From Killian Advertising
abstract prepared by Hugh Fisher

The effect of discounting is of great importance in today's marketplace, especially as "big box" stores continue to drive both the prices of products and the profits companies make from their sales. This white paper discusses the many effects of discounting and how a customer's judgment of value versus quality can affect a company's publicity strategy. Sales-increase methods such as coupons and rebates are examined and assessed with an eye toward determining how companies' actions can steer the marketplace - and both drive or destroy consumer confidence.

Keeping in mind the savvy nature of today's consumer, this paper analyzes of the ways that discounts can be used sensibly, not merely as a way to press new customers into the fold, but a means to increase the perceived value of an entire brand and gain customer loyalty: "A deal can always be beaten by a competitor. An image is quite a different thing altogether."

http://www.killianadvertising.com/wp3.html