housewives, students, pensioners).
• Hidden or inconsistent discounts. A product of marketers who are “not friendly with their heads.” A type of discount that the buyer learns about only when standing at the checkout and about to pay or receiving a terrible-looking kettle with a whistle as a “gift”. I just want to ask: why? Whether this discount is or not is no longer important.
• Saving from additional costs. Selling stale, unfashionable goods or end-of-season sales and eliminating the costs of storing and transporting goods.

Let's see how positive and negative sides have discounts, why they are interesting for the seller and the buyer, and learn to calculate the economic efficiency of the discount.

Increasing discounts with increasing purchase volumes

This type of discount is used most often. The seller develops a scale of discount percentages, which increases as the volume of purchases increases over a certain period of time. For example, in a month you bought an iron and a coffee maker and received a 4% discount, and if you also want to buy a microwave oven, the discount will be 6% on all purchased goods. The simplest example to understand the principle. In most cases, such discount systems are created out of the blue, and even the seller himself does not undertake to determine their effectiveness.

Initially, we assume that the appointment of a progressive discount scale will primarily provoke an increase in sales, that is, an increase in volume. Based on the economic concept of profitability, the profit received at a price with a discount and increased sales volume should be no less (and even more) than the expected profit at prices without discounts and current level sales

So, let’s create a formula for calculating the progressive scale of discounts:

Profit is the current amount of commodity revenue minus variable costs (for an industrial enterprise) or the cost of purchasing goods (for a trading enterprise). If a trading company has its own production, then all variable costs must also be deducted from revenue.

The expected profit increase is the planned revenue for an increased volume of goods. The larger the enterprise, the more complex calculations for product items, prices, sales volumes and units of measurement will be. It should be taken into account that the discount scale is developed not for one product, but for an entire category of goods, the sales volume of which needs to be increased. The discount scale can be applied either specifically to each client, or it can be made uniform for all clients, without singling out any of them. Let's look at both examples of using a progressive discount scale.

Example 1

Our regular customer expects an additional discount. We will calculate whether this is beneficial for us and offer a specific buyer an additional condition for providing a discount.

This buyer already has a 3% discount and buys goods worth RUB 50,000 from us every month. in the amount of 50 pieces. That is, taking into account the discount, the commodity price of all goods purchased by him is 51,546 rubles. (50,000 / (1 – 3% / 100%)). The trade margin for this product is 20%. Purchase price or cost of production - 42,955 rubles. (51,546 / (1 + 20% / 100%)), and the profit is 7,045 rubles. (50,000 – 42,955).

How much must a buyer buy a product for to receive a 5% or 7% discount? We want to create a scale of discounts, so each discount percentage will have its own calculation conditions. Let's take into account that the seller wants to receive an additional profit of 200 rubles for a 5% discount, and 500 rubles for a 7% discount. The calculation is given in table. 1.

Table 1. Calculation of new sales volumes

Calculations were made using the above formula. For the first column, the discount is 0, the markup is the same for all columns and is equal to 20%. Expected profit growth for the first column = 0. Find the required sales volume at a discount equal to 0: (7045 – 0) / (1 – 1 / ((1 – 0 / 100) × (1 + 20 / 100)) = 42,269 rub.

The required sales volume is equal to the full price because there is no discount in the first column.

We remove the 20% premium from the full price and get the purchase price: 42,269 / (1 + 20 / 100) = 35,224 rubles.

We calculate the ratio of the required volume to the current one as a percentage: (42,269 – 50,000) / 50,000 × 100% = –15.5%.

By providing a 5% discount, we want to increase our profit by 200 rubles. for the entire volume of goods. Now the formula will take the following form: (7045 + 200) / (1 – 1 / ((1 – 5 / 100) × (1 + 20 / 100)) = 58,995 - the required sales volume at a discount.

The full price will be 62,100 rubles. (58,995 / (1 – 5 / 100)). Purchase price - 51,750 rubles. (62,100 / (1 + 20 /100)).

The ratio of the required volume to the current one is 18% ((58,995 – 50,000) / 50,000 × 100%).

All other calculations are performed in exactly the same way.

The buyer can count on a 5% discount if he increases purchases of goods by at least 18%. This will be our counter offer. And if he wants a 7% discount, then purchases should almost double. If the buyer agrees to this, such cooperation will be mutually beneficial.

Example 2

Now let's consider the general case of calculating the discount scale. What is needed for this? First, let's determine the sales volume, so to speak, the lower limit of the purchase volume from which the discount begins. This stage of calculations is the most difficult, requiring a comprehensive analysis of the sales volumes of a trade organization or the sales policy of an industrial enterprise. The lowest limit can be considered the break-even point, that is, the provision of a discount at the very beginning of sales. Of course, in this case the profit margin will be less than expected. But many retail and industrial enterprises offer this type of discount scale in order to increase competitiveness and attract potential buyers.

