Over the past 7 days, I have received over 1K Black Friday

Over the past 7 days, I have received over 1K Black Friday / Cyber Monday offers. Some are significant, 50-60%, some are just silly, “Buy 15 get 1 free.”

But my favorite, all time showstopper: “This offer is good for today only!” It works on the buyer’s scarcity mindset. Which is effective but moves the selling from value based, to commodity based. Which makes one question, where’s the value. What am I really buying?

Now there are legitimate reasons for offers to expire. Limited supply, Close of Quarter, Year, etc. But they must be communicated effectively, and not just thrown in the incentive mix, or topped like whip cream on a milkshake to move an opportunity forward. They ought to be tied to a rationale. One that actually makes business sense. Inventory carrying cost. Business functions. Or true scarcity…we can only provide a limited number of XYZ within ABC time frame because of, Yadda-Yadda.

Trust is the most difficult thing to build with your customer. Treat it well, and it can be your selling partner.

Incentives are fine. They have a place. But use wisely and appropriately. Better yet, focus on selling value and business outcomes, and let the commodity traders have their fun.

Something to think about EoY. Want to go deeper. Let me know.

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