I was interested this morning by a surgeon who managed to get a short slot on the Today Programme to talk about how he believes there should be legislation against the offering of three for two type deals in cosmetic surgery.
I have to admit it’s not a market I pay a lot of attention to, however I’m delighted to hear this fellow speaking out. His position is that the offers destroy trust in what has to be a very trusted profession if it is to thrive.
I fully agree and would suggest that it’s an issue for brands in general. The question of whether or not to discount should be a very hard and long considered one.
The biggest consideration should be whether or not you can afford to do so. While that may sound obvious, I’m not talking about whether you can afford to today, or next week, but whether you can afford to get into a position where you are competing on price, and sustain it, profitably.
I believe that it’s a very dangerous game for any small player.
Then the more important angle here is the more important question of trust.
I believe that trust is a fragile concept. One which takes considerable time to earn, yet can be destroyed in a blink.
The Stella ads of the last decade come to mind here as a whole lot more clever than many thought with their tag lone of reassuringly expensive. Would you go to the eye laser clinic that offered a discount? I suppose some might, but I believe there’s a strange glass floor effect in industries such as these and I firmly believe our surgeon is right, but not through legislation.