ETD: 753 20% off; Need help-new business; Retail sales
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post at gapent.com
Tue Jan 20 14:57:00 GMT 2004
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0753 January 20, 2004
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem at gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] 20% off
[3] Need help-new business
[4] Retail sales
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
Over the weekend we switch our sites to a new server. So, if we have any
issues, my apologies in advance. Thus far everything went smoothly, except
for one mailing list. Let me know if you experience anything unusual.
Today we have a little tongue-in-cheek humor on 20% off sales, which I
thought about while driving in NYC. And, we have some very realistic ways
to advertise 20% off from mail order guru John Shulte.
For those who are seeking resources for business plans, read section 3 -
great material from list members. Everybody in business should read and
heed this advice.
Retail sales were up this past holiday season. A lot of it was because of
gift cards. What do you think? Are they helping your business? Are you
using them - both to sell in your store and to use in your personal life?
Let's hear about your business, which will remain for posterity at
our "Members: Who Are You?" site.
http://etailersdigest.com/resources/members/index.htm And we have a form
there for you to tell us about you. As I said when I first proposed this
idea, we have "known" each other for a long time, yet we often don't know
anything about each other. So, tell us who you are and what you do.
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
George Matyjewicz, PhD
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, Ltd.
mailto:georgem at gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] 20% off
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As I was riding in NYC and saw a 20% off sale, I thought how other folks
would have 20% off sales. Here's some humor...
Retailer: 20 % Off.
Manufacturer: 20% Off their price, not ours
CPA: 20% Off the gross price, i.e., the price we purchase the merchandise
at plus our markup. Not 20% off what we pay for it. Not responsible for
any sales where you don't understand these terms.
Lawyer: 20 % Off. Not responsible for any other statements, yada, yada,
yada (2 pages of legalese)
Programmer: 20 % Off, assuming we get the program to calculate it correctly.
Optimist: 20 % Off for 1 hour or until everything is sold, whichever comes
first.
Pessimist: 20 % Off today and every Tuesday for the next year, or until
everything is sold.
Anthony Soprano: What 20 % Off? We'll sell it for 20 % off
wholesale. Forgetaboutit.
<grin> What do you think?
George
+++ [Next Post] +++
From a mail order/direct marketing aspect on "20% sale" here is my
thoughts on how it may play out.
In an effort to increase an average order size from a catalog I may say;
"Save 20% on any order over $100.00" or something of that nature.
Or, I would translate that 20% into something more related to mail order.
Maybe instead of a discount I would say: "Free Shipping" on all orders in
this catalog. Or, to up the average order size: "Free Shipping on any order
over $100.00"
Pricing in mail order/direct marketing is an important part of the total
"offer" that is made. And good direct marketers spend a lot of time
figuring out how offers can be worded and structured.
Not that percentage discounts don't work, it's just that they are very
common, and perhaps over used now-a-days. As an example of a book offer I
submit the following from my upcoming book.
OFFER: CUSTOMER
GETS: CUSTOMER PAYS:
1. TWO BOOKS FREE 6
Books $8.00
(if you agree to join and buy 4 more books at $2.00 each)
2. TWO BOOKS FREE IF YOU BUY ONE NOW 6
Books $8.00
(and agree to buy 3 more at $2.00 each)
3. THREE BOOKS FOR ONLY $2.00 6
Books $8.00
(if you agree to buy 3 more at $2.00 each)
You will see that the offer sounds quite different when you read it. But in
the end, the customer gets the same amount for the same price.
In mail order, "offers" of any kind are measured to see what brings in the
most orders at the most profit. And many times the lesser discount may
bring in more orders. An example may be the offer of "Free Shipping"
instead of a 20% discount. For the merchant, Free shipping would most
likely not cost him/her 20% of an order, yet, it may bring in more orders
than a 20% discount offer.
