Sabrina Dent: Freelance web designer, developer and internet marketer living in Cork, Ireland with one dog and a husband in no particular order.
How Not to Market in a Recession
I like VistaPrint – I’m all about the cheap and cheerful. Because I do regular print runs, I subscribe to their annoying sale emails, since once in a while I actually want to avail myself of a discount offer.
This is what this past week’s promotional mails from VistaPrint look like in my Inbox:
- 19 November: 10 great November benefits for you, Sabrina!
- 20 November: 34 FREE products + 12 discounts = get started now!
- 22 November: Save 100% 12 times over – Last 24 hours!
- 24 November: FREE! FREE! FREE! (Postage too!)
To be perfectly honest, I’m normally so blind to these near-daily missives that I really couldn’t tell you if their subject lines were substantially different a year or even a month ago. But what I can tell you is that in the present climate we’re watching everyone from banks to airlines go under, and consumers are particularly sensitive to the scent of circling vultures.
At this point I’m fully expecting tomorrow’s email to be titled FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WILL YOU PLEASE JUST ORDER SOMETHING FROM US!!!!!!!!!
For the record, I do not think there’s any kind of financial issue at VistaPrint. But I do think you want to be particularly careful about your sale messaging in this climate.
I actually need to print business cards. But I’m holding out for the offer that comes with the free pony.
24 Nov 2008
| In: Advertising + Marketing |
So true Sabrina!! I used to use them when I was running my business and the amount of emails I would get each week was astounding.
On a plus side I did get a load of leaflets printed by them – which got lost in the post but were then replaced at top speed – and they were superb quality.
Oh – and the lost ones turned up some time later too – so I got twice the amount I had ordered – result!
25.11.2008, 10:17 amfunny post. this recession is a great topic of conversation……….
25.11.2008, 11:22 pmI like that pony idea…
26.11.2008, 10:15 pmI really agree, when I mentioned at work that some of our promotions were getting a wee bit desperate, I was told ‘duh we are desperate’. Ah okay so… it’s good that we are all on the same page, customers too!
27.11.2008, 12:07 pmI actually have a Vistaprint filter! And Lucy the exact same thing happened to me with a delivery. Sadly all too late for me. I’ll use them again though.
Now I was here looking for something else and I got distracted!
01.12.2008, 10:40 pmR
Yep getting the same crap through my virtual mail box. Amazing how they find us. Getting two a month from another crowd in Cork. A pony would be nice…
02.12.2008, 11:08 pm