How to Handle Discount Requests While Building Customer Loyalty: Complete Guide

Try negotiating with them; never outright reject their requests. Try discovering their reasoning behind their request. Once you know why, you will also know how to deal with the situation. It is much simpler than it may seem. For example, they want to grow their enterprise and now may need to buy your product in bulk; it may be profitable to negotiate the optimal price for the product. Another reason might be financial problems on the customer's side. In that case, dialogue is also your friend, since losing a loyal customer may be a far greater loss in the long run than just giving them a reasonable discount.

Moreover, it might even further reinforce their loyalty to the company and the product. However, a loyal customer might develop the feeling that they deserve a discount for continuously choosing your company. You might feel the need to succumb to their demand in order not to lose the customer. In reality, just think about the benefits and drawbacks of providing a discount since, usually, the customer will remain loyal regardless. They might have been in the mood to ask for a discount, that's all.

Nevertheless, providing discounts is a great way to boost and retain loyalty of customers. They are more likely to be forgiving of minor shortcomings such as bugs, slight delays, glitches, etc. This approach demonstrates examples of good customer service and can significantly improve customer satisfaction.

Calm down and breathe deep. Of course, such a client will want to appear more important and even intimidating than they really are. It is also important to assess the potential profits of working together before actually discussing anything (there may be none). However, if you decide to work with them, communication is key once again. With this one, however, it may be worth being cunning and making such a customer think that every clever idea on cooperation is theirs. Such clients are easy to lose since they usually have no desire to deal with the tedious aspects of business, so be patient. They are not easy to get back. Choose a professional tone of voice and do not start offering discounts left and right. The customer should feel valuable and a discount should not be baseless. Instead, offer volume-based benefits for long-term subscriptions, for example.

Playing into their somewhat inflated self-perception is also quite important. It is crucial to make this client feel important and that you went to great lengths to satisfy their request. During the negotiation, bring up briefly that it was extremely tough to convince the team to agree to the discount. This way, not only do they feel important, but they are also somewhat obliged to agree to the existing offer since it was "so hard to get."

Stay composed and amicable. However, once you satisfy their discount request once, there is no going back. Such a client will absolutely milk the opportunity to get cheaper prices on every. single. product. They absolutely will leverage the fact that they know someone "up there" in order to get what they want. Just don't play into their power fantasies. Stay calm and play along. Show that you believe them and agree with their concerns but it is out of your control to resolve their issues. Instead of giving them a discount, show that you care about them on a deeper level: make them feel VIP. Convince that this particular client will receive special attention and their orders will be the company's top priority (of course that does not have to be true).

You can't really argue with them since, after all, there may be competitors that offer similar products for lower prices. This case will require some intricate communication skills. If the customer really wanted to leave right off the bet, they would have done that without saying a word. However, there is usually something they want if they bring up this issue, which is a strong basis for dialogue. Find out what the customer might mean by the "other company" and figure out why their price is lower. Maybe the quality is poorer or they have problems with shipment. Use this as leverage while negotiating with the customer and try genuinely explaining why your product costs as much as it does. Try fishing out what the client values in a product and use that to your advantage.

Explain to the customer the ways in which the competing products lack the specific features that the client values, while your product has them. This is a logical explanation behind your prices being higher, as you offer a higher-quality product that satisfies the customer's need to a greater extent. You will be successful if it really is the functionality that the client values.

However, if money plays the decisive role in all of this, educate the client on their opportunities to lower the price. These may vary depending on the type of business you own and may include referral programs, special events, newsletter subscription discounts, and so on. Do not immediately succumb to their demand for a discount, and don't stress too much about their decision to leave. It's a free market, and there will always be someone "better" for a specific customer.

The client is open to negotiations from the get-go, which is huge. Find out how much the client can spend on your product. If the discrepancy with the official price is not that big and does not affect your business that much, try coming to a compromise. In the future, their budget will likely increase and they will be able to afford your product, but the gratitude for past agility will persist. View this as an investment in your reputation since this client is highly likely to tell their friends about your flexible and kind company.

Nevertheless, do not forget to set boundaries during negotiations. Sure, a one-time 10-dollar discount may be fine for now, but it may not be in the future. Communicate that next time the terms of the agreement will likely change and you cannot keep running at a loss forever. This way, the customer is motivated to at least save enough money in order to afford the full cost of the product for future purchases.

Your company should have a policy for such non-profit organizations and how they go about supporting them. Usually, it's a two-way street: your company provides financial support or discounts, the non-profit organization lists you as a sponsor, or it expresses public gratitude for your help on their social media or during their events. This is also a good investment in the image of your business, since by supporting charities and volunteers, you show that you care about the bigger things. This acts as an image and reputation boost and may attract new customers.

Keep telling them about the ways they can earn discounts if your company provides any. Do not immediately satisfy their every request—it's a vicious cycle for the company. They may just be energy vampires for the customer support employees by constantly threatening to leave the company or something else. It's just hot air, usually. Treat such clients like you would a child: acknowledge their emotions, be understanding and respectful; you agree that this world is cruel and unfair, but the situation is just out of your area of responsibility. The evil bosses won't let you give this customer a discount pout.

Just follow your gut feeling if you value this client and believe them, honestly. Try helping and perhaps reaching an agreement at least for future payments. Karma bonuses and positive reviews await; now you definitely won't be reincarnated as a slug.