It is also necessary to determine the expected amount of profit that the company would like to receive for the volume of goods sold. We are not talking about profitability, which is calculated in calculations per unit of production, but rather about profit for a certain amount of products sold. In this case, the expected profit cannot be less than profitability, but its upper limit is limited by the competitiveness of the product price and consumer demand for this product category.

To determine the size of the calculated discount steps, you can arm yourself with the already accumulated this issue practical experience and don't reinvent the wheel. But if the product is new or the circle of buyers is quite stable, then you can conduct a survey or a full-fledged sociological study and calculate a scale for reducing the price of the product to increase the interest of potential buyers, then calculate a scale for the volume of products sold (Table 2).

Table 2. Calculation of the discount scale

What can be concluded? The purpose of providing discounts is to increase sales, as in the calculations we are considering. The profit level will increase only if the sales volume for each discount exceeds the calculated one for each discount percentage. And if with wholesale regular customers it is quite simple to make such a calculation and determine the size of the discount, then in retail trade the indicators will always differ from the calculated ones. Ignoring the reasons for a decrease or increase in consumer demand can lead to the fact that actual indicators may differ significantly from the calculated ones, and it is good if big side. This can threaten both a decrease in expected profit and the appearance of illiquid, stale goods. This may be why real discounts in stores do not exceed 3–5%: sellers trust their caution more and do not organize constant trade with large discounts.

Let's see how the volume of goods sold should increase if the discount percentage increases and the profit share remains unchanged (see figure).

Dynamics of the volume of goods sold

In life, everything can be calculated much more simply, without resorting to complex academic formulas. The above formula is not entirely convenient for practical calculations, since we depend on the volume of additional products sold on the expected profit. More often, you need to calculate the optimal discount percentage for a specific buyer or a single optimal percentage for all buyers, and the formula for calculating the optimal discount percentage will help in such calculations:

Max.% Discount = (Profit – (Profit × Min. Volume / Expected Volume) / Unit Price.

Example 3

Let's use the data from example 1. (7045 – 7045 × (62,100 – 42,269) / 62,100) / 1031 = 4.7%. The minimum additional volume of goods sold is determined by the difference between the expected sales volume and the existing one. The price of the product is known and established. Based on this calculation, the seller understands that with an increase in sales volume by 18%, the maximum possible discount will be 4.7%. To obtain additional profit, you need to either make the discount lower or increase sales even more.

Pay attention! The seller, by providing a discount, pursues two goals: to gain additional profit or to get rid of an unfashionable product that is not interesting to customers. Permanent discounts lose their relevance over time and people stop paying attention to them.

Contract discount

Very interesting is contract discount. There are plenty of options for both the buyer and the seller. These are discounts for prepayment, when purchasing certain types of goods, and even when using various types of payments in foreign currency. Various types of discounts under a contract can be combined, always taking into account the interests of the buyer. If he is not interested in our proposals, there is no need to impose them on him. For example, transport services can be added to the discount system, which is widely used by companies that have their own transport. A discount is provided for a product if the buyer has ordered transport from the seller or manufacturer and transport for its delivery. The economic efficiency of discounts is calculated in the usual way.

Pre-holiday or seasonal discounts

These are the same discounts that we talked about at the beginning of the article. Such discounts require promotions. Before the holidays, every potential buyer will be looking for gifts for their family and friends. It is necessary to focus his attention on our store. This type of discount is mainly used for retail, as opposed to seasonal sales. The question arises: what to do with unsold goods, for example from the summer collection? What is cheaper - selling them at a significant discount or leaving them gathering dust on store shelves waiting for a bright future? In this case, the size of the discount and its effectiveness are determined by the cost of storing the goods in a warehouse and the low probability of selling the goods at the original price. Many buyers eagerly await seasonal sales, when prices sometimes drop by almost 80%. But there is another way for seasonal discounts - to sell goods at a discount before the onset of the main season, offering new products that are interesting to the buyer.

Supermarkets use similar discounts every day to reduce the load on the store in the evenings and weekends. They offer discounts on all purchases up to 12 noon on weekdays and at night, so that interested people come to the store to shop outside of busy times. In this case, the size of discounts and their effectiveness depend on the amount of lost profits when consumer demand is not met during peak hours.

