Price is itself a signal of value. If a company is constantly willing to give deep discounts, it signals that they themselves don't believe that their value proposition is very good.
Quite a few companies refuse to offer discounts at all, or tie their discounts to some logical system (like discounting for volume). Over time this supports their own story about how valuable their product or service is. This is why you almost never see current-gen Apple products sold for less than MSRP.
For the engineers reading this: yes, it's pure marketing. But to survive, a company needs sales, and marketing helps achieve sales because humans are emotional, irrational creatures.
Another nice aspect of avoiding discounting is that customers who demand big discounts up front often tend to be pains in the butt when it comes to support. Being willing to let a few of those folks "get away" might be beneficial in the long run.
Quite a few companies refuse to offer discounts at all, or tie their discounts to some logical system (like discounting for volume). Over time this supports their own story about how valuable their product or service is. This is why you almost never see current-gen Apple products sold for less than MSRP.
For the engineers reading this: yes, it's pure marketing. But to survive, a company needs sales, and marketing helps achieve sales because humans are emotional, irrational creatures.
Another nice aspect of avoiding discounting is that customers who demand big discounts up front often tend to be pains in the butt when it comes to support. Being willing to let a few of those folks "get away" might be beneficial in the long run.