I try to give discounts to all my customers. It’s not compulsory that I will give discounts to only a few customers. My strategy is that if I sell products at a fixed price, then customers won’t buy them from me. So, I have to rotate my business and the amount that I am investing in my business without stopping the product sales. I can’t keep the products in stock at my shop. I have to sell products at a discount of 10-15 percent. Once I sell the products that I already have at my shop, I will be able to buy new products. Now, if I talk about products that people are using today, they may not want to use these same products tomorrow as new products are getting launched in the market every day. That’s why I always try to sell the products which I already have in stock. Once I do that, I can buy new products and sell them at my shop. So, this is how I am running my business and my shop.
Selling products at a 50 percent discount would result in no profit and a significant loss in my business. Online shopping has negatively impacted the business of many retailers. Previously, I would buy a pair of earrings for 40 rupees and sell them for 50 rupees, earning a profit of 10 rupees. However, customers can now purchase the same pair of earrings online for 30 rupees.
No, there is no discount. I offer discounts to my customers. I inform them about the price; if the customer is interested, I lower the price by Rs.100 or Rs.200 if it's not a lot of work.
Yes, there are many customers who bargain for the price in my shop. I have to explain to them the amount of work I have done and why I need the stated price. Some customers agree to it, while others don't. In some cases, customers bargain and pay what they want, and in those situations, I have to bear a loss. For example, the vehicle I am currently working on, I am incurring a loss. I had provided an estimate to the customer, but there were additional expenses that exceeded the estimate. However, I can't tell this to the customer because he left his vehicle here based on trust. If I were to inform him that I have spent more, he might question the fact that I initially quoted a lower price. I could explain the situation, but that would risk losing his trust in me. In such cases, I can't do much except accept the loss and focus on earning profit from the next vehicle. It's important to prioritize trust over immediate gains and losses. If I incur a loss in one vehicle, I can make a profit from another. Trust is more important than just having customers; I want to establish trust with everyone I interact with.
I don't have any schemes for giving discounts to customers. I sell items at a reasonable rate only. I never charge more money, even if a small child comes. I never engage in such practices. Everyone trusts me. This is an old shop in the area. I started this shop when it was the only one within a 25 km radius. I offer a small discount on the total bill. I round the figure to a whole number. There are no losses, but my profit will be less.
There are no discounts for servicing. Occasionally, people negotiate, which is acceptable. If they make me an offer, I will accept a lower amount and consider it a discount. For example, if the quoted price is 500, sometimes I am willing to accept 350 or 400.
I decided to give a 10% discount to customers on the total amount. It has been my nature since the beginning. Guruji suggested that I offer a 10% discount to everyone, regardless of age. Whether it's a small kid or a senior. I decided 10% because the items are different. Some items have a 10% discount, some have a 5% discount, some have a 50% discount, and some have a 20% discount.
Yes, we have regular customers. They are very nice customers. Till now, we have 40% regular customers, which we have calculated. We make Excel entries of our yearly estimated bill. For example, if your name is Priyanka Kesharwani or Priyanka Shrivastav or Priyanka Singh, this is your mobile number, you belong to Shanti puram, and you have taken furniture from me in 2021 and 2022. So, when I add the information of 2022 in Excel, the sheet will show me that you have taken a product on this date and this year. Therefore, I can know that you have taken 2 furniture items from me in 2020, 2021, and 2022. This helps me identify you as a regular customer, Priyanka ji. I see that 400 customers repeated their purchases next year among 1000 customers, which means they are our regular customers. We make the entry and provide gifts to our regular customers during festivals. We message them and invite them to come during Dhanteras and Deepawali. We give a 5% discount to our regular customers on pillow, mattress protector, and bedsheet. In Deepawali, my shop will be 3 years old, so I will see who those regular customers are who have done shopping from us in these 3 years. It might be a small chair or a big furniture item, and we will give them a 50% discount or a buy 1 get 1 free offer to increase our sales. If we motivate and give things to regular customers, they will also advertise for us. Instead of investing money on advertisements and keeping staff for advertisement, they will not go to every locality to do this. Allahabad has many localities like Taliyarganj Fafamoj, Shanti puram. I should catch the customers, give them a buy 1 get 1 free offer, and then they will feel that Vinayak furniture respects us. They will advertise this to 4 more people to purchase things from us. We are good. This is a concept to increase the business.
