Foolish you. If you won't listen to "who's he to tell us" guys like me, at least take a hint from the famous Mr. Peter Drucker, who said, Business has only two functions -- marketing and innovation....


Still not convinced? Then check this out.
According to a just-published article in eMarketer entitled Convenience is more important than price, "Confounding the old image of price shoppers, a new report from the Grizzard Performance Group discovered that the majority of US shoppers today do not 'shop around.' In fact, according to the survey results, more than half of American consumers (62%) do not bother to compare prices at even two land stores before making most of their purchases."
Okay, they attribute this phenomenon to convenience. But then the article goes on to say, "However, the survey revealed that of those who researched and decided to purchase a particular product on the Internet, 64% would consider purchasing a competitive product if they received a direct response offer of 15% off a comparable brand."
Now, here's my spin.
Most of us aren't selling price, we are selling value, trust and credibility. In fact, research by the Harvard Business School indicates that selling price is a huge mistake when measured by profits. So unless we can sell volume, cutting margins is not smart.
So, providing coupons, running ads screaming "Save Big" and giving ourselves away for free is stupid. And even if we can afford to sell volume, 63% of our potential shoppers can be swayed by someone else's marketing. So what are you doing reading this when you should be marketing and building brand? And don't sell price, unless your prepared to abandon profits for a one-time sale at little to no margin.
Wait! Don't go yet!
Before you develop and launch that campaign, one final note: convenience is an element of experience. So before you begin luring customers to your products and services by making it easy for them to purchase from you, make sure you offer a great experience, if you want them to become returning customers.