This Week in Business: The Economics of Impeachment
By Charlotte Cowles
What’s Up? (Sept. 22-30)
The Cost of a Phone Call to Ukraine
What could impeachment mean for your portfolio? In a flurry of indignant tweets, Mr. Trump threatened that “the markets would crash” if the process continued. Markets dipped on Tuesday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the formal inquiry, and the S&P 500 Index closed the week down about 1 percent. There’s not much historical precedent to go on here: the S&P fell 25 percent during the Watergate scandal, but it rose during President Bill Clinton’s troubles. Some critics of the president believe his impeachment could actually be good for the economy.
Speaking of Embattled C.E.O.s
Kevin Burns, the chief executive of Juul Labs, abruptly left the vaping company. He was replaced by a top official at Altria, the tobacco industry giant that paid $12.8 billion for a 35 percent share in Juul last December — and may be regretting it now. Juul said it wouldn’t fight a proposed ban on most e-cigarettes in the United States and would suspend advertising of its products in the country. The number of lung illnesses linked to vaping, which is particularly popular with teens, climbed to 805.
Almost 50,000 union workers at General Motors will start their third week of strikes this Monday, throwing a wrench in the company’s production in the United States. The union wants G.M. to provide better wages, reopen idled plants and pay new hires the same as veteran ones. But that doesn’t exactly square with G.M.’s big shift toward electric vehicles, which may require new facilities and skill sets. Still, an end to the dispute could be in sight, according to negotiators.
More Plants on the Menu
In case you needed another reason to invest in Beyond Meat: Disney announced that vegan meals would be available at all of its restaurants at Walt Disney World in Florida starting this week, and at Disneyland Resort in California next spring. Even if you’re not excited about vegetables, you should still be impressed by the themed meal names, like “Tatooine Two Suns Hummus” — an actual Star Wars-inspired dish at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando. Meanwhile, McDonald’s has started testing consumer appetites for the “P.L.T.” — plant-based burger, lettuce and tomato — at a couple dozen of its Canadian locations.
One of Wall Street’s biggest concerns about Beyond Meat Inc.’s stock is that current valuations limit potential gains, but the odds are now ‘very high’ that problem will be fixed soon, ironically, by the bears.
Beyond Meat investors got what they were waiting for Thursday, as McDonald’s Corp. said it will begin testing in Canada a burger with a Beyond Meat-made, plant-based patty later this month. That sent the stock BYND, -2.29% surging 11.6% to $154.34 on heavy volume.
Jefferies analyst Kevin Grundy said this partnership has the potential to significantly boost Beyond Meat’s (BYND) sales, if it is eventually rolled out beyond the testing phase to McDonald’s 38,000 restaurants worldwide.
Alexa
Also, if you felt that Earth’s largest corporations didn’t have enough recording devices in your home, Amazon announced a fleet of new Alexa-adjacent gadgets that will bring her chirpy presence into earbuds, glasses, a ring and even a new collar that tracks your dog.
Bill passes to make Sept. 30 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation statutory holiday
Residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad and CRD Area F director Joan Sorley were in Ottawa for the vote
St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School survivor Phyllis Webstad witnessed history in Ottawa Wednesday.
Bill C-369, to make Sept. 30 a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a statutory holiday, passed through the House of Commons on March 20 and will now move to the Senate before becoming law.
Orange Shirt Day, which is also marked on Sept. 30, was inspired by Webstad’s experience of having her brand new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at St. Joseph’s Mission residential school near Williams Lake.
Promotions
In marketing, promotion refers to any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the merits of a product, service, brand or issue. The aim of promotion is to increase awareness, create interest, generate sales or create brand loyalty. It is one of the basic elements of the market mix, which includes the four Ps, i.e., product, price, place, and promotion.[1]
Promotion is also one of the elements in the promotional mix or promotional plan. These are personal selling,advertising,sales promotion,direct marketing,publicity and may also include event marketing,exhibitions and trade shows.A promotional plan specifies how much attention to pay to each of the elements in the promotional mix, and what proportion of the budget should be allocated to each element.
The Top 10 Most Popular Types of Sales Promotions
When it comes to promotions for your ecommerce store, how can you be sure you’re getting it right? Do you struggle for ideas on what you should do and when? We’ve put together a list of 10 popular sales promos to help steer you in the right direction…
1. Discounted products
Adding a discount to your products is possibly the most popular type of promotion. Customers love to grab a bargain, so it makes sense to offer discounts every now and then. When it comes to deciding the way you choose to promote - % vs $ - think about what will look more attractive to the buyer. Always consider your bottom line and be sure to not constantly have a sale, as people will just come to expect this as the norm.
