Dunsity Award: Sports Authority
Please, please never let your small business do what Sports Authority recently did with an email offer, unless, of course, you’re looking to alienate and irritate your customers.
Just look at this coupon the company sent to customers. The ad offers 20% off any single item, which sounds pretty good, until you see the 250 word legal disclaimer that says you can’t use the discount on 68 of the stores’ brands, which severely limits how customers can actually use the coupon.
From a customer’s perspective, is a frustrating experience to try to redeem a discount only to be told there is a long list of applicable terms and conditions that apply.
In this case, the coupon:
- Won’t bring in very much revenue, since a large portion of the inventory is exempt from the discount.
- Destroys trust between a business and it’s customers.
- Says “We miss you, but we don’t miss you enough to offer you a real discount.”
Anyone familiar with best marketing practices would know that unless you’re going to actually offer something good to customers, don’t send out an offer. Emily White-Keating, Sports Authority’s Senior VP of Advertising and Marketing, probably doesn’t know this offer went out, but now might be a good time for her to do some training with her team on marketing best practices.
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Source: Consumerist
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