Endoh’s Dungeon

How many of you have received a Courts Guest Club card? Mysteriously, I received it today even though I haven’t been shopping in Courts for a very long time. Not in the last five years at least, so I do not know if they really keep information of customers for that long even without a single purchase.

I have this habit of scrutinizing going through the details and fine prints whenever I receive such marketing collaterals. There are always mistakes things that others commit and I can remind myself that I should not make these same mistakes. It is also something that I remind myself that I should always check, recheck & ensure whenever I assist clients in running marketing and branding activities.

Customer loyalty is a very good way of bringing back customers. It make customers feel appreciated and the likelihood of returning to shop at your premises are higher. Of course, this has to go hand-in-hand with acceptable standards of services and products. Everything works in a chain that brings about the effects of returning or referral customers. Mistakes are always there, but there are mistakes that should never have been overlooked. These mistakes can kill your entire campaign. Here’s why… with the entire package in front of me now.

The letter was dated 31st May 2007. The date today is 14th July 2007. I can’t seem to find a logical explanation to the delay of more than a month in sending out a letter. The last that I remembered, sending a letter locally requires at most 2 days - depending on the time you slot your envelope into the mailbox. A more acceptable delay to me personally, would be between one week to two weeks maximum. This is extremely critical because Courts is running this campaign within a specific time-frame! Timing is the factor… but still how does this kill a reasonable part of the campaign?

For those who received the same, there are three sets of promotion listed within. Here are the three promo;

1. Valid from 1st to 30th June 2007, $10 Welcome Voucher on the page where the Guest Card is affixed.

2. Valid from 13th to 30th June 2007, Double Your GST Supplement promotion which urges customers to grab the savings when they buy on Courts Easy Access Credit.

3. Valid from 16th to 29th June 2007, three separate coupons with either percentile discounts or free gift when they have a minimum purchase in three separate departments.

Before anything else, assuming I am a customer whom have been considering of buying something before GST is raised, I would have gone sighzzzzzzz! Why!? By the time I received this letter from them, all the coupons or vouchers have since expired. How can this happen? Well, I see it as a severe mistake on the part of whoever came up with this loyalty programme. To embark on such mass mailing gimmick, you have to make sure all these arrive on time to the affected customers. In the position of a customer, how do you think I will feel? Let’s just say… ALREADY OVER! SEND TO ME WASTE MY TIME FOR WHAT??? A delay which stretches more than a month for such a simple thing, it is simply not acceptable.

A tragic delay also place a black mark over their royalty programme. When a company sets out to send expired coupons, it reflects very badly on the company. Are they truly appreciative and sincere about their customers? What the receiver is left with, is to utilize the Guest Card. If the Guest Card is their primary motive, it is still better to just send out these cards without further promotions - worse of all, expired promotions. Is this an appreciative approach? Or is this just another marketing gimmick?

I said once before, in any typical appreciation programme, clients or customers don’t really care how much you spend on them. The point is, the efforts have been made and they feel appreciated as valued customers. For a period of 3 months, I sent out Coffeebean vouchers to clients irregardless of their project’s nett earnings. In return, I received numerous calls from clients with “Thanks so much, I used it for a meeting and redeemed coffee for my staffs” or “Thanks, now I can bring my wife for coffee.” One marketing girl even called up to say her subordinates don’t really drink coffee, which I cheekily replied she can always date me out for coffee with that. We eventually had our coffee… one month later. *blush* The wonders of simple customer appreciation…

Courts has made a very critical mistake in time management and distribution of this particular campaign. However, customers will feel the comfort that they will still be able to utilize the Guest Card, but without the rest of the vouchers. This is a very simple (all the more why it is silly) mistake for any marketer to commit.

Another lesson learnt, I’m not letting this happen in my work.