Retaining regular customers and attracting new ones

When customers are “accustomed” to buying goods in a certain store, it is necessary to develop a system of cumulative discounts in order to retain them, in which the discount percentage increases for a specific customer when a certain amount of the cost of all his purchases is reached. For example, for purchases worth more than 5,000 rubles. a 3% discount is provided, when crossing the barrier of 10,000 - 5%, 15,000 - 7%, etc. When a certain purchase price is reached, the maximum possible discount percentage is assigned, which is significant for the buyer, which will not allow him to change the discount store. The purchase amount and the discount will have to be taken into account using magnetic cards, the cost of manufacturing of which and the cost of reading devices will also have to be taken into account when calculating the discount scale. Some supermarkets offer a discount or gift when purchasing goods for a certain amount at the same time, which may also be of interest to the buyer.

Pay attention! Many supermarkets use a very interesting method to attract new customers and retain regular ones. Indicator goods are selected - milk, bread, cereals, which are most often purchased by each person, and the price of these products is reduced quite noticeably. At the same time, prices for other goods in the same category that have more beautiful packaging or a longer shelf life, as well as for goods purchased for gifts or pleasure, may be inflated.

Products with reduced prices should be popular, there should be few of them (no more than three to five from each category), but they should be in high demand every day. Then, in order to buy cheap bread and milk, the buyer will come to this particular store, while simultaneously purchasing other products at prices without discounts or even inflated prices, which compensates for discounts on popular goods.

Network discounts

A separate group includes discounts intended for network distributors, distributors, dealers and other sellers network marketing. Products are sold to distributors at a discount of approximately equal value searching for a potential buyer and subsequent sale of products. The size of such discounts can vary from 15 to 100% depending on the implementation of the sales plan.

The sale of goods through catalogs in online stores is gaining momentum, as well as a new online service - collective purchasing. The meaning of the idea is that lots with certain goods and services are put up on the site, including trips to a restaurant or fitness club. The discount increases when other clients are attracted and is distributed equally among all clients at the time of sale. The more buyers bought a product or service, the cheaper it costs them. The discount scale is simple and clear; any user can see how many more customers are needed for this or that discount to apply. In this case, the buyer himself is interested in attracting new customers and performs the functions of free advertising. On such sites you can find offers with a 90% discount, valid for a short time only in order to attract potential buyers of goods or services.

The benefits of such discounts are obvious: you can buy a product or service that you couldn’t afford at full price, new types of services can be “tasted” for a small fee, a purchased coupon can be used as a gift, you can get together with a large group, agree and redeem coupons at a big discount for a celebration in an expensive restaurant or nightclub. You can make money by attracting customers: many sites pay a certain amount or give gifts for attracting customers.

To sell a lot of goods and at a good profit, you don’t have to be the smartest or the most experienced. Most likely, on the contrary, you need to forget about what you were once taught. For example, it is necessary to forever forget the rule of American businessmen that the buyer can be manipulated. Forget also that selling is a difficult and thankless profession, and forbid your hired sellers to remember this too.

If you want to have a high sales volume, you don't need to start with discounts or bonuses. There is something very cheap in monetary terms and expensive for any person - in our case, the buyer. Smile, polite and even attitude, friendly communication. Even if the prices in your store are higher than those of your neighbors, and there will be no discounts, there will always be an influx of customers.

Conversely, you can plaster your store with discount tags and the word “sale,” but gloomy and even rude salespeople, long lines, ignoring customers, or overly intrusive staff will cause all correctly made cost-effectiveness calculations to be shattered by the soviet mentality of your store employees. and the buyer will swear even to cross the threshold. Sometimes it is the friendliness of the seller that becomes the main incentive for shopping in this store.

FYI. Now the so-called trust marketing is gaining momentum. Its meaning is that having “tamed” the buyer to your store, providing him increased attention, you win his heart and affection, and the buyer is ready to come to your store again and again for a kind word and your attention.

Let's say we are going to install in our store trust relationship with the buyer. Where to start? You offer a potential buyer some kind of chip with the address, phone number and email address (if any) of your store (a magazine with interesting articles, a chocolate bar, a small bottle of shampoo) in exchange for the phone number or email address of the future buyer. Few people will refuse such a little thing. Next, you can call or write to the future buyer and offer a free service or product at a good discount. The main thing is that this call/letter corresponds to the interests of the client, that is, at the moment of recording the address and name, you should find out what the future buyer was interested in and offer him only what he really needs. As a result, the buyer himself matures into the need to purchase goods from you and will maintain a pleasant and long-term relationship with your store. How to calculate the economic efficiency of such a step? Almost impossible, but the result will be worth the effort.

The listed marketing moves also have all the signs of discounts: the seller reduces the price of the product. One more interesting example is the application of discounts by segments of consumer demand. For example, a pensioner will always go to buy goods in a store that offers a discount for pensioners. And, having seen an advertisement about such discounts, he will remember it and take advantage of it, because he has a lot of time, but little money, and he agrees to go where the product will cost him less. Discounts in stores and cinemas in the morning and afternoon hours of working days also have their own contingent of buyers of goods and services - pensioners and unemployed people. Market segmentation also includes dividing stores into expensive, medium and cheap. Market segmentation has simply permeated our entire lives.