Yes, we prepare Excel sheets month-wise as well. We will also offer discounts to our monthly regular customers, so they feel that we are responsive to their purchases. Currently, we are not tracking monthly data, but we will start doing so. Currently, we only track yearly data. I have created a database for customer needs. For example, if a customer asks for a specific item that we don't have in our shop, I will note down their requirement and their mobile number on a daily basis. After fulfilling their needs, we will contact the customer. (showed the register) Here, I have written down the customer's requirement for a change in the revolving chair base. Initially, we used to sell chairs without the base, but now we have started selling the base as it is a customer need.
We offer maximum discounts to customers based on quotations. If there is an inquiry, we provide a quotation in response. And whenever we need to follow up, we do so. If there is no inquiry, we investigate why there was no inquiry. If the client is willing to share the rate next time, whether they obtained it from elsewhere or found the rate to be higher or lower, we examine that. We handle the inquiries that come to us. In the rare case of a confrontation, if we find a mutual connection between us, such as a shared friend, we sit together and try to resolve the issue. I mean, we work together in a collaborative manner. Yes, it happens mutually.
The same thing applies to customers as well for discounts. If they say that they will buy in cash and take this much quantity, we decide the discount rate according to that. Cash in the sense of cash payment via transfer or in physical cash.
For regular customers we offer good rates, good behaviour and trust. We try to make our customers as loyal customers and a trust should be built between our customers and us so that they are loyal to us. In this sector, there are lot of companies in wire. So we try to generate our image in a way that all products available here are trustworthy. Recently, many of the electrical shops have been raided in Pratapgarh and they received a lot of (fake) wires there. So we do meetings of electricians from time to time and we make them aware of our products. Somehow they influence customers so we try to maintain good relations with electricians. This is because the customer who has to get the wiring done, he will contact the electrician first. Then customer will ask him about the brand of wire and its quantity. So we work with electrician and secondly build trust with the customer and provide him with the right thing.
Trust is built based on the way you talk to them. You give him proper information about the product that you are showing it to them. like we get products like wire, so we tell them about such features if that wire if fire proof or not. We show the testing of wire to the customer and show him the copper quality. We burn the wire with a matchstick and show him here at the shop. We also scan the product through a scanner to show if it is original or not. We do some testing of the products at the shop which other shopkeepers don’t do that. With this, our customers trust us that we are genuine and giving them genuine products. When they buy the right product, they trust us and they are happy customers who will further recommend us to another customer. I try to make loyal customers and for doing so, I need to build trust with them and offer good rates and plus show good behaviour. I have to work with all three ways and then he becomes as a loyal customer.
We continue to share updates on WhatsApp about any new information, whether it's in the form of news, updates, or book availability. There are numerous advantages. (Showing WhatsApp). We get orders through whatsapp status.There is a book by Piyush Vashney on reasoning. It is a famous book and currently has a discount of 30%. We shared the good news that Piyush Vashney's book is now available at a 30% discount. Everyone became aware instantly that they can now avail a 30% discount. This discount has increased from 20% to 30%, as mentioned by the shopkeepers. (showing the WhatsApp status)
If he is my regular customer, many mechanics also come to us for getting cars repaired, I give more discount to my continue coming customers. If it is new customer we come to know. We see the vehicle number and come to know that this vehicle has come from Raipur or Nagpur or somewhere else. We know that this outside customer will never come again to our workshop. Only 2% difference is there in our discounts for regular and new customers.
A lot needs to be done for the customers ma’am, we can provide customers service same as available in the showroom. Once free servicing is done from the showroom, why customers do not go to the showroom after that? What is the psychology of the customers? In showroom they charge more labor payment. GST will be applied. On top of that there are timings from morning till evening; if servicing is not done today then you will get it tomorrow only. In our workshop immediately customer brings the car for servicing, work is done fast here on the car and within no time customer is told to take back his car. Here we give discount to the customers, at the showroom they would charge the same price whatever they would say. In showroom they don’t give discount of 1/- but we give discount of 10/- to the customers. Now we sell only spare parts. Washing of the car should be there but I don’t have that facility. It was done before but now it is stopped. Alignment balancing is done of the car by mechanics but that is also not there with me, it should be there I feel. Ours is mechanical related work then there is electric related work and for that I don’t have many spare parts for that, I feel that should be there with me too. I arrange that for my customers but I have to call up somebody for that at that time. I cannot keep censors also because in single car 50 censors are installed. Like that so many companies’ cars are there so we have to maintain very big range of censors. Sometimes in showroom also they don’t have this material. They come to us then. Maruti showroom people come to us for that. Hyundai showroom people also come to us. Halogen bulbs are not there in Hyundai showroom so they sometimes come to us to take it. Sometimes we don’t have the material so we go to the showroom and get that material. Like that there is vast range of materials in automobiles. Now foreign country vehicles have come up but Maruti, Hyundai, Mahindra are Indian companies only. Kia, Skoda, BMW, Volkswagen has come up. Like this the range becomes vaster day by day. We are not able to do fulfill all the customers. Even showroom cannot satisfy the customers in terms of material.
