What is it about a great deal that makes folks want to tell others? You hear about gas prices being a certain price at a certain gas station and you will tell others. You find a Back to School special and you tell other mom’s. You hear about a great deal on a tool set and you make sure you let your buddies know. Finding a great bargain, especially during these economic times, and you will go out of your way to tell others to help them save money too. Our discretionary dollars are beyond stretched and we are looking at every avenue possible to get more value for our dollar. The problem is that inflation eats up our purchasing power and we simply don’t get the same value for our money as we use to. Almost every company is finding a reason to raise their prices. Whether it is applicable or not, companies will often jump at a chance to make more money if they can get away with it. Portion sizes and product packaging is getting smaller but the price we pay for the same item is not. So how do we combat some of the highest levels of inflation that this nation has seen in years?
Society, in many aspects, has changed a lot since Covid first arrived in early 2020. More folks are working from home and many folks have decided that they don’t want to be part of the workforce at all. The fact remains that we all remain consumers of products and services to a certain extent. Basic food necessities will always be what they are but how we allocate our income is being scrutinized more than ever. I’m sure over the last several months, like myself, you have seen the prices of products and services that you have purchased go up (sometimes significantly). Unfortunately, our pay hasn’t kept pace. The average annual raise in 2022 is 3.4% but inflation has been at an average of 8.6%. Not only are we not keeping pace with inflation, we are in the hole a significant amount. That forces us, as consumers, to allocate or eliminate luxuries and even necessities in our lives. So if you have really sat down and thought about whether you are going to make a purchase that you use to not think a lot about because it was well within your budget then inflation and supply availability has certainly crossed your mind.
So have you asked yourself, how can I get more bang for my buck? What tools am I using to help retain more of my income or get more value for my dollars spent? If you had an opportunity to save time, money and energy searching out deals would you do it? Is your income at a level that you don’t notice what is happening in the economy or are you acutely aware of how much more our everyday purchases are costing you? The bottom line is that the prices of goods and services have gone up significantly but our income is not keeping pace. Are you spending more of your time telling others about deals that you have come across or are you even noticing? Do you believe that when inflation gets under control that prices will go back down? If inflation compels you to ask for a higher raise, do you believe your company will have to raise the prices of their goods and services to pay everyone’s higher requested salary? Many businesses have low profit margins and are in a tough spot in trying to retain customers without raising prices too much.
One way to save money is to seek out deals. The perception of value is where you believe the amount of money being charged for a good or services meets your utility and value expectations. Depending on the importance of the goods and service we consume everyday, will you continue to buy, seek out savings opportunities or forego the purchase altogether? If you have a system that could allow you to be notified by others that you trust, family and friends, and allowed you to save money on that purchase would you use it? Saving time, money and effort searching for the goods and services that bring us value and utility is often a priority in the average consumer’s life.
If you are a business owner, I’m sure you think frequently about where your next customer will come from as well as retaining your existing customers. As a consumer, I’m sure you probably thought about ways of saving money at reputable businesses and if it wasn’t too labor intensive, helping others save money as well. Referrals have always been the most effective way to save others time and money and as a business owner, the most cost effective customer acquisition method.
Dealium is a cloud-based SaaS Digital Referral Marketing & Customer Engagement platform that integrates referral code sharing technology, SMS, Email & popular social media platforms. Dealium helps create brand awareness, brand exposure & new customer acquisition opportunities for our small business subscribers.
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