• March 20, 2003

A survey of more than 325 marketers found that price discounting is by no means a silver bullet for driving sales, with sentiment split among those who feel it's good for business, bad for business or both. Opinions were far less varied when it came to the importance of adding value during the sales process. Roughly 75% of those polled by Reveries, an online magazine for marketers, said emotional connections, value, reputation and quality were all critical factors to spark sales. Of those polled, 26% said price discounts have a negative effect on their business. A nearly equal 24% said they have a positive impact on their business; and an additional 30% hedged that price discounting has both a negative and positive impact on their business successes. The survey revealed that building a brand's image and price discounting are not mutually exclusive. Forty-nine percent of those polled say it’s possible to build image and lower price, while another 33% feel it may be possible.