Herd mentality

It’s a Bargain! The Power of Discount Marketing

The Snapshot

  • Bargains can encourage shoppers to buy products or services
  • Herd mentality can boost the confidence of your customers
  • Images can play an important part in selling your product or service

Power of the bargain

How many times have you walked through a supermarket and stopped dead still at the bargain basement counter? Many of you will have gone further and bought the discounted products. But, why do we feel compelled to buy products that have been discounted? According to Dr Dimitri Tsivrikos, a consumer psychologist from London Metropolitan University, “The bargain price is appealing to you because it challenges the status quo. The retailer appears not to be in complete control of the final price of the product, and this makes you feel that you are now in control.

With email marketing you can harness the power of the discount to up sell products to your subscribers. Daily deal sites are already engaged in this style of selling through targeted email campaigns.

Groupon

Groupon email campaigns, as outlined in the image above,  use a series of techniques to engage the subscriber and influence them to purchase the deal.

Savings

One of the primary features in the email campaign is highlighting the savings that the subscribers will make. The savings instil the “bargain mentality” that focuses the subscriber on the savings rather than the cost.

Herd Mentality

Herd mentality

Another key feature of the email campaigns is creating a “herd mentality” among the email subscribers. This is done by showing the amount of deals purchased by fellow members. In the screengrab above there are over 400 purchases of the Archery and Climbing Deal. According to researchers at the Rotman School of Management, creating the herd mentality helps to “boost confidence” of shoppers as they can see many others have invested in the product. The study revealed “that the number of purchasers increases if buyers who come later to the offer are told how many people have already signed up.”

Powerful Images

Powerful images

Daily deal sites sell products and services as “experiences”. Exciting and powerful images are a vital component of selling the experience.  If the images don’t provoke an emotional response with the subscribers the chance of a sale is reduced. The images contained in the emails often contain similar elements including:

  • Attractive looking women and men
  • Appetizing food
  • Exciting sports and events
  • Relaxing and moody scenes
  • Professional product photography
  • Fun activities
  • Awe inspiring locations

What can you Learn from Daily Deal Discounts?

While the business model for daily deal sites is hardly new, there are still some elements of their email campaign that we can learn from.  The 3 main takeaways are:

  • Discount prices to encourage sales
  • Highlight sales numbers to boost customer confidence
  • Use images that will provoke an emotional response and encourage customers to buy your offer