To create trust in customers, I tell them whatever parts we are putting is genuine, I give them satisfaction, I assure them if anything happens come to me, I am there to help you. I tell them you can call me and we can come to your house and check it. In payment I give discount and give him satisfaction.
Yes, customers do haggle with me, but we don't do it that much here. This is the price; we don't haggle with them.
For some items I give discounts and some items I can’t. Yes, they do bargaining for fancy but not for stationery. For stationery, maximum MRP and we get only 5%, 10%, or 12%. Each item has different margins, so we can't do it. Actually I'm the only person and I know the purchase price, so I sell accordingly. So I remember the purchase price of all the items maximum. We usually put the MRP maximum retail price with some gain. We need to maintain everything and put MRP based on the shop's rent and salary. If the customers bargain there's no other way we need to reduce the price and give. They don’t buy fancy articles without bargaining.
Yes, patients/customers ask for discounts all the time. I offer a 10% discount. It depends on the medicine; if it is generic, then the discount will be 50%, and if it is ethical, then it will be 10%. We procure generic medicines because we have a margin of 10% on them, and from that 20%, I will give 10% to the doctor.
Yes, that is always a common request from my customers - they often ask for discounts. For example, if a customer approaches me and the price of an item is 450 rupees, but they say they can only afford 300 or 350 rupees, I sometimes make adjustments to accommodate their budget if they are interested in purchasing it. The discount I offer depends on the customer and their situation. Let's say you are a customer who is willing to pay the standard price. If I tell you that an item is priced at 500 rupees, you would pay that amount without hesitation. However, if there is another person with you who I feel cannot afford it, I would handle the situation accordingly. For instance, if this saree is priced at 800 rupees, the maximum discount I would offer to you is 50 rupees. I would sell it to you for 750 rupees, considering that you can afford that amount. But if there is someone else who cannot afford that much, I would provide them with a bigger discount.
I'll give you an example: If someone likes this Saree and I know it's damaged, I'll let them know. However, if they really like it, I'll offer it to them at a discounted price, but I'll inform them beforehand. I won't hide the fact from them because I want them to return. If there's still a complaint, I'll tell them to bring it back to me if something like this happens. I'll assure them that it hasn't happened with me so far. If one or two Sarees are damaged but the customers really like them, I'll inform them about the damage, show it to them, and if they still like it, I'll offer it to them at a lower price.
If someone asks for a discount after already receiving one, I would still be willing to reduce the price slightly. However, as a business owner, I cannot bear the cost myself. For example, if I purchase something for 100 rupees and sell it for 120 rupees, I make a profit of 20 rupees. If a customer requests to buy it for 90 rupees, I cannot accept that offer. In that case, I would have to cover the additional 10 rupees from my own pocket. That's why I always clearly state the final price, and if the customer agrees, they can make the purchase. Otherwise, there is nothing more I can do.
Yes, I do give discounts to customers. It's not based on MRP. I would also have some margin if I buy the product and not sell it for 10 rupees. I may have bought it for 7 rupees, so I would discount one rupee for the customer. This would make the customer happy and I would also have more profit. The valuable customers would get a better discount. The normal customers who just come and go would get a regular one. If a customer is good and makes a purchase of around 2000-3000, then I would definitely have to give them a higher margin. A customer who has been coming to me for a long time, I understand her preferences. She doesn't always purchase goods worth 1000 rupees, sometimes it's 200 rupees as well. However, she occasionally comes and buys goods worth 2000 rupees. She is a loyal customer and always visits me. That's the place that is meant for customers like her, and I have to make room for her.
You have to give customers discounts from time to time to keep the customer happy. I felt that I had ₹20 to give away, so I decided to do just that. I don't have a thousand customers. It is a neighborhood shop after all. That is why. Had I not given the discount, she would have gone away. I might get a lesser share, but it is okay. I am okay if the customer is happy.
Discount (to the customers) in the sense, we determine the net price. Suppose my purchase is for 100 rupees and I will sell it for 105 rupees. So, I set it as the net price and that's what my price is. Suppose the price comes to be 505 rupees, and in that case, I take 500 rupees and give a 5 rupee discount. We determine the net price for everything. It means we decide the price in advance. It will not be less than that nor more than that.
