Whether you operate a small business or a large corporation, discounting your products and services is a great way to get consumers excited about your brand. It’s also an essential component of any marketing strategy for a small business. If you have an idea for a new product or service but don’t have the resources to bring it to market, offering discounts to qualified potential customers might be your best alternative. 

But what kind of discounts should you offer? How can you effectively promote them without falling victim to the porter effect? The porter effect is named after Ebenezer Read Porter who first identified it in 1926 as an observation that occurs when retail prices are discounted by warehouse costs, which leads consumers to believe that other retailers are selling their products at wholesale prices when they’re just paying for storage space.

Be realistic about your target audience.

First things first. You’ll have to decide who your target market is. Is your discount aimed at the entire country? A specific location? A certain demographic? If you’re offering a discount that’s only applicable to customers within one city, you’re missing out on a lot of potential customers. You might be surprised to learn that many people living in the same city as you don’t know about your products and services. 

If your target market is too broad, you’re likely to see a lot of unqualified customers who just happen to live in your area. If they’re not willing to pay full price, they probably won’t return. If they are willing to pay full price, you’ve just made a customer who might have needed your product or service for a long time.

Create a coupon code.

When you’re ready to begin promoting your discount, you’ll need to create a coupon code. You can do this in a few different ways. First, if your business sells products and services, you can create a coupon code for each item and each service that you offer. Second, if you’re offering a single-event promotion, you can use the same coupon code for all events. 

Alternatively, if your promotions are different, you can create separate coupon codes for each one. Third, if you’re offering a subscription, you can create a coupon code for the entire subscription. If you’re offering a recurring discount, use the same GreenGeeks promo code for all future installments.

Always test your discounts.

No matter how confident you are in your product idea, you should always test your discount with a small group of customers to make sure it's a good fit for them. You can test discounts by offering free samples or giving away free products. Try offering a free sample as a way to entice customers to try your new product first before they decide to purchase it. You can also test discounts by offering a free trial period. When you’re ready to begin promoting your discount, you’ll need to create an Elementor discount code. You can do this in a few different ways.

First, if your business sells products and services, you can create a coupon code for each item and each service that you offer. Second, if you’re offering a single-event promotion, use the same coupon code for all events. Alternatively, if your promotions are different, create separate coupon codes for each one.

Publish a blog post before you launch your new promotion.

There are a few things that could go wrong with your promotion, but publishing a blog post about your discount is at the top of the list. If you don’t publish an article about your discount, you’re likely to miss out on a lot of potential customers who just happen to stumble across your promotion posting on social media but aren’t aware of the discount. You don’t have to publish an article about your promotion immediately; you can wait until you begin to see results from it. Over time, you can publish one or two posts about your promotion and track the number of readers and comments you receive.

Offer exclusive deals to loyal customers.

The last tip is to offer exclusive deals to loyal customers. This is a great way to thank your most loyal customers for supporting you over the years. You can either send a handwritten note or ship them an item. This could be something small like a t-shirt or something big like a lifetime membership to your brand. You can also use loyalty points like hotel or airline loyalty programs to give your most loyal customers free trips or free flights. You can also give away free samples or free products. You can also give away tickets to events or give away concert tickets.