It is hard for me to find polo shirts that fit me properly. I am tall and skinny and my neck is also skinny. If I order a size long enough I end up with it being baggy and it looks sloppy on me. I’ve never found one that I truly like.
I found the company TallSlimTees.com and they have polo shirts. So I ordered one and am waiting for it to arrive. If the fit is right I’ll definitely order more. Not maybe, but definitely.
So I was pleasantly surprised as a consumer, but disappointed as a fellow marketer when I received an email with this note:
Thank you for ordering TallSlim Tees- be sure to use the returning customer coupon code redacted at checkout to save 10% on all future orders!
This 10% code will not be the reason I buy again. If I like the fit, I’ll buy again. If I don’t, I won’t. Simple as that. This company just lost $2.50 for every shirt they sell to me. Many brands don’t even make 10% net profit.
Somewhere the company owner probably read that getting a customer to place a second order means they’ll be more likely to place a third order. Which I’m sure the numbers work out that way. But the best way to get customers to place more orders is to send them a great product. A 10% discount is not enough to entice a fence sitter to buy again.
A better promotion may have been to offer me a free shirt if I buy 4 shirts. That works out to a 20% discount but forces me to load up and stretches me from my comfort zone, which is what we are trying to do with loyalty programs right? Because if all we are doing is rewarding the customer for behavior that would have happened either way we’re wasting time and money.