‘Tis the season for ‘special deals’ – or is it?

With Black Friday now stretching over a week (or more in many cases) and overlapping with Cyber Monday, which then blends into holiday deals and New Year specials, it’s hard to miss special offers from early November through the end of January. However, as a multitude of different studies have shown, many of these so-called deals are anything but, particularly in the retail space. The ‘deep cuts’ to prices are often based on artificially inflated listed prices where nothing has ever been sold at the price, and price tracking often shows how a lower price has either been available before the special offer or is available pretty soon after them.

How managed service providers (MSPs) can avoid misleading offers

For retail customers, this does not seem to be much of a problem. Some canny buyers will wait until the sales fever is over and then look for real special deals, but billions of dollars are handed over during this period for what buyers consider to be special offers.

The problem is that the whole thing has passed over into the business-to-business (B2B) realm as well. My mailbox fills up with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other special offers – many of which just aren’t special at all. I also get monthly or weekly ‘offers’ stating that this will run out by the end of the day/week/month – followed by the exact same offer then starting again as soon as that one has, nominally, expired.

Whereas for a retail outlet, losing a single customer due to that customer finding out that they were misled is no big thing, a B2B vendors losing a customer can lead to the loss of a large deal – and the recurring revenues that can accrue from a solid customer relationship.

MSPs have increasingly been falling into the special deal trap, it seems. Valid offers make good sense and can turn prospects into customers. However, badly thought-through and poorly presented deals can put off prospects – and even lose existing customers.

How to ensure your special deals are transparent and honest

Let’s look at what needs to be done to ensure that a deal is a deal – and that it works for everyone.

• State fully yet concisely how this constitutes a special deal. How much is it cheaper than it would have been before the deal? Do not artificially inflate prior prices – you need this to be transparent and honest. If you do not want to publish your pricing publicly, then be specific as to the percentage saving that is being offered, and ensure that you provide simple means for prospects to get in touch with you.
• Detail any restrictions. If the deal means that certain functionality is not available, then say so. Customers will not thank you if they suddenly find that they are caught out with something unexpected.
• Say how long the deal will last for. As an MSP, you regularly handle your contracts. Some contracts may just be a rolling month; some quarterly; some yearly. How long does the special pricing last for – a contract cycle? More? Less? Be clear and ensure the customer knows what they are getting.
• What will the contract roll to once the deal is over? This is likely to be your normal pricing, but some customers may hope for a smaller percentage discount or a stepwise transition to avoid invoice shock. It may be worthwhile to offer flexibility to customers you want to retain, particularly high-value ones.

There is then another side to the offering of deals – how will existing customers react? I believe most of you have received complaints from customers when they see general prices fall but remain tied to their higher contractual pricing. The same can happen when they see these new-to-the-party customers getting special treatment while they have been loyal for a long time. It may be worth considering providing customers, particularly high-value ones, a discount automatically applied to their accounts. This way, they will feel more cared for.

Then newer customers who signed up just a week or less before the special offer became available may feel left out. Few customers will just breathe deeply and go “Oh well, maybe we shouldn’t have jumped in so quickly”. There will be a feeling more along the lines of “Why wasn’t I made aware that a special offer was coming down the line? I must talk to my account manager.” Again, I’d look to keeping high-value customers as happy as possible.

Overall, my advice is to make sure special deals are truly special and offer complete transparency. Additionally, take care of your existing customers.

Please – don’t regard every possible event as an excuse to launch a special offer. Prospects need a break from the constant bombardment of sales and marketing materials. The repetitive and meaningless messages can overwhelm them.

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