When a once beloved brand under new management, repeatedly relies on flash sales and deep discounts to boost sales, it’s obvious that the organisation’s goal is to massage the numbers on the next quarter’s balance sheet. The leadership team are designing the business for the outcome they want—short-term growth, on paper. A short-term strategy doesn’t always take long-term effects into account. Discounting, in this case, sets off a chain reaction.

Customers who pay full price one day, only to see products discounted the next, are now educated to buy when products are discounted. There will always be another sale right around the corner, after all. So the brand loses its efficacy because the story the customers believe changes. The meaning customers once attached to the brand gradually erodes until the irreplaceable brand becomes an interchangeable commodity.

Every decision we make has a knock on effect. Today’s decisions impact tomorrow’s outcomes. We need to plan for then and now.

Image by Milo Baumgartner