Never On Sale

Marketing (Unapologetically) at Full Price

It’s unmistakable. The official name is Pantone No. 1837 but we recognize it simply as the Tiffany & Co. blue. A robin’s egg turquoise – it is the most protected colour in all of branding. Their pieces become heirlooms, their reputation is historic.

Perhaps equally as recognizable to Tiffany’s gold-standard marketing is their refusal to promote or sell their stock for anything less than the price tag attached. If you’re holding out for a sale to grab that piece you’ve been eyeing, don’t bother, because chances are good that it won’t be happening.

When you discount full price becomes extinct or seen as a gimmick between the “real” bargains. Your clients stop seeing worth in paying the actual cost because they have become conditioned to believe they shouldn’t. Once prices have been dropped, it’s difficult to raise them again and expect people to forget about the previous reductions.

Consider product positioning over a discount pricing approach. Known as value-based pricing, it’s an effective “strategy which sets prices primarily, but not exclusively, according to the perceived or estimated value of a product or service to the customer rather than according to the cost of the product or historical prices.”
Even in an economic downturn, value-based brands have proven to be more resilient. This can be attributed to people watching their money more closely, and thus being only willing to part with it for necessities and premium commodities.

So, instead of luring consumers with sales and discounts, offer superior goods and services and sharpen your marketing game plan. You’ll target and maintain a loyal market-share that’ll support and cherish your durable brand. Tiffany & Co. is just one solid example of a job well done. Their resilience through the Great Depression, The Great Recession, and all the other economic downturns in-between, should serve as a role model for how to get it right. Coupons be darned.

Morty Silber, CEO

Mad Strategies Inc.
a Wizard of Ads Partner