Saturday, I received renewal notices for three magazines I subscribe to: one that runs out in May, one in June, and one in September. Three guesses which envelope was emblazoned with “LAST CHANCE!” graphics?
Yup. September. Late September. Nine months away. I’m willing to bet they give me another chance (or twelve).
Several things make me nuts about this jump the gun marketing approach, from the insinuation I’ve somehow forgotten I just gave them money four months ago to the absurd amount of waste created by stacks of reminder mailings to the simple annoyance factor of being continually asked to hand over more money.
(In fairness, this isn’t the only magazine driving me nuts. The one coming due in May has sent six or seven notices over the past four months, plus repeated email requests, so they’re no saints either.)
Consumers expect to be hammered with buy me, buy me, buy me during the holiday season; it’s become as much a tradition as going out to find a tree the day after Thanksgiving. What they don’t expect (or want) is for the hammering to continue ad nauseum for weeks or months after the fact, regardless of the source.
Yes, times are tough, but running non-stop sales and specials burns out the customer…and burns your credibility. Retailers who do this are actively training their customer base to wait things out, as exemplified by the example Macy’s set in the Minneapolis area.
After purchasing Marshal Field’s, Twin Cities Macy stores immediately began running sales, one after another, without pause. See something you like on the rack today? Sit tight. It will go on sale any minute. Time it right, and you can actually get a reduced price the night before the sale even begins. Why pay full price when you know it won’t stay there long enough to gather dust?
The result, intended or otherwise, is that no one pays full price at Macy’s around here (with the exception of vendor-controlled areas like cosmetics). Hey, even I sit it out and wait. Have managed to pick up some sweet deals along the way, including a strand of pretty exquisite pearls.
In slow economic times, the temptation increases to ramp up specials and sales. Resist it, unless that’s the consumer category you want to move into. This isn’t a pattern that can be broken later on with ease; once customers catch on and word spreads, your store will join the ranks of off-price retail. Even your most loyal customers will hold off buying new merchandise in favor of waiting for a deal.
When the market firms up-—and eventually, it will-—you’ll be left with discount shoppers who won’t stick around when you return to full prices.
In the immortal words of Al Fahden, my friend and über-marketing whiz, there are three kinds of retailers: price leaders, service leaders, and product leaders. You can be one…you can even be two, if you’re good…but it’s impossible to be all three at once.
Pick now, then stick to it. Yes, you can have the occasional sale or special, but pick and choose them wisely so they remain the exception, not become the rule. When customers begin to spend more freely, those first tentative steps will be with the retailers they know…not the ones they no longer recognize.
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