New Year Discounts

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Hi all,

Hope you had a good Christmas and enjoyed the break.

Just wondered whether any of you offered discounts in the New Year to get those bookings in the diary for the early part of the year where it's a bit quiet?
For the past 3 years I have and it seems to work well for me. January is usually quiet as is February so I like to offer discounted prices to entice people to book.

I have to say that for some reason March is absolutely dead for me at the moment. I don't have 1 booking as yet. I have lots of others spread across the year with both June and August full up already. I think they were both filled in October.

Does anyone else do this or do you stick to your guns price wise?

[Excalibur]

Does anyone else do this or do you stick to your guns price wise?

As I posted on another forum " 75% of something is better than 100% of nothing ".

And then another member posted " but not as good as 100% of something else ". I refrained from replying " first fimd your something else ".

Gary, I'm not ( usually ) quoting top whack for January/February. Neither am I offering 50% discount.

[musicology]

I haven't offered any special offers but am not that expensive to start with. I have 4 bookings in each of Jan, Feb & March. 24 in the diary so far.

[Benny Smyth]

I rule out January every year for several reasons, one of which is so I don't have to deal with potential clients expecting me to take a cut in pay because of the time of the year.

And yet when you suggest that they should take a cut in salary because it's January, they don't seem to warm to the idea.

[Excalibur]

And yet when you suggest that they should take a cut in salary because it's January, they don't seem to warm to the idea.

Not comparing apples with apples. Historically, people have less money in their pockets after being profligate over Xmas, and as service providers, we have to tempt them to part with what little they have left. We're not a must have, like rent/mortgage, food, utilities etc.

Retailers have usually overstocked for Christmas, and need to shift things quickly, rather than keep them too long.

Benny, you don't have to take a pay cut. Just offer add ons free. Yes, I know technically, it's a pay cut, but you still go home with a full disco fee in your pocket.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I look at it like this (rightly or wrongly).

I currently have 33 bookings for 2016 with the majority of them being from mid April onwards.

I am self employed like many of you so I need the work to come in. If it means offering 'discounts' or freebie add-on's then I don't mind doing it. For example: When I updated my website the day before Christmas Eve I added a discount page that offers free uplighting when the Disco is booked with me and that offer runs from 1st January to 29th February. I may extend it if it proves popular and of course, there are terms and conditions.

I wouldn't normally discount stuff and I guess that in a way I am not really but I am offering the customer something extra for their money and (hopefully) getting a booking in the diary at the same time. I had one call on Christmas Eve believe it or not from someone for a wedding in July and they took advantage of the free uplighting. That wasn't really my intention to be honest. I want to get bookings for the early part of the year.

Most of the time I know what I will go out for and sometimes it is not worth my while going out at a stupidly reduced rate, especially mid year. I still believe that when it is early in the year BUT BUT BUT....there does come a point when something is better than nothing at all and again, I am not talking stupidly cheap either. I am offering extras as freebies. Difficult to explain really.

[Excalibur]

I am self employed like many of you so I need the work to come in.

BUT BUT BUT....there does come a point when something is better than nothing at all and again, I am not talking stupidly cheap either. I am offering extras as freebies. Difficult to explain really.

Makes sense to me, Gary. With you all the way.

[surround sounds]

I don't normally offer much of a discount but I may offer Led Love letters for example half prices or extra uplighters.
I am fairly busy Jan and Feb anyway so I will not discount this year

[Benny Smyth]

Benny, you don't have to take a pay cut. Just offer add ons free. Yes, I know technically, it's a pay cut, but you still go home with a full disco fee in your pocket.

Unfortunately, it's not an option for me as I don't offer add ons anyway.

Most of the time I know what I will go out for and sometimes it is not worth my while going out at a stupidly reduced rate, especially mid year. I still believe that when it is early in the year BUT BUT BUT....there does come a point when something is better than nothing at all and again, I am not talking stupidly cheap either. I am offering extras as freebies. Difficult to explain really.

It's explained perfectly and I applaud that you have options to give extra bang for buck.

Like I say, I don't have extras to offer and I price myself as lean as possible already to cover my costs/overheads and give me a profit that I'm happy with.

I always have a target of 80 gigs over 40 weeks (12 weeks break to cover the quiet periods). If I work more weeks, then great but I always try to account for a 'worst case scenario'.

I've worked out that I can 'survive' on 40 gigs. If I fall below that then I will reassess but I like to think that accounting for not working for nearly 3 months a year has me covered.

Touch wood!

[CRAZY K]

My business is not totally disco based so different rules apply which also applies to my son who is into Rodeo Bulls, Wild West entertainments and the like.

We are becoming quite seasonal ( summer ) and don't expect to do much in quarter one,

However we have strangely got 3 out of 4 Saturday's booked in January for top of the range packages priced as normal but booked a long time ago, two Birthdays and a Corporate late XMAS PARTY.

I could have had 4 but I declined a top paying Corporate job because I don't do SOUND LIMITERS

Also Burns Night is a premium charge event in January although weirdly instead of a lot of enquiries as in the past there have been virtually none, changing markets I guess.

Just as well I'm booked on Saturdays in question--23rd and 30th.

Not much else for 2016 but not really being in the Wedding Market means nothing booked ahead for the summer but expect another good run in the warmer months so not losing any sleep.

I agree with Gary, there's no harm in adding a few free extras in slack periods but not reducing a basic price below which it's not worth turning out, bit like well it costs x which is for a standard evening but I'll be throwing in these extras free

I have learnt from the Rodeo Bull business that people always like something for free--even if it only means chucking in a few extra bits in the back of the van.

So discounts in general no-- freebies yes---might not be much difference:

I guess the other factor is we performers work in a very labour intensive business, so it's all very well retail discounters knocking 70 per cent off their prices BUT we have to go and come back very tired out all hours doing manual work and having to deal with some pretty difficult people at times ( according to some of the XMAS Party posts)

Hope you all have success in 2016.