In the book example, all three pricing offers (or more) would be compared,
in what is called a "split-run" test. e.g. a few thousand people each get a
different offer and whatever "offer" works best is then used for future
larger mailings.
This all relates to on-line marketing, especially when using e-mail to make
offers. It is also a perfect example of why you hear both Jim Straw and I
say, "to be most successful at web marketing, you should have a good
understanding of mail order marketing techniques."
And if anyone is interested, we have a number of free articles on mail
order marketing on our web site, www.nmoa.org.
--
Best regards,
John Schulte
President and Chairman
National Mail Order Association (NMOA)
http://www.nmoa.org
Email: schulte at nmoa.org
Tel: 612-788-1673
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[3] Need help-new business
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Re: Jules Kaplan's advice about business plans. He is right on! But,
there is a resource that he did not mention for help in doing a business
plan and that is SCORE -- The Service Corp of Retired Execs, a free
consulting service under the auspices of the US Small Bus Administration --
with 14,000 counselors in offices in 400 cities + a Cyber Chapter. One can
find the offices by going to www.score.org and to "find score" and entering
one's zip code. It's a easy as that.
Alan J. Zell, Ambassador Of Selling
azell at aol.com
Winner of the Murray Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sales & Marketing
Chairman, PNW Sales & Marketing Group
Please visit the articles about selling and business topics that affect
sales at www.sellingselling.com
+++ [Moderator's Comments] +++
I was hoping you would mention SCORE. And excellent organization, with
great resources.
Thanks.
George
+++ [Next Post] +++
For the past year I have been working for a small, international asset and
financial management company. One of our most recent projects has been
funding for businesses and organizations looking for $10m or more.
The very first MAJOR drawback these clients face is that hardly any of them
have a quality business plan to present to the lending group. So, we have
put together a page on our website loaded with resources on business plans,
including downloadable templates and informative links.
We are still considering becoming an affiliate for a couple of the business
plan software companies, but as of yet have not yet done that.
We are also offering reviews of business plans to our clients, for a fee of
course, that are 2 step. The first is a simple quick review, with a summary
sheet. The second is to actually work with the client to build their
business plan, either filling in the missing details or working from
scratch. It isn't me that is doing that part, but a business associate
trained in doing business plans.
You can pick up the same resources we did at http://www.tmcgroupltd.com, on
the RESOURCES page. Note that none of the links are affiliate programs or
for sale services, at least not yet.
<Michael>
http://www.userfriendlyusa.com/
Long Distance and Telecom, Web / Internet, and more!
Now distributing InkMail and JetPak cartridge recycling mailers!
Let TaxACT sort out the details for FREE this tax season!
Direct Marketing Discussions at: http://www.DMchat.com
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[4] Retail sales
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I saw some interesting statistics on how holiday sales continued after
Christmas because of gift card redemptions. It seems to be the saving
grace for a lot of retailers. According to an article in NY Daily News,
nationwide, gift card sales could soar to $45 billion this year, up 22%
from the $37 billion spent on them last year, according to Bain & Co. The
meteoric rise in gift card giving is a big plus for holiday retailers. Gift
cards aren't counted as revenue until they're redeemed for goods. This
accounting quirk shifts the final tally of holiday shopping into
mid-January from the traditional cut-off of New Year's eve, experts
said. Some 40% of gift cards are used within two weeks of being given,
research shows.
(http://www.nydailynews.com/business/v-pfriendly/story/149930p-132196c.html)
Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic
activity. Consumer spending across the board was up for Holiday
2003. National Retail Sales Estimate - U.S. retail sales for the month
of December, rose by an impressive 6.0 percent over the same month in 2002,
ShopperTrak reported in its National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE).
ShopperTrak also reported that although sales for the week ending January 3
reflected the traditional "post-Christmas slowdown", year-over year sales
for the same week jumped by a dramatic 46.5 percent on the strength of gift
card redemptions.
http://retailindustry.about.com/library/holiday/blholidayspending03.htm
How did you do?
George
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