Sunday, March 1, 2009

Fix CPI: Coupons

Coupons. They bring people in, but then people can end up spending 4.99. With people looking to save money [I feel like that is the phrase I'm going to use in every post], what are your custom conversions at? SPS can have a very busy day that requires two associates to be there, but if that second associate just ends up selling 4.99 packages, those extra sits have actually lost you money since you had to pay an extra person to be there.

What, in your opinion, is hurting you the most? Is it not having enough sits, or is it having too many coupons? If you're running single coverage, it's of course best to have as many sits as possible; there's no need to have an associate sitting doing nothing. But we also all know how having a day where two coupon-users kills your PRS and your job security.

Now, I don't know a lot about marketing and I venture that a lot of our readers don't either, but if you put yourself in the shoes of marketing, what would you do? More coupons? Fewer coupons? Different coupons? Better targeted coupons?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Coupons are great, just not the ones that the idiots for THIS company send out.

They are supposed to send coupons out for ppl to actually use them, not for us to talk them out of. I had a customer absloutely livid because she wanted the pkg plus extra sheets for reg price. She told me we are running a Bait and switch scam.

There are plenty of other coupon opportunities...... just dont use ones that lose money, DUH. And then dont yell at us when ppl actually use the coupons sent to them by YOU.

Anonymous said...

EXACTLY...don't send out coupons that you expect sales associates to deny. That is just wrong.

Anonymous said...

It's the coupons. Kiddie Kandids does great business and their cheapest package is about 60 bucks. Every company has their share of great photographers, and people are obviously willing to pay whatever price for great portraits. I really feel that we would STILL get people in the door even if we didn't have the coupons that we do.

Anonymous said...

CPI needs to run ads on television. But for some odd reason they would rather pay PHOTOGRAPHERS to be telemarketers than to invest in reaching their target audience. Uh , hello? Ever heard of Lifetime, HGTV & FoodNetwork? I'm sure it's less expensive to advertise on these networks, especially in comparison to the money flushed down the toilet on ridiculous outreach activities.

Anonymous said...

to be honest the company has a good idea lure them in and wow them so they cant pick just one. the bad part is how many people actually wow a customer. during the holiday season we hired 8 people and NOT ONE of them managed to grasp the concept of photography. not even the photography major. i couldnt believe what they thought passed for a good portrait. what can you expect when you pack 6 months worth of proper training into 3 weeks. and only about a week is actual photography the rest is sales techniques and apparently the SAS is as complicated as rocket science. in this day and age kids are getting more and more unmanageable its harder to catch a good photo. especially when you only have 15 minutes to do so. ill repeat myself start with people! coupons can be MOSTLY overcome. if you start with good photography. the people that ARE god photographers generally cant overcome them because they are too busy cleaning up after everyone in their studio that isnt. when they underperform its more pressure. this is essentially an art when creativley blocked you cant produce.....start with people and go from there

Anonymous said...

Dear Anonymous #5:
Have you been drinking the Kool-Aid? Any person with their head on straight is going to be like a banana and split after the first week at SPS. It's that dysfunctional. Good people don't stick around for daily mental torture and $6.55 per hour.

Anonymous said...

i havent been drinking the koolaid, but those that were hired wanted to stay. they were let go due to the new hours and were upset to be fired because of their sales. didnt change the fact that they couldnt photograph. some people actually like being photographers. i worked i a convenience store before this job and made moe money slinging coffee and cigarettes. but ive been with SPS 4 years longer then the store. every time i think of quitting i get a rash of customers that take beautiful pics compliment me on them spend a lot of money and make me remember why i love the job. i feel good for a while and then go back to constantly aggravated. i love taking photos and since i didnt go to college for it this is the only job im qualified for to continue to be a photographer. if i drank the kool aid i would be saying the coupons are fine this company is terrific. at the core i hate working for this company. they cross all their T's so they can legally screw us. if they gave us the slightest bit of slack rather than dictating (excuse me micromanaging) maybe we could enjoy our jobs again. it was actually a great place to work when i started 7 years ago.


by the way im laughing because the captcha says dumsps.

Anonymous said...

I could see the $9.99 pkg being sent out (BUT NOT combinable w/ another free wall portrait) to customers who have NEVER been to Sears to give them a try and see their photography. But 5 sheets at that price? Why not 1 combo sheet instead? And to send them out repeatedly??? I have 4 of those coupons on my desk that I have recieved in the mail all within a 3 month span of expiration dates. "TRIAL OFFER" should mean just that.. give us a try. ONCE!

pugcasso said...

My Draft for the Police http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/blog/samanthabhadra/5330
I should have gone to the police on Sep 30, 2010.