Should your kids’ club offer discounts?

Parents ask for discounts, and it’s tempting to say yes. A little off here, a deal there. But every discount comes straight out of what you take home, and once you start, it’s hard to stop.

We don’t discount regular members

Our regular membership is our regular price, for everyone. We give just two discounts, and both are there for a reason.

1. Siblings

Some families want two or three children in a hobby, and the full price for all of them can be too much. A sibling discount helps those families do it.

It also makes good business sense. It costs money and effort to win a new member: ads, trials, your time. That’s your customer acquisition cost, or CAC. A brother or sister is already through the door, so they cost you almost nothing to win. Think of it as two dancers for the cost of finding one.

2. A friend’s first month

Every new member can bring a friend free for their first month. The friend arrives already knowing someone, and the new member settles in faster. We’ve written up how our friend’s free month works.

Never discount because it’s “too expensive”

When a parent says your price is too much, the easy answer is a discount. Don’t. Word gets around, it isn’t fair on families paying full price, and it tells everyone your price is up for negotiation.

Instead, talk about what they get for it. We’ve written about competing on value, not price.

Have rules, and stick to them

• Decide who gets a discount, how much, and when.
• Write it down, and make it the same for everyone.
• Keep it to one or two. Lots of overlapping discounts are hard to track and easy to argue about.

A quick checklist

1. Keep one price for regular members.
2. Use discounts that cost you little, like siblings and a friend’s first month.
3. Never discount because someone says it’s too expensive.
4. Write your rules down and apply them to everyone.

Questions