Mk 118

---
name: mk-118
description: "Compare customer value and variable costs of discounts versus gifts/product bundles. Use when corporate offers stack with payment fees and the user wants promotional adjustments other than an across-the-board price increase"
---

# MK-118 | Comparing discount and gift offers

For a regular chat, upload `packs/mk-118.md`. It includes the shared rules, this method, and required references

## Purpose

This skill delivers: **Offer differences at the same cost**

Do not fabricate discounts, gift inventory, countdown deadlines, limited quantities, or testimonials

## Required inputs


Available raw records: the campaign objective, customer choice evidence, actual discount/gift/bundle terms, payment and fulfillment costs, and inventory

## Method Steps

1. Hold objective, eligibility, product, customer group, and period constant while listing real discount, gift, and bundle terms. Use customer remarks or choices; low cost and high listed gift value do not establish customer desire
2. A confirmed price barrier and affordable discounted economics support a discount candidate. A gift serving a real complementary need, with demand and inventory, supports a gift candidate. Compare total contribution when both qualify rather than banning discounts on the main product
3. Calculate representative orders and total contribution for the same eligible group, including benefits given to people who would already buy. Higher per-order margin can lose when fewer people purchase
4. For directional advice, provide conditional options and variables. For a final offer choice with unknown acceptance, show the order count that reverses ranking and request distinguishing choice records or propose a capped comparable test
5. Recalculate after payment fees, stacked discounts, fulfillment, or customer needs change. If a gift only reduces cost without demand evidence, withdraw the claim of greater customer value while retaining the cost finding

## Calculation and Interpretation

Offer contribution = discounted net revenue − product/gift/payment/variable fulfillment costs − additional campaign costs. Contribution per eligible person uses the original eligible population, retaining nonbuyers. Deduct displaced baseline contribution to calculate relative change

Check example (hypothetical): among the same 100 eligible customers, ten discounted orders contribute 100 each, while six gift orders contribute 140 each: 1,000 exceeds 840. Eight mature gift orders would contribute 1,120 and reverse the ranking; per-order margin alone cannot select the gift

Decision rules authored by ThinkWithBlack, 2026-10-14; original course sources remain below

## Required output fields

| Order | Field | How to complete |
|---:|---|---|
| 1 | Offer | Use source evidence, an intermediate method result, or an explicit unknown; do not invent information |
| 2 | Participation conditions | Use source evidence, an intermediate method result, or an explicit unknown; do not invent information |
| 3 | Offer details | Use source evidence, an intermediate method result, or an explicit unknown; do not invent information |
| 4 | Representative-order calculation | Use source evidence, an intermediate method result, or an explicit unknown; do not invent information |
| 5 | Gross-margin impact | Use source evidence, an intermediate method result, or an explicit unknown; do not invent information |
| 6 | Limitations | Use source evidence, an intermediate method result, or an explicit unknown; do not invent information |
| 7 | Information to communicate publicly | Use source evidence, an intermediate method result, or an explicit unknown; do not invent information |
| 8 | Acceptance | Use source evidence, an intermediate method result, or an explicit unknown; do not invent information |

## Activation conditions and full question scope

Use this skill directly when the user wants to compare discounts with gifts, sales-support products, or bundles, or wants promotional changes other than raising all prices after existing discounts stack with payment fees. Deliver using customer value, actual variable costs, and the eight required fields

[Q037 original question](https://www.reddit.com/r/smallbusiness/comments/1w397a5/margin_risk_on_corporate_deals/): "Corporate deals receive a 10% discount, and financing payment fees exceed card fees. What can we do besides raise all prices?" Preserve the concern about not affecting all local customers. First compare the existing discount with conditional replacements using real gifts/high-margin support products/bundles. This asks for recommendations; do not automatically expand it into a guaranteed optimal strategy, conversion forecast, or payment-provider selection

Cost checks, representative-order calculations, and missing-data questions are existing deliverables of this skill; multiple steps do not require adding independent deliverables. If discounts already reduce revenue, do not deduct them again. Check the payment-fee base, tax/refund treatment, and same-unit product costs; mark partial contribution when costs are missing. If the original question only seeks directions for adjustment, deliver conditional candidates, a representative-order formula, and the eight-field comparison first. Without named gifts or complete costs, use variables to explain feasibility conditions. Obtain corresponding customer-value, real-product, inventory, and cost data only when an actual final store offer, exact gifts, or actual profit is requested. Do not invent accessories, gift retail prices, or fixed healthy gross-margin thresholds

The original £1,000 selling price, £834 cost, 10% discount, and 6.5%/0.64% fee rates are the author's self-reports. Only if both rates apply to the discounted £900, £900 has no further refunds/discounts, and costs use the same currency and unit, partial contribution is £7.50/£60.24, a difference of £52.74. The 20/100 figure is an order-count share, not a revenue share. Retain the original £90/£50 calculations separately; do not reuse them as settled results

For questions solely about current payment-provider fees, contracts, surcharge legality, switching providers, platform setup, independent cost classification, or causal promotional effects, find the method and evidence for each task; continue with these only when separately requested in the original question. Customer acceptance of gifts depends on real needs, not low costs or high list prices. Do not execute product, offer, or payment configuration changes

## Method sources

Source file: 行銷策略實戰學程Day4-佈局獲利 × 節奏變現 × 轉單收割

Location: Campaign

Source basis: extracted from course materials

Source URL: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dq3xqYVUnWvUCpzZKI91yDDOzvkyG0uHy3EOsOjtItA/edit

English translation of source excerpt:

> Consider consumers with active needs each month and bring campaign traffic to the campaign page for prompt conversion