personally) offered discounts for Ramadan and called it “month of
sharing”.
The idea of offering a limited discount on the occasion of an important event or date, although certainly not new, had not even occurred to me. It works in other industries, though, so why not in the translation business, too?
It could be worth a try when things are slow as they tend to get especially in the summer, or when something new and exciting is happening – new location, new logo, new specialty…
Put it on your website, mention it in forums and other (social) media online (Twitter, Facebook, XING, LinkedIN, Google+, you name it), maybe even write an e-mail to your customers, both existing and potential (without spamming anyone, of course!).
List your regular prices or price ranges, if you like, then mention the discount (e.g. 15% off your first order, or: Save 10% the whole month of August).
It’s not a whole lot of effort, and it could very well bring in some new business (and hopefully not only one-time customers), but most importantly it won’t hurt your prices in the long run! After all, the discount is limited…