Will Offering Discounts Make My Wedding Business Seem Cheap?

How often do you offer discounts or deals to your couples? 

1-2 times per year?

Only if it will close the sale?

Never?

Many wedding pros fear that offering discounts to their couples will make them seem cheap, so they opt for the safe opinion: NEVER. Although offering a discount at the wrong time can certainly diminish your hard-earned value, a well-timed discount or deal can drive demand for your services. 

“Always having a well thought out discount or deal available in your back pocket, ready to use when the timing is perfect, is a great idea for any wedding pro.”

The last thing you want is to waste your valuable time, money and energy on offering a deal and have no extra bookings to show for it. So how do you determine when you definitely should offer a discount, and when you NEVER should? Here are a few examples and strategies that will help you conquer your fear of discounts so you can start using them to book more brides. 

When it’s NEVER a good idea to offer a discount

Imagine you are a wedding photographer looking for a way to increase your bookings. You want to find a way to let your ideal couples test out the amazing service you offer, so they can get to know you, to like you, and to trust you enough to then make a sale with you. So you offer a free engagement photo session. 

Great idea, right?

Wrong. Here’s the problem. You will accidentally attract budget couples who are just looking for a deal and won’t see or understand your value. Couples who want free stuff are the ones who don’t want to spend money, so this strategy very rarely translates into a sale. The couples that do book will usually end up booking the lower-priced packages.

Whilst The Free Engagement Session strategy will help your ideal couples see you, it might not be worth your time, money and energy in the long run. When we start off a relationship by offering a portion of your services for free you are only going to attract couples who will never see your value. So, unless your target market is actually budget couples, avoid offering a no-strings-attached deal. 

When it might be a GOOD IDEA to offer a discount to your couples 

Always having a well thought out discount or deal available in your back pocket, ready to use when the timing is perfect, is a great idea for any wedding pro. But, when is the perfect time? 

When the discount or deal is going to help you close the sale.

Imagine you are a wedding venue owner who has just finished giving a tour of your elegant venue to a potential couple. The date and room they want to book for their wedding is available, and so is the beautiful “cocktail room” next door. So you offer the room for free as part of a “Free cocktail hour” deal. The couple are excited to get something for free on top of their package, and they book immediately. 

The reason why this discount strategy is perfect is that it will cost you almost nothing. Just an extra hour of staff wages for a $15,000 booking! 

Here are a couple of important tips to remember when offering a “to help close the sale” discount”

• Offer something that you can pull from a higher package and offer it as an extra on top of your medium or low package. 
• Offer something that is going to compliment the package they are already purchasing.

When offering any type of discount always make sure you are not undercutting yourself and losing money. You are offering an incredible product or service that will make your couple’s wedding day even better. Don’t lower your value below what you are worth. 

How to turn “Buy later” couples into “Buy now” couples 

Another example of using a well-timed discount to help drive demand is when you are dealing with “Buy later” couples. These are couples who haven’t responded to any of your emails even though you’ve been consistently reaching out, providing great information and asking them to book a consultation. This is the perfect time to offer a discount, help move them down the funnel and give them a reason to take action. 

Want to make this the best year yet for your wedding business?

The Book More Brides team can help you build a strong online presence, craft clear content that connects with your ideal couples, and learn the strategies necessary to run a successful wedding business, without the stress. Book a free strategy call today.