Resume

Sales psychology is a whole science that has developed along with humanity throughout its history. Despite all the calculations of economic efficiency, the end result may not be what was expected if you do not take into account the nuances of human psychology. The easiest way is to trade food and basic necessities. However, there are convenience stores in almost every yard, and their profit margin is limited by the number of residents living in the area. Such stores do not need to organize any sales (unless out of a desire to lure customers from a neighboring store). Marketing moves and discounts are of interest primarily to large stores and chains, and the cost of a mistake when choosing a marketing policy can be significant.

We must also not forget that for effective use A system of discounts, in addition to advertising, charm and goodwill of sellers, also requires a system of motivation for employees. It is necessary to develop a clear and understandable system of bonus payments, when a successful seller is rewarded not only for the volume and quantity of goods sold, but also for the absence of complaints about his work, attracting new customers, etc.

Every seller must know that when offering a discount of 20% or more, he must prepare supporting documents to explain his actions: issue an appropriate order or order for the enterprise on the appointment of a discount and the reasons for its appointment, attaching the necessary economic calculations, or indicate the reasons for reducing discounts in the contract with the buyer. Such actions are necessary to justify and explain one’s actions to the tax authorities, since, according to Art. 40 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a short-term decrease or increase in the price of a product by more than 20% must be checked by tax authorities for the legality of application in order to protect the market from dumping or shortages.

The seller needs to be able to correctly calculate the cost-effectiveness of the discounts provided in order to obtain the maximum possible profit while building trust and interest on the part of buyers. The discount system should be beneficial to both the seller and the buyer. Only in this case is it possible to strengthen and develop long-term relationships to mutual satisfaction.

One of the most effective tools customer retention in our time is a system of discount cards. By understanding, and implementing it in your business, you can achieve tangible results in increasing sales volume and more.

Problems that the discount card system solves:

Stimulating repeat purchases;

Increasing company profits;

Increasing the amount of the check and the regularity of purchases (this applies to a greater extent to the cumulative system of discounts and bonuses);

Building brand loyalty.

Now let's figure it out. There are many options:

A discount card may provide a discount on a purchase. Typically, the discount size varies from 1-2% to 10-20%. Most often, the system of discounts on a discount card is cumulative: at first a small percentage is set, and after passing certain thresholds of the amount spent on purchases, the discount amount increases.

A discount card can allow you to accumulate and then spend bonuses for purchases made. This is a more “cunning” scheme, since it provides for the burning of bonuses and not always simple rules applications. In addition, most often there is a limit on payment with bonuses - up to 20% of the check amount.

The discount system may not belong to the company itself, but may be implemented on partnership terms with other services: by bank card VISA, the “Thank you from Sberbank” loyalty program or the “Svyaznoy-Club” system. In this case, you can accumulate and spend bonuses in a whole network of different brands.

Now you know How does the discount card system work?. Let's take a look on its own:

Of course, it all starts with thinking through a strategy for introducing discount cards into a specific business.

When the strategy has been developed and tested for viability, the next stage comes - creating a discount card layout. It is important not only to approach design issues competently, but also to think through the technical side of the project. Will there be a discount card with a magnetic stripe or will it be a smart card. Do I need to physically place it on the map? personal information or you can limit yourself to electronic data. Without fully understanding it, you can still make an annoying mistake at the preparation stage, which can subsequently take a lot of time and money to correct. Therefore, it is better to provide for all the details, and if necessary, consult with those who have already encountered this issue more than once and know first-hand, how does the discount system work?.

So, the layout is ready. The time has come to decide on a company that will print the required edition. If you contact a printing house with extensive experience in the market and a good reputation, they will probably tell you which materials are best to choose to complete your task, what types of personalization should be done in each specific case, and which ones you can do without. In other words, they will advise you on how best to print discount cards. And since this is not the first time that printing house specialists have encountered such problems, their opinion can be trusted. They know for sure how does a discount card work? and how best to print it.

Bingo! You can pick up the printed edition, carefully check it for defects and put the cards to work. By the way, you can distribute discount cards both for a fee and for free - each option has its own advantages and disadvantages. The decision is primarily determined by the specifics of your business and the prevailing circumstances in your company and in the market as a whole.

Conclusion: when planning to introduce discount cards into your business, do not take active steps until you understand how do discount cards work?. Explore everything possible options, determine which one suits you better than the others, and only then “get into the fight.” Good luck!