The Purpose of a Sale
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.
Don’t let a couple bad apples spoil the whole bunch. (Incidentally that expression is based on the fact that a bad apple will emit a toxic cloud which will cause other apples in the same storage container to go bad too, which is why you should wrap apples for storage in newspaper so they can’t hear each other scream.)
I’m sure you’ve heard of the campaign to work for free or full price but never for cheap. Perhaps it’s time to raise your rates and then your sales will be that much more effective?
I agree with Ian here. Your prices are beyond fair and include your world class support. You should give away the themes and just charge for support. Haha. Please don’t take up on that.
I hate that there are so many wing nuts out there, who fail to realize what true value is.
Thank for all you do
Adam I must admit I share your point of views on the joy and the pain of Sales. As an old timer to RapidWeaver and new comer to the world of plugin development, I am also at the receiving end of similar emails since I am the main funnel for support/inquiry.
Sales are promotional , Sales will end, if you did not get on the boat by buying something from us / subscribing to our newsletter/following twitter or whatever additional marketing mechanism you use… then sorry why should you get the scoop on Sales.
Regards Kevin
I get your point and agree with you completely. I also understand the disappointment. Not speaking of your store at all, but my own experiences various places leads me to conclude that I am very unlucky. Either I miss the sales or I stupidly forget that I’ve been given a link or I’ve already bought 3/5ths of the items that are suddenly bundled together for one great price but that now is not useful to me, etc. I may not be THE most loyal customer for these various vendors, keeping tabs and being poised to strike when the sales do appear, but I’m in the category of pretty darn good customer most places and there rarely is any “reward” for me. It isn’t anyone’s fault and I have never complained, except to myself. But whenever I shop online and see that ubequitous “promo code” or “discount code” field, I realize that others are getting some goodies that pass me by.
Just recently I bought a Drobo and ten minutes after the sale, I sat down to catch up on a favorite podcast MacBreak Weekly. Sure enough, there was a promo link that would have saved me 75 dollars! Yep – I could have just listened first. After all, I’ve been listening to that show for years and that is how I came to know about and become desirous of owning a Drobo. I would have liked the discount, and MBW might have liked me to use the link. Lose-lose. When these things pile up, those of us who miss out, time and time again, even if it by our own negligence or bad timing just sometimes want to whine.
But you are right – you are not the one to whine to. You make nice products and it is nice that you offer a sale from time to time. Maybe you or others inspired by your posting might consider, in addition to sales, offering rewards to long-standing customers. Buy X get 1 free – or some other scheme that isn’t based on “good timing”. Just a thought.
I am glad you wrote this post. Don’t let it discourage you. I would say probably 95% of your customers very much appreciate all of the hard work that you do, and there are going to be people that you just can’t satisfy their needs no matter what you do, even if you had a permanent sale. I teach math and am all too familiar with this kind of person, but luckily for me there are enough good people out there that make it very worthwhile to continue to do the work I do…..I think it is the same for you.
Thank you for making great products!
First, importantly, ditto all above comments.
Second is just a speculative thought; I wonder if it has something to do with email newsletters i.e. it’s easy to see the sale, think I’ll do it later and then forget until the time has passed and then get all hissy about it? Paper leaflets might end up in the bin quicker and therefore are completely forgotten.
Just my two cents.
R!
I think some people are just complainers, don’t take it to heart Adam. You make brilliant products, your prices are more than fair and your patient support in the email group is close to being saintlike!
Being in business means coming in contact with people/customers and it is a different dynamic than coming into contact with people/people. The customer is always right etc etc, except that there are some right pratts out there who are rude, aggressive, mean spirited and greedy. It wouldn’t matter what you did they would always want more, and they will never be satisfied.
The only thing that I find helpful is to tell the difference between the good ‘uns and the bad ‘uns early in the interaction and put up the walls pretty early for the bad ‘uns. “Speak to the paw..” that sort of thing. And do not cave in to the whining demands.
Cheers mate – you are doing an Ace job, don’t let the bad eggs (or apples) get you down! Alison
Here is an Aussie view on it – #@$% them – a sale is a sale – theres always another sale – stand your ground Adam, can you imagine the nightmare in support these people will be. Hey good things are worth paying for. Thanks for the absolutely awesome support and Quality of the themes you supply us.
Your prices are very fair, and the sales are great when they happen. The people who are complaining are likely unhappy because of other things going on in their lives.
Your prices are, if anything, a little low, and your sales are nuts. I can understand people being disappointed, even asking if they can get in on the sale if they miss by a couple of hours, but to react negatively when you say no, that’s just douche-baggery.
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What? Did I miss a sale? How dare you… lol
Dude, people are amazing if they are truly taking time out of their busy lives to email you about missing a sale.
I kick my own butt when I miss a sale… not the butt of the seller.
I have missed some sales on some Rapidweaver Plugins, Stacks, or Themes. I complain to myself and bite the bullet and pay full price if I really want it. I have several of your themes. Your support is exceptional and worth the price of the theme. The ones who complain are the ones who don’t mind paying $1 (US) for a bottle of water.