Let me pose this question… if you found a 5 month old flier from Old Navy under the coffee table, would you expect Old Navy to honor those sales?

The Economics Behind the Sale

Sales are intended to increase traffic through a store and hopefully to increase overall sales activity. But that is not a sales only purpose and, dare I say, not even their primary purpose. The true goal of a sale is to increase awareness about a company, to increase the captive audience receptive of that companies marketing.

Let’s take Old Navy for example. My wife buys a lot of the kids clothes there so she is acutely aware of when the sales are. She subscribes to Old Navy’s newsletter, she get’s all the fliers, she pays attention to the posters in the store and she might also hear by word of mouth from the other people at work.

When Old Navy has a sale, my wife knows about it.

So Old Navy is rewarding my wife’s loyalty and willingness to receive their marketing with discounted prices on their clothing.

But what about those who miss out on the Old Navy Sale? If it means enough to those people then they will be sure to read the Old Navy fliers next time. If it really matters to them then they will sign up for Old Navy’s news letter. By doing so they will not miss the next sale and their loyalty will soon be rewarded.

Who’s Really Getting Hurt?

So what am I getting at here? As the owner of a very small business I am very closely connected with the end users of our efforts. I’ve been fortunate to have some of the best customers a business I could ever hope for and I am reminded of that every day. Being that close to the customer has it’s advantages but it also means that I’m a much easier target to lash out at.

The very thing with which I use to reward my customers and the years of loyalty they have given me, is also the very source of some of our most distasteful customer interactions.

We have sales here from time to time. Just like Old Navy, our sales are intended to reward those who follow us closely and encourage those who don’t follow our activity to subscribe to the news letter or this blog or perhaps even follow us on Twitter. Sales help expand our captive audience.

The downside to having sales (and to me being so closely involved with the customer) is that the end of every sale sees us inundated with countless emails and comments from people who are angry that they missed the sale. This doesn’t just go on for days or weeks — it goes on for months, even after other sales have come and gone!

This can leave a small business owner deflated and feeling unappreciated. Why have sales when the increased traffic and sales activity must be accompanied with such negativity and, at times, hostility?

It’s Just a Sale

A sale is a sale. It has a beginning. It has an ending. If a sale had neither of those things it wouldn’t be a sale. To all of those who miss out on our sales please accept it as just that, you missed out on a sale. It won’t be the last one we have and if you want to catch the next one then sign up to the group, subscribe to this blog or follow us on Twitter.

But please, please, please keep your negative comments to yourself. Berating us for having the same sale policies — when sales begin and end — that any company has, the world over, does not do anyone any good. Sales, and our policies concerning them, are not what define us as a company.

It is our workmanship, our commitment to the product and our customer support that will be our legacy.

Those That Make It Worth While

I want to thank all of our loyal customers who, over our nearly 5 years in this business, have made us the company that we are today. To the seyDesign Member Group, I know you appreciate everything I do in the community and I am grateful that you guys are willing to tell me that on a daily basis. I am humbled by your kindness. It is for an audience like all of you that I continue to push the company as hard as I do.