- Make sure your discount is attractive
- Consider your bottom line
- Don’t do it too often2. Free Shipping/Free Returns
According to this WalkerSands infographic, 80% of consumers would be more tempted to buy from Amazon if they were offered free shipping. 66% would buy if they were offered next-day delivery and 64% said they would buy if they were offered free returns. Free shipping and returns gives the customer a sense of security that they wont lose out if they wanted to send the product back.
If you are worried about your margins then you can always incorporate the shipping cost into your product, or think about offering free shipping when a customer spends over a certain amount.
- Free shipping/free returns creates customer security
- Makes it hassle free
- Incorporate shipping cost into your product3. Flash Sale
A flash sale is basically an offer that only lasts for a limited time and it’s a great way to create a sense of urgency for the customer to buy. Many retailers are now adopting this strategy as a way to sell more products and get rid of surplus stock. Monetate found that 56% of businesses agree that flash-sale campaigns are better received than regular campaigns. The more successful flash sales are ones that don’t last very long and 50% of purchases occur during the first hour of a flash sale.
- Market your flash sale with a recognizable visual
- Put a shorter duration on your sale
- Promote via email and on social4. Buy More, Save More
This kind of deal entices the customer to buy more of your stock, so it’s kind of a win, win. There will be plenty of potential customers visiting your store that want to buy, but feel guilty because of the price. Giving them a discount if they spend more, may just give them a little shove in the right direction. You don’t have to offer a huge discount, but make sure it’s attractive enough to convert visitors.
- Entices the customer
- Takes away the guilt of spending more money
- Helps to sell more stock5. Product Giveaways/Branded Gifts
Let’s be honest, everyone loves a freebie so this really is a great promotion. Not only does it give potential customers the chance to test out your product, but also it entices people to buy your stuff! If your product isn’t something that you can giveaway, then think about creating some useful branded gifts that you can offer with each purchase. Think along the lines of keychains, bumper stickers, magnets, pens etc. Customers will appreciate the gesture and will think of you whenever they see their branded gift.
- Lets customers test your product
- Makes your brand memorable
- Provides value and a reason to buy6. Loyalty Points
Rewarding your customers will help you build a solid base of loyal fans and it will entice people to shop more at your online store. Providing great customer service is so important to the success of your business, and offering a loyalty point system is a popular promotion. You could think about setting up a virtual card: The customer can gain points every time they buy and then use their points to get money off future purchases, or if they buy 9 items, they get the 10 th free.
- Builds a loyal customer base
- Provides better customer satisfaction
- Provide them with a loyalty system to keep coming back7. Coupon Giveaway
This is a different way of promoting discounts. Sending your customers virtual coupons will make the promotion seem more exclusive and will give the customer more of a push to visit your online store. Think about sending coupons to loyal customers that have spent over a certain amount. You could also consider sending coupons to visitors that have experienced bad customer service, to try and convert them back to happy customers!
- Makes the promotion seem exclusive
- Keeps the customer happy
- Offers a great way to win back disgruntled customers8. Competitions
The great thing about running a competition is that you only have to give away one thing, but you gain so much – making it a popular type of promotion! It will not only help raise your profile, but every person that enters, will then become an email contact that you can try and convert into a sale. If they’re entering your competition, chances are they are interested in your products, so running a competition is a great idea – particularly for start-ups.
- Great way to gain email sign ups
- Helps you raise your profile
- It will create a buzz on social media9. Price Match Promise
Price match promise has fast become one of the most popular ways to promote your brand, particularly if you have a lot of competitors out there. It allows your customers to shop with you and will be safe in the knowledge that if they can get it cheaper somewhere else, you’ll refund the difference. There’s nothing to lose for them and it means that you still get to keep a solid customer base.
- Helps you stay ahead of the competition
- Provides a no lose situation for the customer
- It’s a bold move that will build loyal customers10. Holiday Promotions
There is a reason that holiday promotions are so successful. Customers always like to spend more around the holidays, making it the perfect opportunity for you to get your brand out there and sell more products. You don’t have to go too crazy on your offers, but enticing customers with slight discounts will always work in your favor. It’s also the perfect time to get creative with your promotion and use the theme of the holiday, to sell your products.
- You don’t need to offer huge discounts
- Get creative with your promotions
- You will sell more during the holidays
LINK TO ARTICLE ON SUCCESSFUL PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN
Check it out more creative marketing and promotions: Johnny Cupcakes
Check it out more creative marketing and promotions: Johnny Cupcakes
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