People mostly find out about the shop through word of mouth. We don't have any ads or anything. It's been 2 years since we opened the shop, so how people communicate with each other, through that we get customers. Rates will be reasonable. So, we have items of both first and second quality. For example, the pulses will be available in both first and second quality. So there will be an item for Rs 190/ and the same item will be available for Rs 150/ as well. Based on my customers, I will give them the first quality only, so they will use it and give good reviews accordingly. We don't circulate any ads or anything. During the festival time, we may have some offers going on, like for a purchase of around Rs 2000/, we will give something for free. It's been two years, and I have brought out offers at least two times till now.
Customers will ask for discounts if they purchase for around 2K. If there are any discounts available, we may give them biscuits or chocolates.
The discount is from the company's side only. If we buy this many kilos, we will get this much offer. Then, we may give customer offers. For example, if you buy Sambar powder, then Idly podi is free, something like that.
The discount will be available on the product itself, sir. It comes printed on the packaging. So, in larger shops, they may remove that free item as well. But in our shop, we will give it to the customer and inform them that this particular item is free with this product.
We offer a lot of promotions during Diwali, depending on the market situation. It varies based on factors like which models are in demand and what benefits we can provide. We offer discounts and accessories. If a mobile phone costs 10,000 rupees, we might offer a discount of 500 rupees, which attracts customers. We can also provide accessories at a lower price, which can be quite profitable.
Yes, we try to give offers (customer discounts) always; if they buy 3 liter we give 1 liter juice jar free. We cannot give offers for commercial but for domestic we do. Commercial equipment is high budget and they don’t expect the free items. My father decides on discounts.
While some models may not sell as quickly due to various reasons like potential issues with the model or battery backup, we generally maintain the original price. On occasion, we may run an offer, reducing the price by Rs. 1,000. We prefer not to drop it to Rs. 800 but will go with Rs. 1,000, often associating it with a 20% discount to encourage cash transactions.
Negotiations are a regular part of our interactions with customers. While we do have certain limitations and may not always be able to meet their desired price, we often provide discounts and leave the decision to purchase up to them. Sometimes they even walk out. I stand firmly by my decision to maintain high product quality. While I could produce lower-standard quality items, I don't want customers to compromise on quality. It's a long process – when customers choose low-standard products, they often end up returning to the store for repairs. I often explain to them that it's similar to hiring a laborer; if you want them to perform well, you should pay them regularly.
We give customers curry leaves as a discount. We don't offer any other discounts because our business isn't that big. They sometimes ask us to give curry leaves or coriander leaves for free. They don't ask to reduce money.
I would feel very bad when customers leave my shop dissatisfied. I would try to entice them by suggesting what would be ideal for them. If it is a lady, I would say that this sandal would look nice on her feet. If it is a man, then I would say that this sandal would fit well for him. We cannot sell anything without talking. It would be great if we could just show one or two items and they would buy them immediately. But it may not give us a sense of selling an item. Only when we compliment them and sell the item, it is satisfying for us as well. Some ladies ask whether this sandal looks good on their feet. We should also try to praise from our side, only then they would agree to purchase.
We give discounts, it depends. Some people go without discounts as well. If we feel like reducing the price, we would reduce it and give them the discount. We must be making a profit of 500 rupees, so we can afford to reduce the price by 50 rupees and sell that item to them. There are a lot of nearby chappal shops. All three shops had a chappal shop.
Now, customers have started bargaining. Earlier, they never used to bargain. We, on our own, reduce the price because we feel guilty. Even if they don't ask, we have to reduce the cost by at least 20 to 30 rupees. People have started having the mindset to bargain now. When they go to big shops, they don't bargain. Wherever I go, I tell them that I have a shop and it would be appreciated if they could reduce the price. If they say it is a fixed rate, then I don't get into bargaining mode. But today, many people try to negotiate. If 100 people come, 90 of them try to reduce the price.
First when I opened the shop for customers who purchased above 1000 rupees I gave a plate and tumbler. Now, as Diwali offer, we can give a 20% discount for some clothes. If we give 20% for lining it will be loss. For sarees we can give 20%. Each saree will be in different rate. For costly sarees we can give 20% and if it is less we can give 15%. If it is very less, then we can give 10%. So discounts will depend on the product. All the customers are the same and I don’t change the rate for regular customers. They bargain a lot, if it is suitable I will give a discount or else I wont. But 95% of the time, I don’t leave the customers. I will sell them for the original price if needed (no profit, no loss).