After a recent promotion run by a NZ supermarket brand angered thousands (including myself) I’ve been pondering the phrase ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch’. Akin to one of my other favourites ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’.
Now, I’m not usually one for promotions where you have to save stamps or stickers or receipts to claim free stuff. And I’m fairly hopeless with loyalty schemes that require me to carry a card and produce it every time I make a purchase.
However, over the festive season I diligently collected the little stickers on offer; their glasses offer was something I was actually interested in saving for – last year’s plastic storage containers were not. Over this time I managed to fill up four cards – enough for 8 free glasses! How fantastic!
But then the story went sour as, like many thousands of other shoppers, I missed out on claiming my glasses as the supermarket ran out of stock well before the promotion expired. So I spent approx. $2400 on groceries in the weeks over Christmas, took effort and care to collect my little stickers and stick them in the booklet like an excited primary school child, only to be told there were none left.
I asked if there was any alternative, as per the supermarket vouchers they had offered to their South Island customers. But no, nothing else was on offer and I was told very matter-of-factly that “this was very clear in the terms and conditions”. Ahhh, the small print…
I was disappointed. I was angry. Instead of feeling valued and appreciated I felt like I’d been ripped off, like my loyalty had being taken for granted and I’d wasted my time with those stupid little stickers… In essence, it was not a great customer experience and I probably felt exactly the opposite of what their marketing department was trying to achieve with this promotion. And the really annoying truth of it is that I won’t even vote with my feet as this supermarket is the most convenient supermarket to where I live and work, so they will continue to receive my patronage, albeit begrudgingly. So yep, they win and there’s no such thing as a free lunch…
In spite of the above I intend to conclude this piece by making an offer where there is no apparent direct or indirect cost to the recipient, but potentially only value to be gained for your business or organisation.
The offer is a free marketing review and website audit complete with recommendations for you, or someone you know. Those still reading may accept the offer at face value but two questions could possibly arise: ‘what do I have to do to qualify?’ and ‘what do you then want from me?’ At this point dear reader, you may consider the learnings from my New World experience discussed above.
So to be straight up, to receive your ‘free’ marketing review and website audit you would need to spend around 30 mins with me and be prepared to be as candid as possible (the session is highly confidential, of course). And, as we all know, time is money so even if you apply a relatively modest hourly rate there’s a price to pay.
However, if my offer sounds like an opportunity to challenge your company’s current marketing direction or hear an outsider’s recommendations (please note this outsider has 20 years’ experience in the marketing industry) then get in touch. If you like my approach and thoughts you might just be interested in working with me in the future. But there’s genuinely no obligation and that’s the truth of it. Book your marketing review and web audit here.
