A direct marketing promotion that I recently responded to was an e-mail from the company Venus offering me free shipping on my next order if it was placed within a two-week time frame. The key message was that all of their swimwear was on clearance. The graphics in the e-mail included young beautiful models in the swimwear.
I was sent this promotion because I had recently ordered a swimsuit from their online site. I had not returned what I had ordered, so it could be assumed that I was pleased with the product. Due to the fact that I did like what I had ordered from them the first time, along with the clearance prices and free shipping, this offer was very attractive to me. My original order was also the first order I had ever placed with them. Consequently, this offer also prompted me to look at their other clothing lines and order a few other things as well. The company contacted me via e-mail because I had placed my order online and had provided them with my e-mail address to send confirmations and special offers to.
This promotion was good on Venus’ part for two reasons. First of all, they knew I was a new customer and if given the opportunity to have free shipping there was a good chance that I would browse around their website to see what other clothing they were selling. Secondly, I had recently purchased what they were now offering on clearance. They had no reason to believe that I was dissatisfied with my first purchase of this nature and figured that I would be open to ordering another swimsuit because of the clearance prices. The combination of these two characteristics prompted me to take them up on their offer and order another swimsuit along with additional clothing items.
A direct marketing item that I received, but did not respond to at this time was a money card for $15 if I spent over $50 at American Eagle Outfitters. I was given it in the store after making a purchase of over $100. The key message that they were sending was that if I spent over a certain amount I would be rewarded. The picture on the front of it was a snowy atmosphere picturing two people bundled up in their coats, scarves, and hats.
I was given this promotional item because I had spent a decent amount of money (over $100) and had put it on my American Eagle credit card. This shows that I shop their on a regular basis and usually buy several items when I do. It is reasonable for them to assume that I will buy there again and spend at least $50.
American Eagle’s offer was good, but the time peroid they placed on it prevented me from using it. The money card expired the day before Thanksgiving. Up until this date, they were carrying basically the same merchandise that they had for the past two months. Therefore, there was nothing new that I wanted to buy for myself. I would have had to find $50 worth of merchandise to even use the promotion. In addition, I do not usually get around to Christmas shopping until after Thanksgiving when there are big sales or a few days before Christmas when the time crunch is on. Therefore, the time constraint on this particular offer caused me to disregard the offer. In the future, if I receive this same offer from American Eagle during a different time frame and they have newer merchandise that I have not fully exhausted, there is a good chance I will take advantage of it.
A direct marketing promotion that I received and did not even consider responding to was from The Limited. The offer was if I bought a pair of pants I would get the second pair $20 off. The key message was the variety of styles and lengths that they offered in their pant selection. The graphics included a beautiful woman modeling the pants. (See attached card mailing)
The direct marketer sent this to me because I had bought several pairs of pants from them earlier in the fall. I also have The Limited credit card and had accumulated enough style points from my pant purchases to receive a gift certificate. It could be assumed that I did like their pant collection. However, they did not take into account that I may only want so many pairs of pants. This offer would require me to buy an additional two pairs of pants on top of the several pairs I had purchased earlier in the fall. They should have also considered that they have the same basic colors and styles in stock as they did during the previous month and a half.
I did not respond to this offer or even consider it. The marketer could have considered the possibility that I was pretty much content with my pants purchases for the time being. The same offer would have been better had it been for dress shirts instead. Considering the fact that I had already purchased several pairs of pants from them, they could have offered a complimentary item with this promotion instead. I would have responded to an offer such as this.
