The Second Sale

I've noticed a pattern in advertisements I've seen lately - perhaps it's just coincidence - of making an astoundingly good offer in the pitch, and effectively negating that offer in the fine print. My sense, and my observation, is that prospective customers viewed a sweetheart deal with some suspicion - they know it's too good to be true, and are on the lookout for "the catch."

It makes me wonder what the marketers are thinking. Are they counting on the gullibility of customers to make the deal? Do they expect that a customer who accepts a deal won't back out when the vendor changes the price at the last moment? But more importantly: do they think that this is going to win a customer's business for the long term?

There is an incorrect assumption that customers will mindlessly purchase the same brands as they have purchased in the past to meet the same needs. This tends to bear out in reality - customers very often will repurchase - but for the word "mindlessly." The customer is mindful, and will repurchase only if their previous experience was satisfactory.

And in that way, dishonest promotional tactics undermine their own intent: the prospect who recognizes the dishonesty of the offer will not buy, will be galvanized against future offers, and will likely share the story with others. The prospect who does not recognize the dishonesty of the offer might buy, but in doing so will come to recognize that he has been swindled, and his unwillingness to be taken in a second time as well as his propensity to warn others will be exaggerated.

My sense is that a company that wants to escape this cycle would need to take a more long-term perspective to achieve greater long-term success: to look beyond the new customers marketers are bringing in, and emphasize the value of repeat customers - basing their metrics and the rewards and incentives to the marketing department on repeat customers.

In terms of strategic metrics, this means considering the longevity of customer relationships as the primary measure of success, and de-emphasizing first-time customers in favor of customers to whom the company has made a second sale.

If marketers were to focus on the second sale, my sense is much of the dishonesty in sales promotion would evaporate. It's terribly difficult to fool the same person twice, and to win the second sale, you must ensure that they are entirely satisfied with the first - end to end.