A common question when deciding marketing strategies is “Should we offer a discount?”. The answer
to this question is far beyond simple and straightforward. It involves the examination of many factors
such as the competition, the elasticity of demand etc. One can use break-even analysis to answer the
above question from a pure cost and profit perspective. If the discount offer is made with a final
objective to increase profit through an increase in sales volume, caution should be exercised on the
fact that the expected increase in sales (incremental sales) will be adequate to make up for the “lost”
profit from the discount offer.
To illustrate, let us assume that the owner of a cinema in Alicante, Spain wants to increase the number
of customers in August. His records indicate that his 500-seat hall, is typically less than 30 percent full
during August (the lowest tickets sales among the twelve months of the year). He wants to increase the
number of ticket sold beyond the average of 150 per day for that month (500 seats x 30%). In order to
achieve that, he decides to offer a 20 percent discount to everyone who buys tickets during that month.
To promote his offer his will run advertisements in a newspaper at a cost of 1000.
If the selling price, without the discount offer, is 10 and the variable cost per person is 2, how many
additional customers must he generate in August through this promotion in order to break-even on the
total expenses related to the promotion and the discount offer?
We can answer the above question by applying the break-even analysis. In particular, we should first
estimate the total expenses related to the promotion and the discount offer (fixed costs). In this case,
we have obvious costs of 1000 (advertisement) and a “hidden” cost. This “hidden” cost reflects the
lost profit from the discount offer.
This is calculated as follows:
500 seats x 30% average ticket sales for August = 150 tickets per day
Lost profit per customer 10 x 20% discount = 2 per customer
Total Lost profit for August: 150 tickets x 2 x 31days = 9,300
B.E.P.(tickets)
€ 9300 € 1000
€ 8 € 2
€ 10300
€ 6
1,717 tickets (approx.56 per day)
Approximately 56 more tickets must be sold per day in August to cover the total cost of the promotion
(advertisement and discount). In other words, 206 tickets must be sold on average per day to have the
same profit as at the level of 150 tickets before the promotion. This represents an increase of 37.3
percent. The owner of the cinema can use this figure as an additional tool to decide whether this is a
good idea or not. He might believe that a 20 percent discount might not be enough to attract 37 percent
more customers (without any additional profit) and therefore reconsider his decision. On the other
hand, he might believe that if he can break even on the cost of the promotion, the additional customers
will generate more sales for the kiosk from buying pop-corn, drinks etc.
A common question when deciding marketing strategies is “Should we offer a discount?”. The answerto this question is far beyond simple and straightforward. It involves the examination of many factorssuch as the competition, the elasticity of demand etc. One can use break-even analysis to answer theabove question from a pure cost and profit perspective. If the discount offer is made with a finalobjective to increase profit through an increase in sales volume, caution should be exercised on thefact that the expected increase in sales (incremental sales) will be adequate to make up for the “lost”profit from the discount offer.To illustrate, let us assume that the owner of a cinema in Alicante, Spain wants to increase the numberof customers in August. His records indicate that his 500-seat hall, is typically less than 30 percent fullduring August (the lowest tickets sales among the twelve months of the year). He wants to increase thenumber of ticket sold beyond the average of 150 per day for that month (500 seats x 30%). In order toachieve that, he decides to offer a 20 percent discount to everyone who buys tickets during that month.To promote his offer his will run advertisements in a newspaper at a cost of 1000.If the selling price, without the discount offer, is 10 and the variable cost per person is 2, how manyadditional customers must he generate in August through this promotion in order to break-even on thetotal expenses related to the promotion and the discount offer?We can answer the above question by applying the break-even analysis. In particular, we should firstestimate the total expenses related to the promotion and the discount offer (fixed costs). In this case,we have obvious costs of 1000 (advertisement) and a “hidden” cost. This “hidden” cost reflects thelost profit from the discount offer.This is calculated as follows:500 seats x 30% average ticket sales for August = 150 tickets per dayLost profit per customer 10 x 20% discount = 2 per customerTotal Lost profit for August: 150 tickets x 2 x 31days = 9,300 B.E.P.(tickets) € 9300 € 1000€ 8 € 2 € 10300€ 6 1,717 tickets (approx.56 per day) Approximately 56 more tickets must be sold per day in August to cover the total cost of the promotion(advertisement and discount). In other words, 206 tickets must be sold on average per day to have thesame profit as at the level of 150 tickets before the promotion. This represents an increase of 37.3percent. The owner of the cinema can use this figure as an additional tool to decide whether this is agood idea or not. He might believe that a 20 percent discount might not be enough to attract 37 percentmore customers (without any additional profit) and therefore reconsider his decision. On the otherhand, he might believe that if he can break even on the cost of the promotion, the additional customerswill generate more sales for the kiosk from buying pop-corn, drinks etc.
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