{"id":33108,"date":"2025-03-01T11:11:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T16:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/?p=33108"},"modified":"2025-02-18T16:13:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T21:13:47","slug":"the-psychology-of-discounts-are-you-inadvertently-training-your-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/the-psychology-of-discounts-are-you-inadvertently-training-your-customers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Psychology Of Discounts: Are You Inadvertently Training Your Customers?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- iframe plugin v.6.0 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Embed Player\" src=\"https:\/\/play.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/35108275\/height\/128\/theme\/modern\/size\/standard\/thumbnail\/yes\/custom-color\/ffffff\/time-start\/00:00:00\/hide-playlist\/yes\/download\/yes\/font-color\/000000\" height=\"128\" width=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen=\"true\" mozallowfullscreen=\"true\" oallowfullscreen=\"true\" msallowfullscreen=\"true\" 0=\"style=&quot;border:\" 1=\"none;&quot;&gt;&lt;\/iframe\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Discounting\u2014it feels like a surefire way to attract customers, right? Everyone loves a good bargain. But what happens when discounts stop being a tool and start becoming an expectation?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In this episode, Colin Shaw and Professor Ryan Hamilton dive into the dangerous addiction of price discounting\u2014how it lures in customers, why businesses struggle to stop, and the long-term damage it can do to your brand and bottom line.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">You&#8217;ll hear painful stories of businesses that have trained their customers never to pay full price, the psychology behind why discounts are so irresistible, and why, if you\u2019re not careful, your company could end up hooked on discounting like a bad habit.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This episode is packed with insights, humor, and practical advice you won\u2019t want to miss!<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">Best Quote from the Episode:<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;We knew we had a problem when one of the executives said, \u2018This is like heroin\u2014we can\u2019t stop!\u2019&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">Key Takeaways:<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u2705 Discounting Works\u2014But Be Careful!<br \/>\nCustomers love a good deal, and discounts create instant excitement. But if you do it too often, you\u2019re not just offering savings\u2014you\u2019re training customers to expect them.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u2705 Reference Points Matter<br \/>\nA \u201cWas $7, Now $5\u201d deal feels like a win, even if $5 was always a fair price. Discounts give customers an anchor price, making them feel like they\u2019re getting a bargain\u2014even if they\u2019re not.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u2705 Big Numbers Win<br \/>\nPeople respond more to \u201cSAVE 30%\u201d than \u201cSAVE $2.\u201d The bigger the number, the better the deal seems.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u2705 The Thrill of the Hunt<br \/>\nShoppers love feeling like they \u201cwon\u201d at shopping.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u2705 The Danger of Training Customers<br \/>\nIf customers know you\u2019ll discount every two weeks, they\u2019ll never pay full price again. Some companies become trapped in perpetual discounting cycles, losing profit just to keep customers coming back.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u2705 Compete on Value, Not Just Price<br \/>\nApple doesn\u2019t run 50% off iPhone sales every Black Friday. Their customers pay full price because they believe in the value. If your business relies on discounts, ask yourself: Would customers still buy from us if we didn\u2019t offer them?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u2705 Are You a Discount Addict?<br \/>\nIf discounts are your main strategy, it\u2019s time to rethink. Are you making real money, or just moving stock? If the answer makes you nervous, it\u2019s time for a change.<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">Why You Should Listen:<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This episode is a must-listen for business leaders, marketers, and CX professionals who want to break free from the discount trap and build a pricing strategy that doesn\u2019t just attract customers\u2014but actually makes money.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>About the Hosts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Colin Shaw is a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/newsletters\/6592050440320368642\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">LinkedIn &#8216;Top Voice&#8217;<\/a> with a massive 284,000 followers and 86,000 subscribers to his &#8216;Why Customers Buy&#8217; newsletter. Shaw is named one of the world&#8217;s &#8216;Top 150 Business Influencers&#8217; by LinkedIn. His company, <a href=\"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/\">Beyond Philosophy<\/a> LLC, has been selected four times by the Financial Times as a top management consultancy. Shaw is co-host of the top 1.5% podcast &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/podcasts\/\">The Intuitive Customer<\/a>&#8216;\u2014with over 600,000 downloads\u2014and author of eight best-sellers on <a href=\"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/customer-experience\/\">customer experience<\/a>, Shaw is a sought-after keynote speaker. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/colinrjshaw\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Follow Colin on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Ryan Hamilton is a Professor of Marketing at Emory University&#8217;s Goizueta Business School and co-author of &#8216;The Intuitive Customer&#8217; book. An award-winning teacher and researcher in consumer psychology, he has been named one of Poets &amp; Quants&#8217; &#8220;World\u2019s Best 40 B-School Profs Under 40.&#8221; His research focuses on how brands, prices, and choice architecture influence shopper decision-making, and his findings have been published in top academic journals and covered by major media outlets like The New York Times and CNN. His work highlights how psychology can help firms better understand and serve their customers. Ryan has a new book launch in June 2025 called \u201cThe Growth Dilemma: Managing Your Brand When Different Customers Want Different Things\u201d Harvard Business Press\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/linkedin.com\/in\/ryan-hamilton-49b3321\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Follow Ryan on LinkedIn.<\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Subscribe &amp; Follow<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/the-intuitive-customer-helping-you-improve-your\/id1319228135\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Apple Podcasts<\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/1Jqx6D32nGurAqVXZ6vAEE?si=ace8c990b8254ec5\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Spotify<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discounting\u2014it feels like a surefire way to attract customers, right? Everyone loves a good bargain. But what happens when discounts stop being a tool and start becoming an expectation? In this episode, Colin Shaw and Professor Ryan Hamilton dive into the dangerous addiction of price discounting\u2014how it lures in customers, why businesses struggle to stop, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1385,"featured_media":27706,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[640],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcasts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1385"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33108"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33111,"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33108\/revisions\/33111"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}