A registration season does not pass without hearing about the latest and greatest new discount being used in adult and continuing education programs. From buy 2 get 1 free to across the board discounts for quantity purchases, the discount formats are almost as varied as the organizations themselves. But do they work?
Over the years, I have seen numerous programs offering discounts primarily because they always have. In other words, tradition. So why offer a discount if the only current measureable result is having less revenue because of the discount than if you had not offered the discount at all? Why offer a discount if it does not meet a legitimate need?