Use discount codes wisely: discounts with a purpose
Giving a discount is easy. Giving one that pays off is another story. Handing ten percent to everyone mostly means selling the same thing to the same clients for less money.
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Only give a discount with a clear purpose: winning over a new client, getting people to try a new service or filling quiet moments. Limit the code in time, to certain services or to new clients, and check afterwards how often it was used.
Why discounts often achieve nothing
A regular who'd have come anyway simply pays less with a general discount. Your income drops, your calendar stays just as full. And people who often see discounts start waiting for the next one. A discount only works when it makes someone do something they otherwise wouldn't.
Four purposes that do work
- New clients: a welcome code that only works for a first appointment.
- A new service: let regulars try something they don't know yet.
- Quiet periods: a code you only share for a slow week or month.
- Coming back: a small gesture for people who haven't been in a while.
Rather something extra than a lower price
A free extra, such as a head massage with a haircut or a short extra conversation, often feels more valuable to a client than a few euros off. It costs you less, and your price stays what it is. If you do want to give an amount, choose a fixed amount on a pricier service rather than a percentage on everything.
Make the conditions clear
Say what the code does, for whom and until when. "WELCOME10: 10% off your first appointment, until the end of March." That avoids arguments at the till and keeps the discount an exception. An end date also stops people putting it off.
Check afterwards what it achieved
How many times was the code used, by new clients or regulars, and did those new clients come back afterwards? That tells you more than one full week. If a campaign mostly gave a discount to clients who'd have come anyway, try a different purpose next time.
How to do it in mijnklant.vip
- You create discount codes under Promotions: a percentage or a fixed amount, for all or only certain services. Plus: 1 code a month, Pro: unlimited.
- Limit it to a period, a minimum amount, new clients and a number of uses per client. Step by step: create a discount code.
- The client enters the code when booking and the discount is applied straight away. Make an image for your campaign with the promotion designer.
Written by Moof, the team behind mijnklant.vip in Rekkem. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.