Last fall, I shopped in a local bookstore and the clerk was an amazing cross-marketer. Checking out took forever and when I left, I was an exhausted new member of the bookstore’s frequent shopper club. The next day, I was actually angry about it. And sure enough, about a week later, my email box was full of coupons and announcements. More remorse. Then Christmas rolled around and I was invited to special shopping days to get first pick of hot DVD sets, etc. I was psyched. In January, I ignored the post-Christmas sales, which were only mildly annoying.
Today, there was a big payoff. I ran into the same store to pick up a gift for a friend’s birthday. When I got to the checkout counter, the clerk asked me if I was a member. I said “yes” and she told me the book was 40% off – and so was anything else I bought today. I bought four more books and felt really good about the deal.
In general, I like being a consumer. I don’t feel overwhelmed by the amount of marketing forces we face today. In some ways, I enjoy advertising and marketing as art: I’m always interested to see someone’s interpretation and extrapolation of a product or service. And, when if feel good about a purchase, I try to figure out what went right and tuck it away in my own professional tool box.
Today, the stars aligned perfectly for me. I went to a store I like, to get something I needed and saved money! So, did the marketing communications people at Boarders get lucky? In some ways, yes. The coupons I received before were all consistent with my other buys. But, I didn’t receive the 40% off coupon I used today and my point of sale purchase would not have tripled without it. So, why didn’t I make the cut???? I feel like something is a bit off in the Boarder’s measure for frequent shoppers. Had I received the coupon this morning, knowing I had the gift to buy, Boarders would have been my first stop rather than a lucky stop.
