Jun
11
2015
June 11th, 2015 by Mike Spence

Do you discount for certain customers or groups of customers?  It can be an effective tool for promotions when used correctly.  I thought I’d cover some of the ways that SP-1 by SelbySoft can help you manage and track your discounts.

First, SP-1 actually has two methods of promotions.  Discounts and Coupons.  The difference is that a discount is a percentage or dollar amount off a specific item (0r group of items) and that a coupon allows you to specify a set price for an item (or group of items).  For example:  You might create a 10% discount on pastries for senior citizens or a $1.00 off a large pizza.  A coupon might be a 2 topping large pizza for $12.99 or $3.00 for a coffee & muffin.

Once you know which method you are looking at, you have a number of other options:

  • What time of day and / or day of week the promotion is good for?
  • Which menu groups and specialty items are included?
  • Will this discount or coupon allow people to combine offers?
  • Can you get full rewards points when using this coupon or discount?
  • When does it expire?
  • Is there a security level required?

More questions?  Give us a call!

Posted in Marketing, POS Features Tagged with: , ,

Jul
21
2011
July 21st, 2011 by Mike Spence
Promotions can be a great way to look at increasing your business and your bottom line.  Let me correct myself there. . . Effective, trackable promotions can be a great way.
There are all kinds of ways to intice people to try your product.  WIth SP-1, we look at ways to track your promotions and help you decide if they are working.  
Facebook & Foursquare.   These social media tools make it very easy to promote product to your customers.  If you want to take it a step further, use the built in places and deals to allow for specials that take advantage of geolocation features in cell phones (I.E. check-in specials).
Gift Cards.   I know that people think we beat a dead horse with this topic but it is because it is such a great way to increase revenue and cash flow.  Gift cards can be sold at a slightly reduced price to encourage customers to pre-pay.  This is a simple and effective way to increase your cash flow.
Bundles.  If you are looking to discount items, try creating a bundle.   The concept is that you take a high profit item and pair it with a different item.   Pairing items together for a single price can help introduce low-selling items to a broader customer base.



Timed pricing.  A “happy hour” special can be a really great way to encourage customers to order outside of your busy times.  Creating promotional pricing on certain items and offering them only between 2 and 4pm can help direct some of your traffic to those hours when you are slow.

Tracking.  This is, in some ways, the most important part of what you are doing.  You have to track what is and is not working in order to know how effective these are.  If a promotion is not working, stop doing it!  SP-1 will allow you to really evaluate the number of times these promotions are used over a time frame. This will allow you to make better decisions about how you create better promotions in the future.



Contact us at:

SelbySoft
Mike Spence
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371

Posted in Marketing, Uncategorized Tagged with: ,

May
10
2011
May 10th, 2011 by ssadmin

Gift cards are a big part of the Coffee and Restaurant industry.  The marketing and promotional ideas are virtually endless


So, I thought it would be fun to share 7 or so different, and sometimes unusual, gift card promotions with you:


1)  Buy a card, get a drink (or appetizer etc).   This is a fun promotion that helps provide instantaneous gratification.  The idea is that when a customer buys a gift card of sufficient value, they get something free.  Usually 10% is the standard discount to consider.  So, buy a $35 gift card and get a free coffee!  Buy a $50 gift card and get a free order of bread sticks.  It can be a great way to introduce a new product at the same time you increase gift card sales. 


2)  On a similar track. . . Buy a card and get a $5 card (or $5 off the gift card).  This is a pretty popular promotion and works very well if you find customers are buying primarily as a gift card.  Think about it. . . It puts a gift card in two peoples hands! 


3)  Accept a competitors card as a trade in.  This works specifically with Starbucks.  The thought is that you will take certain types of Starbucks gift cards and issue one of your own with equal value.  It sounds a little crazy but what can make it work is that there are multiple sites that will pay you a percent of the total value for that Starbucks card.   Plastic Jungle is a site that allows you to do this with cards that are over $25.   When I checked, they were offering $41 for a $50 Starbucks card.  EDIT:  I was informed by a reader that Plastic Jungle has shut down.    Luke Knowles suggested the following (Thanks Luke!). 

Gift Card Granny – shows a comparison of what other sites will give you for a gift card.

Gift Card Zen – a gift exchange site.


4)  Sell big!  Everyone should have at least one huge value gift card offer.  $200 gets you $220 or some variation.   Jack Groot of the Midwest Barista School tells a wonderful story on LinkedIn about selling $1,200 gift cards for $1,000 each to finance a piece of equipment.  

5) Use gift cards instead of employee discounts.  Instead of a 50% discount, pre-load a gift card for each employee every pay period.  The employee can then use this for any purchase in the store.   Let them buy their girl/boy friend a drink, purchase a muffin for their Mom etc.  Instead of tempting them with using their discount.


6)  Hand them out!  Pre-load a number of gift cards with a small amount and pass them around. Use them as business cards and start promoting your brand.   


7)  Promote through non-profits and community events.  Selling a gift card at a discounted price to schools and church’s allows you to promote your store, help the community and have your customers introduce new people to your product and brand.  


Have an 8th?  Comment and let us know! 




Contact us at:
SelbySoft
Mike Spence
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371

Posted in Gift Cards, Marketing, Uncategorized Tagged with: ,