The Brand Autopsy Discount Detox Center

Unfortunately, General Motors' discount detox didn’t last long. The automaker was to have ended its EDEO (Employee Discounts for Every One) pricing scheme on August 1. However, the urges and the cravings to discount were to strong for the company to resist. General Motors has decided to continue its addiction to discounting in order to increase sales. Yep, GM has again extended its EDEO pricing scheme.

It pains me greatly to see a business suffer so mightily from abusing low price marketing schemes. As a marketing doctor with Brand Autopsy, I’ve seen far too many businesses overdose on discounting. And once these businesses OD on discounts … they never seem to recover and regain the marketing vitality they once enjoyed.

So sad … so very sad.

That’s why I am introducing the Brand Autopsy Discount Detox Center.

The goal of the Brand Autopsy Discount Detox Center is to rid businesses of toxins accumulated by rampant abuse of discounting pricing strategies. The first step of discount detox is immediate withdrawal from any and all discounting activities. Once a business has stopped using discounts, fiscal and behavioral withdrawal symptoms may follow.

The nature and severity of the withdrawal symptoms vary greatly depending on the discounting activities used as well as the frequency of use. These days there are very few businesses using one discount tactic exclusively. It is common to see businesses in discount detox that abuse couponing, zero-down/zero-percent financing deals, and rebate programs. Discount detox is a process that applies to any business addicted to using low prices to drive sales.

Discount detoxification is performed in many different ways depending on where a business decides to receive treatment. As a highly trained detox facility, the Brand Autopsy Discount Detox Center incorporates counseling and therapy during all phases of the detoxification process to help with the fiscal and behavioral distress afflicted businesses may experience.

Detoxification at the Brand Autopsy Discount Detox Center covers all aspects of withdrawal and purification from discounting activities. The removal of residual discount tactics is a key goal in the Brand Autopsy’s proprietary discount detox process. Without this process, residual discount tactics can remain in a marketing department of a business and cause cravings for years after discounting activities have supposedly ceased. A vital step in a successful discount detox is flushing out these accumulated toxic residues so that the business no longer experiences unwanted adverse effects from the discounts they have used.

If you know of any business suffering from addiction to discounting, please consider contacting the Brand Autopsy Discount Detox Center – we are here to help.

Comments

[Chuck Nyren]

What's this program cost? Do you offer any discounts?

[the head lemur]

Wow! Just in Time....
It is too late though, since they are gonna price the new models cheaper than last years retail/msrp.

Next they will get into bed with WalMart.

Wal Mart Caviliers.....makes ya wanna puke.

[Thomas]

I'm glad you are on this again. Discount Detox: Great idea.

The first step in Detox is the weaning away from the sell-at-a-loss-to-hold-market-share mentality. Chasing market share KILLS brain cells and bottom line when you are already a share leader. Work the bottom line instead of the top. BE the bottom line. Profit share is what matters, not sales units. Develop and sell fewer cars, better cars, each at...a profit. Shrink, intentionally. Close some factories, eliminate the TEMPTATION and capacity to oversupply and overproduce. Oversupply = discount reliance.

None of this is going to happen, of course. They are junkies for life, however long it may last. So sad. There will be no Detox for this patient.

[Katherine Stone]

Genius.

Could you also start a center for endless meaningless and confusing brand extensions? My former employer seems to be heading towards hitting rock bottom with Diet Coke, Diet Coke with Splenda, Diet Coke with Lemon, Diet Coke with Lime, Coke Zero, C2, etc. I think an intervention may be in order.

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

Katherine ... you must have read our buisness plan because if all goes well with the Discount Dextox Center, we plan to open up a Brand Extension Dentention Center. We're hoping Al Ries accepts our invitation to become the Warden at our Brand Extension Detention Center.

Clamoring for market share is just as unhealthy a marketing disease as discounting. Addiction to market share gains can cause companies to do drastic things like sacrifice margins, engage in poor mergers, practice reckless discounting, and lazy brand extentions all in hopes of increasing market share to become bigger.

At the Brand Autopsy Brand Extension Dentention Center, we will re-program companies to believe success is about being the BEST and not being the BIGGEST.

Katherine, we are here to help if you and your friends decide to do a Marketing Intervention with Coca-Cola. Godspeed to all.

[bob]

Just look at the damage all this rampant uncontrolled discounting as done for walmart. Walmart is on the verge of going under thanks to their low prices. I never see anyone at my local supercenter thats the size of 5 football fields. People hate paying less. Amazon.com is another victim. Free shipping?!? Lower prices?!? They are now in the hole and will probably never get out if it.