One day when I was walking home from school, I walked past a local store that was having a sale. I told my mother about the sale, and she told me that “it’s only a sale if you need the stuff.”
In this day of age, everything seems to be a sale. The only way companies can sell any products is if they’re on sale. As consumers, we must be careful.
Stores use all kinds of phrases to describe sales these days: there's "everything must go", "buy one get one free", "buy one get one 50% off", "blowout sales", "clearance sales", "overstocks". The list goes on and on, but they all are conducted for the same purpose.
Think about what these words mean and how they affect your brand when used too frequently over time. Why have we become so "discount driven" as a culture? Maybe because it's in absence of value? Maybe we're buying too much these days? Or perhaps, we're not buying enough, and now suddenly since it's so easy to buy we're actually buying less.
You have to wonder what the real price is to begin with for all of the products we purchase. A lot of stores are upping prices just to knock them down to a “discount”, which often-times is just the original product cost. Stores need to come up with better excuses to win my attention in 2020.
I would love to see more companies use the phrase increase value, not lower price. What else can they provide customers with? What kind of value will they receive by making this purchase?
I’m dying to walk into a store that has a sign saying new and improved increased service. And not just say it, but mean it. I want them to promise to really take care of you when you enter the store. Consumers have to start deciding whether they want to speak with robots when they have problems or real human beings. Customers may have to give a little extra money to keep customer service people staffed, but I think it’s worthwhile to preserve what’s left of customer service.
Instead of constantly focusing on the price point, companies should really start advertising that they’ve increased the quality of their product. Send me a notice that the prices may remain the same, but that you will start stepping up your customer service and product quality. THAT will excite me.
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Quote of the day: "The best proof of life is trust.” – Joyce Brothers
Song of the Day: “Thunder” – Imagine Dragons
