I hope you’ve brought enough water in your canteen because we have reached the arid expanse of the Discount Desert! After climbing the Mountain of List Growth, navigating the Jungle of the Amazon , and finding our way out of the Bermuda Triangle of Technology Glitches we find ourselves in the desert. Typically, many businesses rely on a discount or coupon to pass along value to the customer. This strategy is a simple and visible way to turn views into conversions. However, discounts don’t come without negatives. They lower margins and can cheapen a customer’s perception of the value of the product or service. Furthermore, discounts may help in creating a one-time customer, but discounting a shopper’s first order doesn’t increase the likelihood of them coming back as a repeat customer. So, what are other ways to pass along value to the consumer without a discount? Let us help you make it through the Discount Desert with our helpful survival tips:

1. Gift with Purchase
Instead of offering a coupon, many of our clients will include a gift with purchase. This can be added to all orders, or only on orders that meet a certain criterion, such as reaching a subtotal threshold, or including products from a specific collection. The gift with purchase can be a successful strategy because the added value of the gift can be a powerful influence on the customer’s likelihood to purchase, while being less of an impact on the retailer’s margin. We have had clients give away branded leather notebooks, insulated water bottles, high quality containers for their merchandise, and more. These can all be produced at a low cost. Including them in customer orders for free can have a dramatic effect on conversion rate, just as a coupon would. After all, who doesn’t love a gift?

2. Be Transparent with Your Coupon Strategy. And OWN IT!
At DMi we love transparency, and that extends to how we suggest sites manage their coupon strategy. When a site makes their coupon policy and strategy public knowledge, it takes the shopper’s guesswork out of their shopping experience. Take Zappos for example: Zappos has a very public policy that they do not offer coupons. They take pride in their already low prices and choose to take coupons out of the equation in exchange for offering free shipping and returns. This removes the inevitable step many users take at checkout of jumping over to Google to search for coupons for that brand. Another example is Bed Bath & Beyond and their ubiquitous 20% off coupons. They have embraced an “always on” strategy and consumers know what to expect from the brand when it comes to discount. They don’t need to watch their inbox for deals or wait for a certain time of year to make a purchase. All costumers need to do is hold on to a couple of those coupons and have them ready for their next purchase.

3. Offer Added Value for “Joining the Club”
Many brands will provide a very small hoop to jump through in order to get some added value such as free shipping. Nike, for example, values customers creating an account (i.e. joining “Nike Plus”) enough that they are willing to give away free shipping on all orders when customers create a free Nike Plus account. In exchange for your free shipping, Nike is getting your personal order history and preferences saved for future remarketing and segmentation. As far as the actual checkout goes, this combined feeling of being a part of an inner circle and free shipping can provide enough of an incentive at checkout that users will not be clamoring for a discount on every purchase.

4. Perception of Value and Brand Positioning vs. Competitors
You know who never gives out discount? Louis Vuitton. In fact, they’ve raised prices because their bags were becoming too popular. Now, we know it’s not realistic (or fair) to compare your brand to Louis Vuitton, but we can take a page out of their book. The lesson here is that it’s all about perception. There are plenty of companies that offer a high-quality product (regardless of price point) and have strong branding that positions them as best in class. Some run effective grass roots campaigns and grow on reputation by word of mouth. Others get endorsements from impactful influencers and celebrities. Most run award-winning campaigns. They get creative and they don’t just create a want, THEY CREATE A NEED. Every touch point to the consumer is presented well and creates an air of exclusivity – from the logo, brand voice and visual branding, to the digital experience and customer service, to the packaging and the product itself. No matter what separates them from their competitors, they create a need that surpasses the want for a discount.

5. Limited Time, Expires Soon, Limited Quantity
Buy now! Don’t miss out! Only 3 left in stock! Have you ever seen an advertisement like that? Of course, you have. No consumer ever wants to miss out on an exclusive deal or a special product. We as humans suffer from loss aversion. We are more afraid of missing out than gaining something. We are competitive! It’s been shown that when these types of ads run they are more effective at attracting customers than normal ads. Gaining a discount isn’t as enticing to someone as missing out on those brand new pair of sneakers. Those pair of jeans may never be this cheap again. People love rarity and exclusivity. So hurry up and get those ads live because time is running out.

6. Utilizing Gift Guides
A common mistake we see marketers make is not planning for excess inventory. This is the reason why some brands turn to discounting product to help move inventory. One alternative to heavy discounting is to capitalize on the last-minute shopper through Gift Guides. It is a great way your products can be shown in many places and attract shoppers in “buy now” mode. By creating specific content and working with publications, you can be featured in those ubiquitous Gift Guides. These listings will help attract shoppers who have not made any shopping plans before browsing online, but still have a specified idea of the type of product they’re searching for. Without a doubt there is a Gift Guide for every type of consumer. These may range from parents to techies to readers to hardcore gamers or even outdoor adventure junkies. It is important to anticipate the kinds of consumers that may be looking for your product and what type of person they are purchasing for! This will help you avoid relying on a steep discount and connect with consumers looking for your unique product offering.

7. Inject Personalization Into Your Marketing Strategies
The final marketing strategy to use instead of a discount is connecting with your audience through ad personalization. The goal of injecting personalization into your marketing is to increase your overall conversion rate. Through personalization, you can make your customers feel special and not just another one of the masses that is being bombarded with ads. You can also meet a customer where they are on their sales journey. One example we have found to be effective are ads that dynamically insert certain products into the creative based on a user’s past browsing history. We have also used email or social marketing that uses different messaging based on whether the user abandoned a cart or abandoned browsing the site. Whatever method you find most efficient, there is no denying that personalization can help in moving a potential costumer across the goal line.